Religious to Damn was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

fronted by Afghan-American songwriter Zohra Atash. Atash formed the group in 2009 in collaboration with several additional musicians and producers including Joshua Strachan and

Jim Sclavunos James Sclavunos is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a drummer, having been a member of two seminal no wave groups in the late 1970s, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks and 8 Eyed Spy, both a ...

. Their music was described by the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' as "a mix of desert strum, hypnotic pulse, spirited-away synths, Lynchian weirdness, and Fleetwood Maximalism".

History

Religious to Damn made their live debut at the Wierd Records weekly party in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2010, they released their first single, "Falls Down Again", which featured production and drumming from Sclavunos (a member of

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...

and

Grinderman Grinderman was an Australian-American rock band that formed in London, England, in 2006. The band included Nick Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola, guitar, backing vocals), Martyn P ...

, also known for his work with

the Vanity Set The Vanity Set is an indie rock group of mostly second-generation Greek-Americans formed in New York City in 2000. Led by Jim Sclavunos, the drummer/percussionist with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, they describe their music as a blend of "low a ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, 8 Eyed Spy,

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement. Background Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartment. She starte ...

and

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

). The single was mixed by Warren Defever of

His Name Is Alive His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Wa ...

. Following that release, Atash formed what would become the core of the group with Strachan (also of Vaura and

Blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

) acting as full-time collaborator and co-producer, and Charlie Schmid on drums and percussion. The band's first album release as a full band, ''Glass Prayer'', was mixed by

Brandon Curtis Brandon Curtis is the vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist in the space rock band The Secret Machines. Originally from Norman, Oklahoma, he was friends with members of The Flaming Lips, The Chainsaw Kittens and Tripping Daisy. Brandon and his brothe ...

and included

Jesse Krakow Jesse Krakow (born April 12, 1977) is an American musician, bassist, producer, and composer based in New York City. Career Krakow has toured with Shudder to Think, playing bass on their 2009 live album ''Live From Home''. He collaborated with ...

on bass guitar for several tracks and Tamaryn providing guest vocals on two songs. It was released digitally in early May 2010 by Troubleman, and on vinyl in December 2010 by M'Ladys. ''Glass Prayer'' was named Rough Trade's Album of the Week and was promoted with several music videos, including one directed by Jason Akira Somma. Live dates in support of the record included performances with

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, (born January 30) known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans ...

, Tamaryn and

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work blends elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music, folk. Growing up in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began ...

. Shortly after the release of ''Glass Prayer'', Atash also acted as touring vocalist for

A Storm of Light A Storm of Light is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 2008. They have been categorized as post-rock, post-metal, doom metal, sludge metal and hard rock, but have moved toward a darker and heavier metal sound. Rock-A-Ro ...

, performing parts live that had originally been recorded by Jarboe and

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

. In January 2012, the band self-released the single "Lovely Day". The song showcased a more electronic sound which was assisted by Led Er Est's Shawn O'Sullivan. In October 2012,

Brooklyn Vegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...

announced that Religious to Damn had disbanded/retired and that Atash and Strachan had reconfigured under the name Azar Swan.Pearis, Bill
Brooklyn Vegan

Discography

Studio albums

*''Glass Prayer'' (2010, M'Lady's Records)

Singles

*"Falls Down Again" (2010, M'Lady's Records) *"Lovely Day" (2012, self-released)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn