maudlin of the Well
Tickets: 18+, $10-$25
On sale kyd.to
About
Formed in New England in 1996 by Toby Driver, maudlin of the Well emerged from the underground metal scene with a sound that seemed to exist somewhere outside the boundaries of genre. Drawing from death metal, jazz, psychedelia, classical music, and experimental rock, the band developed an intensely atmospheric and shape-shifting approach to songwriting, moving freely between crushing heaviness and moments of startling fragility and beauty.
After releasing a series of demos and albums throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, maudlin of the Well became known for music that was unusually ambitious, strange, and difficult to categorize. Their two landmark albums, Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, originally released as a companion pair in 2001, have since developed a devoted following and are regarded as singular works of experimental metal.
Having played only 13 gigs during the band’s original lifetime, maudlin of the Well dissolved in the early 2000s, with its members going on to pursue a variety of musical projects. Driver subsequently founded Kayo Dot and continued working as a composer and multi-instrumentalist, while maudlin of the Well’s music continued to find new listeners and exert an influence far beyond the scene in which it originated.
In 2015, maudlin of the Well performed a one-time-only reunion show in New York City as a special part of Driver’s composer retrospective at the Stone’s original location on the Lower East Side. Lines stretched around the block, offering a striking demonstration of how far the band’s music had traveled and how much its impact had grown beyond what anyone could have anticipated in the earliest days of the band.
This year, maudlin of the Well reunites once again for its 30th anniversary, bringing together the original members for a special live performance. But this time, the reunion marks not only a return to the stage, but a return to creating new music: the band is currently recording its first new album in almost two decades, made possible by an exceptionally successful Kickstarter campaign that demonstrated the enduring enthusiasm of its audience.
The support behind that campaign has also made it possible to present this anniversary performance as a rare, full-scale reunion show while keeping ticket prices unusually accessible. The event coincides with 30th anniversary vinyl reissues of Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, celebrating the music that first established the band’s singular place in the underground while looking toward an entirely new chapter.
Thirty years after its formation, maudlin of the Well remains difficult to describe, and that may be the most fitting description of all.
After releasing a series of demos and albums throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, maudlin of the Well became known for music that was unusually ambitious, strange, and difficult to categorize. Their two landmark albums, Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, originally released as a companion pair in 2001, have since developed a devoted following and are regarded as singular works of experimental metal.
Having played only 13 gigs during the band’s original lifetime, maudlin of the Well dissolved in the early 2000s, with its members going on to pursue a variety of musical projects. Driver subsequently founded Kayo Dot and continued working as a composer and multi-instrumentalist, while maudlin of the Well’s music continued to find new listeners and exert an influence far beyond the scene in which it originated.
In 2015, maudlin of the Well performed a one-time-only reunion show in New York City as a special part of Driver’s composer retrospective at the Stone’s original location on the Lower East Side. Lines stretched around the block, offering a striking demonstration of how far the band’s music had traveled and how much its impact had grown beyond what anyone could have anticipated in the earliest days of the band.
This year, maudlin of the Well reunites once again for its 30th anniversary, bringing together the original members for a special live performance. But this time, the reunion marks not only a return to the stage, but a return to creating new music: the band is currently recording its first new album in almost two decades, made possible by an exceptionally successful Kickstarter campaign that demonstrated the enduring enthusiasm of its audience.
The support behind that campaign has also made it possible to present this anniversary performance as a rare, full-scale reunion show while keeping ticket prices unusually accessible. The event coincides with 30th anniversary vinyl reissues of Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, celebrating the music that first established the band’s singular place in the underground while looking toward an entirely new chapter.
Thirty years after its formation, maudlin of the Well remains difficult to describe, and that may be the most fitting description of all.
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