Young Widows
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Breather Resist's time had come. Even though the Louisville, Ky., quartet quickly found an audience after forming in the early '00s, its sound had evolved into something unfamiliar. Over a thin discography, the band's relentlessly textured amalgam of metal and hardcore grew cavernous, moving toward a disfigured form of noise rock. While putting a full-length together in 2006, the differences in direction became evident within the creative process.

"Breather Resist songs were about starting off with one riff or two parts and then just going from there," recalls Breather guitarist Evan Patterson. "It was getting less heavy and a little more song-based."

With the departure of vocalist Steve Sindoni, the other three-fourths of Breather's personnel became a new project. Patterson kept playing guitar for the new band but also assumed lead mic duties while bassist Nick Thineman and drummer Geoff Paton resumed their positions. They rechristened themselves as Young Widows, an old moniker that Patterson unearthed and claimed because of its availability and connotations ("It has an old punk vibe but it's still dark [and] full of life, because 'young' is in it"). Breather's in-progress album was released as Settle Down City, Young Widows' debut.

By matching wild riffs and crushing reverb with provocatively brooding imagery (track titles include "Glad He Ate Her" and "Mirrorfucker") and scraps of Patterson's mutilated howl, Settle captured thunder in 11 tracks. Patterson's writing style is what gives Widows its monstrous resonance. He deliberately composes around a strong bass piece, using a bass line and drum parts to enhance the crux.

"Honestly," says the guitarist, "the guitar part is kind of secondary."

At that point, the framework becomes hazy.

"A lot of the time we tour on the songs before we even have the lyrics written to feel the energy and dynamics live."

One component always comes last: the title.

Settle also instituted Young Widows' tradition of using distinctively bizarre art for its merch. The cover of the LP is a close-up of a grotesque whose head was a skull stippled with strands of hair.

"Before we even had the record, I had an idea for drawings," says Patterson. "A friend of mine — a tattoo artist — made this little booklet of about 20 or so sketches and that's the one that stuck with me. We were trying to figure what we were going to put on the record and I called him up and asked if we could use that and he donated that."

Though Patterson asserts that non-aural flourishes will always be second to their sound, he adds, "If people haven't heard the band, seeing the name and the artwork attracts you to the record."

Since Settle Down City, the band has toured with little rest, contributed to a bevy of split 7-inch records alongside acts like Coliseum and Melt-Banana, replaced a drummer, and released the combustible Old Wounds. More work (including a third full-length) is forthcoming but Patterson insists that all of Young Widows' output reach a personal high mark. "This is what I want to be passionate about," he says.

Of Old Wounds, he says, "Hopefully, that comes out to the listener. If it doesn't, we don't really care. It's not about the listener to me. It's about what keeps me happy, what keeps me interested and artistically passionate."