Souvenir by Drought
While many hardcore bands focus their fury outward, Drought turns inward—channeling personal struggle to chart a different path. Formed in 2022, the Bay Area band—guitarists Eric Nakano and RJ Rabe, drummer Ray Avila, and vocalist Viggy Ram—found common ground in shared influences like Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutYou, and Title Fight to overcome personal hardships and isolation. After recording a three-song EP in 2022, Drought brought their emotionally charged live shows to stages alongside Jeromes Dream and vs self before catching the attention of Iodine Recordings.
Now, Drought returns with Souvenir, recorded to tape by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away) at Atomic Garden Studios. The result? Souvenir sounds less like a debut and more like an established act. These thirteen songs channel moods and emotion with conviction, shaped by years of perspective. Guest vocals from Patrick Flynn (Fiddlehead/Have Heart), Eric Butler (Mom Jeans), and Alex Rudenshiold (Infant Island) lend further weight to Souvenir, weaving with the band’s dynamic arrangements and situating the record firmly in the evolving world of post-hardcore and emo. Against a background of balanced melody and dissonance, Viggy Ram’s lyricism is as introspective as it is existential, as he sings on the first single ‘We’re the Flora’: “They say all flowers in time bend toward the sun, so when I find the light, what will I become?”
Tracklist
| 1. | Introduction | |
| 2. | An Invitation | |
| 3. | Abattoir | |
| 4. | We're the Flora | 2:58 |
| 5. | Proof of Life | |
| 6. | Compass/Needle | |
| 7. | Souvenir | |
| 8. | Saint | |
| 9. | In the Glass Room | |
| 10. | One of Me | |
| 11. | Two of Me | |
| 12. | Old Seed/New Grain | |
| 13. | Wayfinding | |
Credits
DROUGHT is Viggy Ram, Eric Nakano, RJ Rabe, Ray Avila, and Dev Bleyle.
Layout & Design by Tom Bejgrowicz for Man Alive Creative & RJ Rabe. Diorama by Trina Nguyen.
Photography by Derek Yarra.
Recording, mixing, and mastering by Jack Shirley at The Atomic
Garden.
“We’re the Flora” additional vocals by Patrick Flynn and engineering by Jay Maas.
“Saint” additional vocals by Eric Butler.
“Old Seed/New Grain” contains an excerpt from “Chura Liya Hai
Tumne Jo Dil Ko” composed by R.D. Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri, and performed by Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi.
“Wayfinding” additional vocals by Alex Rudenshiold.
All songs written and performed by DROUGHT.
This is Iodine Recordings number eighty-eight | iodinerecords.com.
