New Jersey-based band, (Damn) This Desert Air, delivers an intense sonic boom infused with huge doses of melody. The band is a dense, heavy, effect-laden space rock mixed with melodic post-hardcore. Members of the band include Mike Wolff (guitar), Dan Cav (bass guitar), Craig Cirinelli (microphone), Ti Kreck (drums), and Shawn Reams (guitar and keys).
After about a 7-year pause of releases and sporadic regional shows, (D)TDA released their latest EP titled Nebulosity in the summer of 2020. The EP serves as a follow up to their full-length album Pyramids in which renowned production house, Engineer Records, co-released with Belgium’s Funtime Records and Spain’s Desert Pearl Union, the latter two labels of which are now defunct. This is (Damn) This Desert Air’s fourth release overall, aside from their contributions to 2 tribute albums for the 90s bands Hum and Failure.
They have opened for national acts such as Seaweed, Helmet, Truckfighters, The Jazz June, Shades Apart, The Donots, and Supertouch to name a few. Their track “Ghost I Own” has also been featured in the game Rock Band.
On Nebulosity, (D)TDA barges through the door with the surging entrance of opening track “Body Anchor (Back in Atlantis)”, its lead-off single. The track lyrically details the feeling of having someone you trusted tear you down, or throw you overboard.
The song sets the stage for the wide range of tone-bending audio within. Drums pack just the right amount of punch; guitars surge with power right from the start of the track; bold vocals from Cirinelli that are both in your face and memorably sung provide a commanding lead to the guttural song. This is all wonderfully blended by engineer and mixer Chris Badami at Portrait Recording Studios. The EP is comprised of three riff-laden racks and a pensive ballad-like closing song that leaves the impulsive desire to unravel the layers with each listen.
Recently, four members of (D)TDA have been taking part in the Jersey Interchange within two separate collaborations. Jersey Interchange is an ongoing collaborative series of NJ musicians coming together with other musicians who stemmed from the punk and hardcore scenes from the mid-90s through the early 2000s, covering songs by a band within the scenes they stemmed from.
Looking towards the future, (Damn) This Desert Air is already brewing up new song ideas. Although the time between the release of their album Pyramids and their recent EP Nebulosity was a bit too long, they plan to not let time slip away again. In addition to new songs, there is a spark of conversations circulating around the re-release of previous (D)TDA material on vinyl, yet specifics have yet to be set in stone.
The band finds their audience in those who not only desire a thick, full blast of sound, yet also attention to dynamic detail in their music. Creating memorable songs that also have a few left turns is what makes (Damn)This Desrt Air stand firmly on their feet. They create big, booming, melodic rock that is memorable to listeners after the song’s end. (D)TDA is certainly a band you want to have on replay. Here’s to hoping we hear some new tracks from them very soon!
Make sure to stream their latest EP and previous work! To keep up with the band, follow them on their social media below!
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