Quattracenta releasing new J Robbins-produced LP on Bob Nastanovich's (Pavement) label

Baltimore trio Quattracenta — aka guitarist/vocalist Sarah Matas (Home Recording Project), bassist Christian Sturgis (The Uniform, Lo Moda), and drummer Andrea Shearer (Saddle of Centaur, Pariah Piranha) — are following their 2017, Dischord-distributed self-titled debut with Quattracenta II on October 16 via Bob Nastanovich‘s (Pavement, Silver Jews) Brokers Tip label. Like the debut, it was produced by J Robbins (Jawbox, Government Issue.

The band cite such influences as Slint, Earth, PJ Harvey, and The Birthday Party, all of which you can hear coming through in the brooding, minimal new single “What There Is.” “‘What There Is’ was written surrounded by the feelings of desperation and hopelessness that so many of us are experiencing right now, as we endure blow after blow and fight to survive amidst increasing oppression,” the band says. “The lyrics are intentionally abstract, given the scope and constant evolution of issues that those marginalized are facing, while the music helps to unify these things and emote a generalized feeling surrounding them. It begins as ominous and foreboding, and later emerges into a sudden cacophony to mark the culmination of these emotions having reached a breaking point.”

We also asked Bob Nastanovich to tell us a bit about the band, and he said:

Steve Johnson, from 20/20 Records and Tapes, sent me Quattracenta’s self-titled EP in 2018. I dug it and played a track on a music podcast I do with Mike Hogan called 3songspod (@3songspod). The intense tuneage they deliver gripped me and I imagined how formidable they’d be live. Kindly, Sarah Matas, part of the ‘Q’s’ powerhouse, reached out with interest in my non-profit, all proceeds to the artists label, Brokers Tip Records. Together, we picked two songs “What There Is” and “Bleeding Black” to slap on Quattracenta’s first 7” record. Quattracenta is a striking Baltimore band. Like the city in which they reside, Quattracenta impugns and are pungent like a heap of blackened onions or a finished bushel of blue crabs. It’s a pleasure to be associated with them.

As Bob said, “What There Is” comes backed by “Bleeding Black” on a new 7″ that’s out now, and you can order that and pre-order the full record here.