Razor Braids Tickets

What does it sound like to piece yourself back together? How do you distill into melodies the struggle of reclaiming ownership of your life in the wake of trauma? To encapsulate moments where words alone seem to fail, Razor Braids have found their own language.

Finding strength during hard times has been at the core of the Razor Braids ethos since its formation. In 2017, Hollye Bynum, lead vocalist and bassist, taught herself to play as she recovered from a fall and subsequent brain injury that left her mostly bedridden. Over the next two years, the rest of the lineup came to fruition: Janie Peacock on lead guitar, Jilly Karande on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Hannah Nichols on drums. Their first year as a band was spent in constant motion - headlining shows at Mercury Lounge and Brooklyn Bowl and playing Rough Trade in support of duo Pinky Pinky. But come spring 2020, things for Razor Braids, like so many other things, were forced to a halt.

In the first several months of the pandemic, the band was spread across the country and the release of their first single “Nashville” was relegated from a show at Baby’s Alright and east-coast tour to an all-day live stream. “I still wanted to honor the song and the hard work that we had put into it,” Bynum says of “Nashville,” recorded and produced by Emmy Award winning engineers, Jeremy Lee Given and Mark Leombardi. “I still wanted people to hear it – actually more so than before.” The song, steeped in the afterglow of a whirlwind fling, is one that makes listeners “feel like you’re a part of something,” as Peacock puts it. That slice of escapism was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from local publications like Post-Trash, Audiofemme and Look at My Records.

The momentum from their single release propelled Razor Braids directly into the recording of their first full-length album, “I Could Cry Right Now If You Wanted Me To” - a more mature, and often darker piece of work than the pastel sweetness of “Nashville.” After months apart, the band was able to safely get back together, energized and driven to bring to life the deeply personal collection of songs, which includes early Razor Braids tracks fans may recognize from shows as well as unheard, new songs entirely written and created during the pandemic. Recorded in practice spaces and Airbnb living rooms, “I Could Cry” is a collection of varied emotional fractals that, collaged together, crescendo into moments of power and self realization and suddenly fall into an out-of-body numbness. It is an album that is unafraid to become acquainted with gnarled corners of the mind.

Despite its difficult subject matter - abuse, heartbreak, isolation - “I Could Cry” never lavishes too far into melodrama. “No, I’m not dead.” Byum asserts in the opening verse of the album’s lead single. But with a touch of sardonicism she quickly shrugs it off, “Not quite, not yet.” There is a constant push and pull to the record as the songs subvert structural and melodic expectations. The fierce, driving rhythm section led by Nichols refuses to let up underneath a wry retelling of a soured romance. A wall of feedback suddenly gives way to lush, interlocking vocal harmonies from Bynum and Karande. The sweet melancholy of Peacock’s slide guitar weaves in and out of a refrain.

Headlining and selling out their first three 2021 NYC shows, the four-piece has come home to the stage as a more cohesive unit with more confidence and sense of purpose than ever before. Their return has included headlining beloved venues like The Sultan Room, TV Eye, The Broadway, and Pianos, selling out Union Pool twice - once for the “I Could Cry…” album release show and once for a show sponsored by Hornitos Tequila, and playing Baby’s All Right in support of viral pop star DeathbyRomy. With each scream and snare hit, Razor Braids have honed a unique sound that is a testament to the redemptive power and catharsis of female friendship.