Although the Birmingham, AL-based trio of David Brown, Blake Wimberly and David Swatzell’s latest project, Wray is a relatively new project, each of the members of the band have been mainstays in Birmingham’s music scene, playing in punk bands bands such as Last Flight In, Comrade, Waterfall and several other bands – and if you add the impact that Communicating Vessels Records has made on the national scene, it should be apparent that Birmingham has a diverse music scene worth paying attention to. 

However, Wray is a sonic departure from Brown, Wimberly and Swatzell’s previous work as the band’s sound is centered on densely textured, atmospheric, shoegazer rock; in fact, their latest single “Relative” is reminiscent of The Stone Roses and The Jesus and Mary Chain – layers upon layers of shimmering guitars, balanced by tightly controlled feedback and vocals that seem to float in and out of a hazy mix. In some way, it evokes the sensation of being woken from a pleasant yet kind of eerie dream. 

The official video for “Related” has the band performing the song in what appears to be a gigantic and empty warehouse or stage, behind various lighting effects.