Emerging from the ruins of a Surf Rock project, Justice and DeFreitas, now Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin, began as a duo, recording in a San Diego garage with SM57s and a mix of analog and digital reverb.
Their early EPs (“Cabin Fever,” “Mud Room” and a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man“) embraced a lo-fi, Trashy character, blending Dead Meadow’s hypnotic riffs, The Ventures’ Surf twang, and All Them Witches Heavy yet soulful rhythm.
The goal of the band was to record using the tools they had on-hand, prioritizing raw creation over polished production, resulting in a sound that feels like driving 90 miles an hour through the desert with the windows down.
“Thanks to all the fans for the support so far! We have plenty more in the works for Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin. Keep you eyes peeled for what’s coming next. Check out what the band had to say about Mud Room below and get your pre-order in!” – Black Throne Productions
Copies of the EP are available on 180g 3-Color Green / White Striped vinyl — Pre-Orders shipping in late May
Pre-Order Aunt “vv” here: https://blackthroneproductions.com/products/aunt-cynthias-cabin-mud-room-13
From the Band:
“As is tradition for Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin, we wrote and recorded Mud Room #13 in our private studio space in Miramar, CA. At that time, we were playing two to three shows a week and the band was in a really natural, productive, creative groove together. Most of what we were doing, both in the studio and onstage, was purely live improvisation. We’d come up with ideas by just exploring these dynamic jams for like 20-30 minutes, more sometimes.
The goal with Mud Room #13 was really to capture that process and that type of musical expression. So, less about sitting down and writing traditionally structured songs, and more about capturing ideas that came out of live improvisation.
The way the album was engineered also reflects that. Brennan engineered and mixed everything, and his approach was to capture more of the room sound and the interaction that occurs when you play live, instead of isolating everything.
The engineering tries to preserve the live element as much as possible, the intent being to bring the listener into the room with us.“
The composition of the songs is very dynamic. Of course, at shows, we want to be as dynamic as possible with the energy we’re delivering to our audience. We do a lot of settling in a laid-back jam, bringing the audience there with us, and then building tension, building tension, exploding, and then coming back to earth. So, the songs on Mud Room do that a lot.
The lyricism is mostly inspired by a romantic relationship Brennan held at the time, which failed shortly before the recording of our next album, Misty Woman.
“Choke” is about feeling suffocated by someone close to you. “Building a fire” together is emblematic of supporting life and fruitful survival. The fire should be strong enough to support two lives. But in the song, one partner steals all the warmth from the fire and leaves the other out in the cold.
“You Don’t Listen to Me” is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a frustrating thing that can happen in a romantic relationship. Now that were all older and have more mature relationships than we did back then, we recognize how important communication is. That’s for any relationship, romantic or not, and “You Don’t Listen to Me” is just about when that doesn’t happen.
Lineup:
Brennan Justice / Guitar, Lead Vocals
Anthony DeFreitas / Bass, Vocals
Jeremy Luvaas / Drums, Percussion