Since their self-titled debut EP in 2018, Trauma Ray has been a sleeper Fort Worth music success story. Their brand of thundering, wall-of-sound shoegaze hasn’t necessarily led to regular rotation on local radio or press coverage as often as their moves might have warranted, but it has been earning them an ever-growing underground following both locally and nationally. Extensive touring and a steady outflow of bite-sized releases from three EPs and a handful of singles have vaulted Trauma Ray to playing packed rooms across the country both as headliners and in support of national artists like Slow Crush, Spiritual Cramp, and Teenage Wrist, gathering millions of streams on digital platforms along the way. It’s a trajectory in the old-school fashion: organic, word of mouth, show by show.
Trauma Ray sit now with all the makings of a band poised for a big leap. The next few months might provide it to them. On Friday, just prior to kicking off a monthlong tour that sees them crisscross their way around the U.S. after a short run in the U.K., the five-piece heavy-gazers are set to release Chameleon, their debut album.
One reason for the potential surge is that the album and successive tour come with the support of a new label. The highly anticipated 12-track long-player will be their first with bi-coastal New York/L.A.-based imprint Dais Records (Drab Majesty, Cold Gawd). The collaboration looks to give a huge boost to the momentum the band has been building for the last several years.
“It’s been a really good relationship,” said singer/guitarist Uriel Avila of the band’s new digs. “Everyone’s just been so supportive and helpful. I would say they’re as excited as we are to put this record out. That’s a hard thing to find.”
In building toward the album drop, Trauma Ray released three singles: the hauntingly hooky “Bishop,” the tranquil and emotive “Spectre,” which was accompanied by a slick video, and, most recently, the blistering “Bardo,” which hit streaming services earlier this month. These colossal tracks, and the remainder of the effort, demonstrate that not only has the group’s following and label backing grown, but their sound has, too. Chameleon will be the first release to incorporate the group’s new third guitar player, Coleman Pruitt. He joins Avila, bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas, and guitarist Jonathan Perez in pushing the band’s already seismic sonics into the red, crafting an aesthetic that is as affecting as it is roaring.
“The best part about incorporating [Pruitt] into the band was that it almost took no effort at all,” Avila said. “He had been going to our shows since our very first ones. He was already best friends with our drummer, and they lived together. We would see him all the time. He’d always been there. His tastes and his writing style weren’t very different or too far off from what we were doing. But it’s also his own. It’s been fun to mesh our prior songwriting style with his.”
On Chameleon, the extra layer certainly results in mammoth volume, but Avila’s haunting melodies and mournful lyrical themes aim to give the vocals equal weight to the massive sound.
“The theme of the record is death and the change that comes with it,” Avila said. “That’s why we called it Chameleon, because a chameleon changes into its surroundings, tries to blend in as much as it can. I think that’s what people do when they experience death. They try to blend in and try to find their place again after dealing with it.”
Avila said that much of the inspiration came from the experience of the pandemic, all the loss of life and how society has come through it and tried to recover a sense of normalcy. It’s a topic he hopes listeners will find relatable, if not a little dark. Creating an emotional connection with the listener is a consistent motivation for him.
“I guess a lot of it comes from a sort of depressive side to my thinking,” he explained. “It helps me remember to feel empathy. It’s my way of having some sort of catharsis and self-reflection, and it’s something I think is really understandable to a lot of people. I think it’s important to connect with people. I like writing about things that people may struggle with because I struggle with them.”
Avila hopes that this record does that and is perhaps a nudge for others to find their own avenues of expression. “I think it’s so cool to feel like you inspire people through the things that you make. Because they felt something. Because they said, ‘Hey, I understand what you’re talking about’ or, ‘This song really spoke to me’ or, ‘I’m going through this situation, and this song really helped me through it.’ That’s awesome because maybe you’re inspiring them to do something — to make their own music or their own art.”
With the sense of sitting on the cusp of a big next step, the guys are excited and anxious for what’s in store but remain clear-eyed about the possibilities.
“It feels very surreal,” Avila said. “This has always been a labor of love, and we’ve never really expected much from this, and we’re extremely grateful to be in the position that we are. You never know when things are going to pop off, or if they’re going to pop off. We’re just really fortunate and really grateful.”
Photo courtesy of Dylan Shay
