Don't Let the Tattoos and Deathly Imagery Fool You, Skull Diver Is All About Family

Welcome to the psychedelic nightmares of Karen Carpenter and Glenn Danzig’s love child.

IMAGE: Sam Gehrke.

Who: Aly Payne (piano, guitar, vocals), Mandy Payne (bass, synths, vocals), Zanny Geffel (drums).

Sounds like: The psychedelic nightmares of Karen Carpenter and Glenn Danzig's love child.

For fans of: Kate Bush, Chelsea Wolfe, Ghost.

Anyone fortunate enough to hang with the Payne sisters is in for a shock. Though there's barely an inch of untattooed flesh between them, the first thing that strikes you is how authentic they are—not as black-lace biker-rockers, but as a close-knit family.

"Our dad had this grandiose idea of us being a family band," Aly Payne says from a table at B-Side Tavern. "Every year for birthdays or Christmas, we got instruments and lessons. He was really encouraging."

After spending their early adulthood apart while Mandy lived in New Zealand, the sisters resumed a collaboration in Portland that began as children. They moved into the same house and worked on aural soundscapes and tonal sketches. Eventually they found their ideal drummer, Alexandra Geffel, through a mutual friend, and expanded to a traditional rock band, which they named Skull Diver.

They produced and recorded their debut album themselves, spending months fine-tuning the results. By the time it was released, the Payne sisters were already enticed by the opposite idea.

"We really wanted to capture the little mistakes," Mandy Payne says. "Everything that makes it real, human."

Indeed, the upcoming Chemical Tomb is a much different record than its predecessor. The ominous tones under the fuzzy blues of "Team Stella Fell From Grace" implies a gravity that supersedes anything from Skull Diver's debut. The stumbled pace is soon abandoned for the sparkly goth-pop chug of "Bad Star." The death-and-roses imagery Skull Diver embraces for cover art seems like a direct contrast to the warm affection on display when meeting the Paynes, but that juxtaposition is what makes them so interesting.

"It's really cute," Mandy Payne says. "Our mom doesn't understand that the lyrics are really counterintuitive to what we grew up with. She'll tell me about going around town in her convertible blasting Skull Diver. I have to be like, 'Mom, that song says "fuck"—a lot!'" 

SEE IT: Skull Diver plays Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave, with Candace, on Friday, Jan. 20. 9 pm. $10. 21+.

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