Seratones Speak Their Piece

This year, Seratones are a band to be reckoned with.

The Shreveport, Louisiana quintet's sophomore effort Power is right up there with Radiohead’s The Bends and The Stooges’ Fun House. This is lofty praise, but when lead singer and band instigator AJ Haynes talks about her major influences, the two legendary bands are on the top of her list.

“I am still a huge Radiohead fan. I think Thom Yorke is just brilliant. I think, to me, they were what I kind of aspire to be as a band ... I was kind of taking cues from what I saw of The Stooges, because to me I think that they were such an ultimate band, as well as Radiohead,” says Haynes, 31, over the phone during an early morning call before the band head out on their upcoming tour. She continued:

“I just love it whenever you have someone who is a storyteller and an amazing character, and when you have this amazing tonal quality and musicianship, it is such a good combination. Every part is working together in service of the song. It’s really cool to be part of something like that.”

“Trees,” a track off the band's 2016 debut, Get Gone, is the bastard child of head Stooge Iggy Pop’s solo work. Bass player Adam Davis channels and then reconfigures Tony Sales' iconic “Lust For Life” bass line while dancing a nimble boogie with original guitarist and riff wizard Connor Davis (who has departed from the band).

The entire Get Gone record makes the band worth noticing. With a new lineup featuring Davis, guitarist Travis Steward, keyboardist Tyran Coker, and drummer Jesse Gabriel, Haynes and Seratones are poised to make some beautiful noise with Power.

The album's titular track, which was released by Fat Possum Records, is an epic ode to building a bridge between the less-than-stellar history of oppression and the possibility of a joyous future in the Deep South. The song shows Haynes' tremendous growth as a songwriter. The singer, who works at a counselor at one of Louisiana’s last fully functional abortion clinics, talked about her increased ability to bare her soul with her bandmates and share some very personal lyrics on Power.

“It is sometimes really hard to be honest and really vulnerable with people you have known for a long time. Thankfully, these guys, I can trust them, and they're just open to let me speak my fucking peace. They don't try to dampen it and they don't try to have me, you know, take off the edges. It's like, here's some real shit and let's talk about difficult things and make good songs,” says Haynes.

On Power, the band have achieved this goal.

Seratones are scheduled to perform Monday, August 26, at Valley Bar. Tickets are $14 to $16 via Eventbrite.

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