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Welcome to the Family Zoo

by Weigh Down

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Matt
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  • Full Digital Discography

    14
    releases

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Welcome to the Family Zoo, The Captain Will Be Your Guide, Love Buttons, Dying of Sunsets - Preview Sampler, Amnesia Haze, Live At Secret Project Robot, Pinky Swear, TABLES, and 6 more. , and , .

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1.
Where The Lifeless Go 03:31
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2.
Take It Slow 03:30
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3.
Michu Bean 02:40
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4.
The Hawaiian Martyr 02:59
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5.
A New Plan For Old Siam 03:00
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6.
Wooden Monsters 03:24
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7.
The Who And The Fox 02:52
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8.
Death The Dry Hand 03:40
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9.
The Blizzard Whore 03:25
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10.
Bend Any Way You Can 03:51
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11.
J. Calamity 03:29
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about

The Weigh Down arose from the charred remains of Seagrave and Leaves of Lothlorien in December of 1998. They released Good People in the Making in early 2001 on Meeting & Passing Records. After touring extensively throughout the country, opening up for such acts as Bright Eyes, Frank Black, Pedro the Lion, Cursive, and the Dismemberment Plan, Matt brought a set of narratively linked songs to the table, giving focus to the band, and Welcome to the Family Zoo was brought into the light. Weigh Down worked on this material for the next two years and the song writing process became increasingly collaborative. Looking to add new tones and textures, they took on keyboardist Emily Lee in late 2003. They set up camp in Mitch Rackin's Tone Float Studio in Chinatown and began recording Welcome to the Family Zoo in April. Weigh Down worked on the record through 2004 (into 2005, actually), taking the time to make sure everything sounded exactly as intended. And now, finally finding a home in Safety Meeting Records, the end result of several years' work is ready to be embraced by all.

All Music Guide Review:
The band's second and, it seems, last album, Welcome to the Family Zoo showcases an approach to rock & roll not much in fashion early in the 21st century, eschewing post-punk nervousness and mall emo anthems for lower-key pleasures. If anything the songs on Welcome to the Family Zoo sort into two different general styles, either a full-on jaunty, almost carnivalesque romp on the one hand or a calmer approach that seems to find a midpoint between the Band's famous roots fusions and the winsome air of the less wacky side of the Elephant 6 label. There's nothing earth-shattering about Weigh Down's work, instead aiming for tunes and performances that you can imagine them wanting to play in clubs for friends, family and those out for a good listen in their style. Keyboards take the lead on a number of songs such as Take It Slow, which lives up to its name in its embrace of classic songwriting as such, while chunkier arrangements as on Death and the Dry Hand keep things varied. If this is the band's swan song, it's no bad way to bow out. --Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

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released February 5, 2021

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Safety Meeting Records New Haven, Connecticut

Based out of New Haven, CT.

pressing psychedelia, punk, weirdo pop, and other left of the dial projects

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