Song of the Day: Crater - Habits Die Slow

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Habits Die Slow” by Seattle duo Crater from their 2016 album, Talk To Me So I Can Fall Asleep, on Help Yourself Records.

Crater - Habits Die Slow (MP3)

Ceci Gomez and Kessiah Gordon are the ghosts in the machine known as Crater, writing and producing the songs that serve as the outfit's emotional core behind their atmospheric tunes. Founded in 2014, the Seattle duo notably picked up a touring gig with Trust about a month after their first gig, and a wave of local hype followed. Crater proceeded to gig intermittently alongside a string of singles, leading up to the final sessions for their full-length debut, this month's Talk To Me So I Can Fall Asleep. One of the tracks previewed ahead of the album's release, "Habits Die Slow" is a rare thing: a song that hits its best moments when the band breaks down, rather than builds, its layers, not least because Gomez and Gordon turn it into an enrapturing slow burn. As a slew of manipulated sounds and a stuttering trip-hop beat swirl behind her, Gomez releases one smoky line after another, imbuing her vocal performance with a knowingly baleful allure. "Habits Die Slow" might document the embers of a slowly dying flame, but the song glows with a dark radiance right up until it thrillingly dissipates at the last second.

Crater's next gig is an LP release show at Chop Suey on February 25, but before that, they'll be live on KEXP during Audioasis on Saturday, February 20, at 6:30PM. Get tickets to that 21+ Chop Suey gig here, keep up with the band on their Facebook and Soundcloud, and watch the video for "Hardly At All".