Lineup changes lead to new sonic territories for Cricketbows

Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

After losing more than half their band, many leaders would call it quits and move on but not Chad Wells. With the Cricketbows lineup reduced to him and longtime singer Aarika Watson, Wells enlisted his 17-year-old daughter, Presley, and started exploring new sonic territories. The first salvo from the one-time psych-rock outfit is “The New Way,” a danceable slice of electronica that was posted to its Bandcamp page on Feb. 4.

“This is the new way,” said chief songwriter and producer Wells, who formed the band as a solo project in 2010. “We are possessed by this creative vision that is Cricketbows. The most important thing is to get it into people’s ears.”

Cricketbows plan to release a new single the first Friday of each month.

“We’re focusing on singles and putting it all out directly to Bandcamp” said Watson, who joined the band in 2011. “Why wait around for pressing plants and release schedules and planning shows around it and all of that? We can record these songs in our treehouse, master it ourselves and then send it straight to the people who want to hear it. Prince is one of our biggest influences and this is something that he preached.”

Wells picks up that tread.

“And, unlike Spotify and similar services, most of the money exchanged stays in the band’s hands,” he said. “With the sale of one single download on Bandcamp, we make as much as we make for like a million plays on the big streaming services. This will buy us guitar strings and gear to make more music.”

Like Cricketbows’ killer 2021 album, “Raised On Rock And Roll,” the new songs will eventually be on the major streaming services. What seems like the biggest change, the addition of Presley Wells on bass and other instruments, was an inevitable occurrence.

“I’ve been making sounds on Cricketbows songs since the very beginning,” she said Presley. “I played a lot of little stuff on the last album too, but now I’m old enough to commit to being in it full time. It’s a lot of fun writing and recording with my Dad and Aarika. My mom, Michelle, and my little sister, Lilly, have been getting involved in these recording sessions too. Lilly plays the violin on another song.”

In other recent Cricketbows’ news, “All the Way Down” from the 2015 album, “Diamonds,” was recently featured on the soundtrack for “40-Love.” The comedy from director Fred Wolf (“The House Bunny,” “Joe Dirt 2″) features Patrick Warburton, Chris Kattan and Colin Quinn.

Artist info: cricketbows.bandcamp.com.

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