Description
A short-lived band with Helen White (Petty Crime), Amy Heneveld (Meltdown) and Ethan Swan (Emergency) inspired in part by the spectral coolness of Quix*o*tic and the insistence of the faster Raincoats songs but mostly influenced by each other’s bands. All songs written, recorded, and performed live in a two-week span of time in Portland, 1999.
White vinyl, edition of 200 copies.
Reviews:
“It has all of the off-kilter charm of three people working primarily under the guidance of shared instincts, with no time for or interest in belaboring the creative process—vocals take the form of overlapping chants and whispered incantations, backed by a brittle assemblage of needling single-note guitar, steadily cycling bass lines, and skittish drums that calls back to the messiest of late ’70s/early ’80 UK DIY.”
– From “Modessa” review by Erika Elizabeth on Maximum Rocknroll, August 2021 [LINK]
“Spindly guitar lines, rudimentary drumming and bass-guitar that seems to be off in its own world are the name of the game, with sporadic, lightly-shouted vocals, as was the normal behavior of the time. Sounds a lot like a classic no-budget UK DIY single, though there’s an undeniable air of post-riot grrrl underground happening here too.”
– From “Modessa” review on Yellow Green Red, March 2021 [LINK]
“Modessa is lo-fi and noodley with stompy percussions. An aromatic K Records flavor whiffs through the house. And as much as I can recognize it as music, and can visualize three people working together to create it, nearly two decades later I’m still unsure what to make of stuff like this.”
– From “Modessa” review by Daryl Gussin in Razorcake #121, April/May 2021 [LINK]
“When I first heard these tracks online, I almost couldn’t believe how similar they were to the XV record that came out last year — one note guitar parts, clickity-clack drums, deadpan vocals, the whole bit — only the Modessa tracks were recorded 20 years earlier! and since I completely adore the XV record (and the XV cassette as well, can’t forget that), I couldn’t buy this 7″ fast enough.”
– From “Modessa” review in Freak No-Hitter, Nov/Dec 2020 [LINK]
To view the complete production costs for this record, click HERE
