We're Not Here To Be Loved

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If there’s one thing that sets the album apart, it’s the uninhibited vocal approach. DiDio is a solid supporting actor, his close-mic’d mumbles providing the moody songs with a necessary glumness, but he’s really here to complement Shirar. She flat-out goes for it in a way that’s rare among modern grunge and shoegaze bands. Try to imagine how the gripping first line of the song “Closet”—“I’m sorry for the things I can’t undo”—would sound with someone half-assedly moaning it. On the album’s most anthemic cuts, like “The Razor’s Apple” and “Kiss the Ladder,” she wails like Diary-era Jeremy Enigk, sharing the Sunny Day Real Estate frontman’s fondness for fragile, descending melodies and his ability to imbue them with pain and passion. On the songs where DiDio takes center stage, Shirar opts for more of a sun-coming-through-the-trees shoegaze keen, which she also nails, but Fleshwater are never more invigorating than when she’s in the spotlight. Averell, Tim (November 1, 2022). "ALBUM REVIEW: Fleshwater - We're Not Here To Be Loved". Boolin Tunes . Retrieved January 12, 2023. Breihan, Tom (October 6, 2022). "Vein.FM Side Project Fleshwater Announce Debut Album 'We're Not Here To Be Loved,' Share New Song "Kiss The Ladder" ". Stereogum . Retrieved January 12, 2023.

At this point, it’s a little harder to say that Vein and Fleshwater sound nothing alike, since Vein have recently taken a turn into something a little more pretty and emo-leaning than the guttural herky-jerk hardcore of their earlier years. Vein’s whole personality comes through in Fleshwater, but the Vein members aren’t really the focal point here. Instead, Fleshwater lead singer Marisa Shirar is the focal point here. She can sound glassy and guttural at the same time, and she floats over the band’s churn. White, Tyler (November 5, 2022). "Review: Fleshwater - We're Not Here To Be Loved". Sputnikmusic . Retrieved February 24, 2023. Now, they materialize in 2022 with nine songs on their full-length debut, We’re Not Here To Be Loved [Closed Casket Activities].Sacher, Andrew (October 6, 2022). "Fleshwater (mem Vein) announce debut LP 'We're Not Here To Be Loved,' share new song & video". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved January 12, 2023.

The band released the single "Kiss the Ladder" on October 6, 2022, alongside the announcement of their debut album We're Not Here to Be Loved. [5] The second single off the album, "The Razor's Apple", was released on October 21. [6] The album was released shortly after, on November 4, and was met with positive reception. [7] The band played their first show on January 9, 2022 in Tampa, Florida at an FYA Fest aftershow supporting Sunami alongside Ingrown, Living Weapon, and Hold My Own. The band embarked on their first full US tour in May/June 2023 supporting No Pressure alongside Koyo and Illusion. In the end, Fleshwater are unlike anything you’ve ever heard—and it’s why the experience of listening to them will belong to you alone. “I want people to have their own experience with Fleshwater’s music and let it take them for a ride,” Anthony leaves off. As such, the Lowell, MA quartet—Anthony DiDio [vocals, guitar], Marisa Shirar [vocals], Matt Wood [drums], and Jeremy Martin [bass]—balance the intimate inhale of male-female harmonies with an overpowering exhale of distortion. It’s ambiguous,” notes Anthony. “It’s like the music is attached to the mood rather than lumped into a genre. There are so many different elements. Fleshwater is never one thing.” The band quietly emerged in 2020 with Demo. “Linda Claire” amassed 1.3 million Spotify streams under the radar, while Stereogum hailed the three-song set as “a cool piece of hazy guitar-trudge music.” Along the way, the musicians wrote what would become We’re Not Here To Be Loved and self-produced the album with Kurt Ballou [Converge] recording them. The band mined a kaleidoscope of influences, ranging from Hum, Deftones, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Far to Björk, and they ultimately arrived at an ethereal signature style of their own punctuated by gnashing grooves and anesthetizingly gorgeous vocal conjurations.In 2020, two members of Vein.fm, singer Anthony DiDio and drummer Matt Wood, got together to start a new band that sounded nothing like Vein. On their excellent demo, the side project Fleshwater leaned into heavy and melodic stuff, coming up with their own take on the metallic shoegaze that’s been so awesomely dominant lately. Today, Fleshwater have followed that demo with their full-length debut We’re Not Here To Be Loved, and it rules.

Breihan, Tom Breihan (February 17, 2020). "Stream Vein Side Project Fleshwater's New Demo". Stereogum . Retrieved January 12, 2023.

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