by Audrey Keelin (@youandtheblossom)
Today, Aunt Ant, the three-piece Asheville, NC post-rock brainchild of songwriter/founder Lauren Hewer releases a new song called “8theist,” with an accompanying music video directed and edited by the band and filmed by Eli Freireich.
Aunt Ant stews with unique, earnest crunch and swift decay in their persistent recordings to the delight of listeners across the east coast. As an essential part of the Asheville music scene, Aunt Ant deserves, returned multi-fold, all the respect, support, and celebration they’ve been giving to many touring bands. With closest bandmates Sean German and Jonah Ileana, Aunt Ant produces full and vulnerable sonic flourishes; a dream dynamic range, from tiny whispers close to the mic, fingers barely touching the guitar strings, to explosive noise, fat drum fills, and incredible overdriven tone.
This is a triumphant, honest release for the band, creating what makes songs touching: a detailed, physical and personal example of a universal experience that any listener can project into. “I am eight and I’m atheist/ Standing outside of a Baptist church lock-in/ With my friends inside,” is just the beginning of a multi-layered, snowballing poem swirling in and out of distorted guitars and intelligent dynamics. Hewer sings, “and my parents are English/ so I lack Southern pride/ and it’s showing on my skin/ It’s showing I try/ Out for basketball hoping/ That I make more friends/ and I practice dunking/ In my back garden,” capturing the childlike loneliness in searching for belonging.
This song was first released on the Feminine Waste x Nowhere Collective compilation in 2021 and has developed through playing live since then -- and you can really tell. The band is a testament to how live experiences of active music listening and playing contributes to recordings themselves.