We Are One

by MGR

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spinicist The final track is the meatiest slow burner I have heard in years. Put it on repeat and enjoy your time on this planet that bit more. Favorite track: Cop Shoot Cop.

sinceforever Don't let the larger related projects of MGR members fool you - "We Are One" is a singular piece of work, a thing unto itself and not the cutting room material from other albums. Thoughtful Gira-esque vocals combined with the guitar precision you'd expect from a veteran post-metal star. Come for the Joy Division cover, stay for the gradual and beautiful sonic meltdown of 'cop shoot cop'. Favorite track: Cop Shoot Cop.

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Full Digital Discography

8

releases

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Glacier's Wake, Awakenings, Shipping Gold, Neither Here Nor There, We Are One, Becoming, 22nd of May (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), and Wavering on the Cresting Heft. , and , .

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1.	Shadows 06:09	lyrics	buy track
I feel it, its all come down This day will yield and bend to night's crown The shadows spread and grow They reach and pull us low We're low We move, beyond our lie We heave and turn this world, to hold the sky We unlearn all we know To feel this night aglow We're Glowing Reborn, in shadow We have come alive Guided by the crow In dusk we all grow
2.	Becoming 05:01	lyrics	buy track
I’ve walked for miles I’ve become undone I peeled it all away To arise as the one Falling in We are all Becoming We have slipped Fallen low Found each other Crawled to your throne We are rising Beyond all this There is nothing Holding us
3.	Exercise One 02:46		buy track
4.	Cop Shoot Cop 10:12		buy track

about

The elusive musical project Mustard Gas & Roses has always been a bit difficult to pin down. Originally conceived by guitarist Michael Gallagher as an ethereal instrumental counterpoint to the megalithic full-band dirges of his band ISIS, early recordings like Wavering on the Cresting Heft revolved around stark, creeping guitar melodies buoyed by subtle string arrangements and auxiliary guitar squall. Over the span of 15 years, Mustard Gas & Roses (commonly abbreviated as MGR) would slip in and out of dormancy, always resurfacing in some altered incarnation as supplemental musicians entered and exited the picture. MGR’s latest full-length, 2016’s Becoming, captured the nebulous ensemble in an incarnation most closely resembling a full fledged band, with Gallagher’s signature cataclysmic guitar lines bolstered by an authoritative rhythm section and a second guitarist. But the most prominent new factor was Gallagher’s baritone-throated vocals, which brought a new pensive gravity to their muscular arrangements. Four years later, MGR has resurfaced again. And as it was with past hiatuses, the ensemble has emerged transformed, as is evident on their striking new four-song EP We Are One.

MGR was largely quiet in the years following the release of Becoming, with one of their rare live appearances occurring at Portland’s Stumpfest in 2017. With MGR’s creative core reduced to Gallagher and bassist Jay Bennet, the duo recruited guitarist Marc Brandi (Lowcaster) and drummer Patrick Crawford (Nite, Older Sun) for a short run of shows up to the Northwest. In the fleeting preparations for the mini-tour, MGR managed to develop two new songs for the set. “Shadows” taps into the dire slow-burn hymns of pre-hiatus Swans and Angels of Light before blossoming into a kaleidoscope of interwoven guitars and pounding, propulsive rhythms. The other full-band contribution was a scorching cover of Joy Division’s “Exercise One,” which harnesses the original’s gloomy aura but makes the instrumentation far more sonically oppressive. Given the automatic chemistry of the new formation, a few hours of studio time were booked after the Portland date and the two songs were tracked live.

In subsequent years, Gallagher found moments to further push MGR’s sound into new territories. The title track from Becoming was revisited and approached as a somber acoustic track. With a little help from musical compatriot Bryan Tulao (Chelsea Wolfe, Mother Tongue, Black Math Horseman), MGR captured the song in its original genesis, stripped down to its most basic, harrowing components. The biggest sonic risk comes with the EP’s closing track, a ten-minute cover of Spiritualized’s “Cop Shoot Cop.” Recorded by Sanford Parker and rounded out by musical contribution from Bryan Tulao and Sash Popovic (Mother Tongue, Black Math Horseman), the song taps into the original’s bluesy gospel vibe while giving every component an additional sonic and emotional weight, effectively transforming the track into a hypnotic meditation that eventually explodes into a maelstrom of noise.

Taken all together, We Are One captures the latest evolution of Mustard Gas & Roses. Whereas the project was initially an exploration of the symphonic capabilities of the electric guitar, MGR’s current incarnation experiments with more traditional “rock” approaches, yet always finds ways of pushing those sonic attributes to the fringe, with every track serving as an excavation and reassessment of the song’s core essence and urgency.

- Brian Cook

credits

released November 10, 2020

• "Shadows" and "Exercise One"
Mike Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals
Marc Brandi - Guitar
J Bennett - Bass
Patrick Crawford - Drums

Recorded Live By Adam Pike At Toadhouse Recording. Portland, OR / April 2017

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• "Becoming"
Mike Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals
Bryan Tulao - Guitar

Recorded by Steve Kille at Wiggle Room Studio, Tujunga, CA June 2017

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• "Cop Shoot Cop"
Mike Gallagher - Guitar, Vocals
Bryan Tulao - Guitar
J Bennett - Bass
Sash Popovic - Drums
Keefus Cianca - Piano
Tara Connelly, C J Leedy and Sera Timms - Additional Vocals

Recorded by Sanford Parker at Big Bad Sound LA. Los Angeles, CA / May 2017

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All Songs:
Mixed by Sanford Parker
Mastered by James Plotkin

"Exercise One" was originally written by Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Ian Curtis and performed by Joy Division.

"Cop Shoot Cop" was originally written by Jason Pierce and performed by Spiritualized.

Paintings by Nicole Momaney
Layout by Brandon Pierce

© 2020 Pax Aeternum Digital
This is PAD056.

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MGR Los Angeles, California

linktr.ee/mgr_one

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