When you hear Necromoon, you might not know the genre. But you know the mood.

“I do think we fall into the shoegaze pond, but we’re indie rock nerds with a shoegaze blanket,” drummer James Wadsworth said. “We love Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter. We love shoegaze, too, the greats like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine and all that stuff. We didn’t want to be your average shoegaze band.”

They are not your average band, and when you see them live that is evident. With lights turned down, Wadsworth’s drumming fades into the sonic backdrop spawned by Connor Corwin’s guitar work and Tessa Brumbeloe melodic voice and bass.

“We put a lot of effort into our live shows,” Wadsworth said, noting it can often be difficult to tell when one song ends and another begins. “We practice hard and are very mindful of the flow of our set. We don’t like to talk and a lot of people don’t really want to hear you talk, especially if you’re a small band.”

On Friday, Aug. 18, they’ll perform some entirely new songs at The Brass Rail as they celebrate the release of Nature Makes Our Graves for Us. The night gets under way for those 21 and over at 9:45 p.m. with local group Leones and Coffin Problem out of Grand Rapids.

3 is the magic number

Necromoon actually began as a solo project for Wadsworth, much like his project I Swallowed the Moon. 

While working on the music a few years back, he gave Corwin a listen to what he been working on.

“He approached me and was like, ‘Hey, let’s turn this into a real band.’ I said, ‘That sounds crazy and good.’ ” Wadsworth said.

Wadsworth then approached longtime friend Brumbeloe, whom he had vowed he’d been in a band with. The three were also joined by Victor Gomez and Will Heingartner and released I’m So Lucky to Die Here in August 2019.

The quintet played just three shows before the pandemic hit, upending the world and Necromoon. Gomez would leave the group, things would not work out with his replacement, and Heingartner also stepped away.

“The day Will quit, we went to Sweetwater and bought a Bass VI and started what everyone now knows to be Necromoon,” Wadsworth said.

Necromoon became Brumbeloe, Corwin, and Wadsworth, and their first release was the single “Meredith” on Oct. 6, 2020. They also released “Warren” that year. 

The next three singles “Exister,” “Red Sky,” and “Chrysalis” would be part of the album Spirit Fair, released in September 2021.

Cyclical concept

For Nature Makes Our Graves for Us, the three traveled to Earth Analog in Tolono, Illinois, to work with Zac Montez of Time Well Recordings in early 2022. They created 12 songs mastered by Will Riefler that Wadsworth is proud to release into the world Aug. 18.

“We write songs that we’re like, ‘Yeah, we like this.’ ” Wadsworth said. “Obviously, if other people like it, that’s great. We are humbled by the reception that we’ve received from the two singles we’ve released (‘Orange Peel’ and ‘It Was Good To See You’), let alone honored to work with Zac Montez. For the kind of band that we are, there’s almost no better producer to work with. We’re super fortunate.”

Jared Gorsuch of local band Observer made the nearly four-trip to Tolono with the group and was able to contribute on the song “Glowing.”

“It is a beautiful song, I love it so much,” Wadsworth said of nine-minute song. “Jared plays a floor tom with a tambourine on it and a snare drum on the whole back half of that. We recorded that live.”

Following the subdued “Glowing,” Necromoon fires things right back up on the raucous “Gloomspore.” 

Each song on album has its own feel, but each is a component of a larger picture, showcased on the closer “Plague Wagon,” which opens very serene before things get ratcheted up, and you get a sense of déjà vu.

“It’s kind of the same thing over and over again, and then it leads into this part at the end that ends up wrapping the album in on itself,” Wadsworth said of the track. “The album starts out the way it ends. There’s themes with everything in these albums. 

“From the drumming standpoint, a lot of them are infinite loops. If you were to cut those out, they would just go on forever. It’s cyclical, like nature makes our graves for us.”

Tightening bond

Necromoon is able to make large concept albums thanks to their talent as a whole and Corwin’s ability to do a little bit of everything, including playing piano on “Waylaid.”

“Connor is the maestro of the group,” Wadsworth said. “Connor and Tessa are multi-instrumentalists, but Connor is the full-on. You know the phrase, ‘Jack of all trades, master of none.’ I would argue he is the ‘Jack of all trades, master of all.’ On the album, he recorded piano, synth, guitar, bass, vocals — everything but drums. Same with Tessa, outside of piano. They’re both insanely talented. I’m grateful to work with both of them.”

Like most in town, each member has something going on outside of Necromoon. Wadsworth is a common sight behind the kit, also working with Loomspore and I Swallowed the Moon and filling in for Thinning and The Meat Flowers when needed. Corwin is also a part of Thinning, Loomspore, and Quiet/Creator, and Brumbeloe is with soul.crushr. 

But in the end, everything circles back to Necromoon.

“All three of us in Necromoon want this to be our main path,” Wadsworth said. “Necromoon is our main baby. As far as all of our bands are concerned, this is our main priority. As far as Connor and I view it, as many hours as we put into music itself, overall we are honing our craft.”

The group has been busy on the road this summer and will embark on more dates this fall. According to Wadsworth, touring is critical for the band.

“Being in a band is very tough,” he said. “Booking when no one knows who you are is tough. Showing up, getting out of the van, and talking to strangers six, seven nights in a row is tough. It’s hard to have the energy for all of that, let alone moving all the gear, playing a show. 

“We’ve seen a lot of progress and met a lot of cool folks and played a lot of cool places. We’re making friends and connections.”

Following some upcoming dates, they’ll likely take some time to write songs for another album. 

Until they circle back around with another batch of songs, you can marinate in what they’ve created with Nature Makes Our Graves for Us.