trauma ray - "Hannibal"

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Photo by Erasmo Viera

One of the best parts of the current wave of shoegaze bands is the resurgence of heavy shoegaze. Based on their latest single, trauma ray are about to become one of our favorites of the subgenre. "Hannibal" is a monster of a song, and is shoegaze in the way that Deftones have been as of late. It's loud, but with a wave of warm fuzz that gently washes over you. A lot of similar artists make music to gently bop your head to, but trauma ray is full on headbanging music. Instead of being brutal, "Hannibal" is filled with gentle musical moments that truly make it stand out. It's pulverizing music, for sure, but it leaves a lot of room to notice its beauty.

Vocalist Uriel Avila says of his band's latest single:

“It’s a song about the feeling of doing your best as an individual yet still falling short in the eyes of those you hope to make proud. A lot of it stems from internal battles I faced growing up with my father, role models, and religion. Some of it comes from more recent experiences of being put under the microscope by my peers. It’s a gut wrenching sensation that I was able to tie lyrically to the visceral mood of the instrumentation that kicks off the track and begins the journey through Carnival’s overall theme.”

You can watch the video for "Hannibal" below. Carnival is due out February 20 on Dais Records. For more on trauma ray, check out the band on Instagram. Upcoming co-headlining tour dates with Glixen are below the video and include an April 22 stop at The Sinclair.


Apr 10: San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger ~
Apr 11: Houston, TX - The Secret Group ~
Apr 13: New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa ~
Apr 14: Orlando, FL - The Social ~
Apr 15: Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Hell ~
Apr 16: Asheville, NC    Eulogy ~
Apr 17: Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 ~
Apr 18: Washington, DC - Union Stage ~
Apr 19: Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church ~
Apr 21: Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere Hall ~
Apr 22: Boston, MA - The Sinclair ~
Apr 23: Montréal, QC - Theatre Fairmount ~
Apr 24: Toronto, ON - Hard Luck ~
Apr 25: Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch ~
Apr 26: Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop ~
Apr 28: Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge ^
Apr 29: Minneapolis, MN - Amsterdam Bar & Hall ^
May 01: Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck #
May 02: Denver, CO - Marquis #
May 03: Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court #
May 04: Boise, ID - Shrine Basement #
May 05: Seattle, WA - Substation #
May 06: Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre #
May 08: San Francisco, CA - The Chapel #
May 09: Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom #
May 10: San Diego, CA - Soda Bar #
May 12: Phoenix, AZ - Walter Studios #
May 13: Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad #
May 15: Austin, TX - Brushy Street Commons #
May 16: Dallas, TX - Trees #

~ w/ Glixen (co-headline), Her New Knife, Knifeplay
^ w/ Glixen (co-headline), Keep, Knifeplay
# w/ Glixen (co-headline), Keep, Money

On Repeat...

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