Faetooth’s music creates a world where beauty grows alongside decay. The Los Angeles band deem it “fairy doom,” a phrase they coined as teenagers in their local DIY music scene. Doom metal gives their music force, with shoegaze blurring the harder edges. As the band explains, the phrase “wasn’t this big drawn-out idea.” They created it off the cuff and ran with it.
The body runs through Faetooth’s music like a recurring character, present on their 2022 debut, Remnants of the Vessel, and carried into their latest album, last year’s Labyrinthine. Flesh changes and carries memories. “What exists inside of your body is everything that you feel,” bassist and vocalist Jenna Garcia says. On “La Sorcière,” they take inspiration from the 1973 animated film Belladonna of Sadness, whose heroine survives sexual violence before reclaiming her sexuality and becoming a witch. Garcia shifts the focus toward her power, describing the song as being about “her empowerment rather than her suffering.”
Faetooth think very visually, too. “There’s a mood board for everything,” they explain. The practice helps communicate something that can be difficult to put into words: “It’s so hard to explain to someone else what you’re seeing in your mind’s eye.” Those images then travel to the people working alongside them, giving everyone a sense of the world Faetooth have conjured.
That world has traveled a long way from Los Angeles. Faetooth recently played KEXP and looked out at audiences across Europe, realizing, as they put it, “we aren’t just a local LA band anymore.” Listeners have sent handwritten letters describing how the band’s music helped them survive difficult periods, while trans fans have told Faetooth that their music supported them through their transitions. The band sees speaking up for the communities they care about as inseparable from making art. “Music is political,” they say. “I couldn’t think of a better place than the stage to speak up for what you believe in.”
Invisible Oranges caught up with Garcia, guitarist and vocalist Ari May, and drummer Rah Kanan about the ideas behind Labyrinthine and how their friendship affects the way they work together. They discussed life on the road and their place as queer musicians in heavy music. They answered most questions collectively, often building on one another’s thoughts in a way that spoke to their bond as friends and as a band. Their next songs are already waiting to be recorded, and we got the lowdown on what the new album sounds like.
…
…
You guys pioneered “fairy doom.” Can you talk a bit about what that term means to you? And has what it means changed as the band has evolved?
Ari: We came up with it quickly because it sounded cool and we just ran with it. It was never supposed to be a genre, but it was eye-catching and we thought it would be good.
Jenna: The way I think about it, when the term shoegaze got popular and the term got coined, it took on a life of its own and became its own thing. “Fairy doom” wasn’t this big, drawn-out idea. We came up with it off the cuff and it resonated with us, so we ran with it.
You used a collaborative mood board while making Labyrinthine. What was that process actually like for the three of you, and did you find it useful enough that you’d want to bring it into the next record, or was it something that belonged specifically to Labyrinthine?
Rah: There’s a mood board for everything.
Ari: We are very visual. It’s so hard to explain to someone else what you’re seeing in your mind’s eye, and I think especially since we have similar taste, it compiles really nicely together. You can send it out to the whole team, music video director, producer. It sets the tone for what you’re moving into next.
Faetooth’s songs have a recurring relationship with the body. Bodies rot, open and transform. How did the body become such an important way for you to write about emotions and what’s happening internally?
Jenna: What exists inside of your body is everything that you feel.
Jenna, you wrote the lyrics to “La Sorcière,” and there’s so much in there about persecution, shame and martyrdom. What were you hoping to communicate through that song, and was there something you wanted listeners to take away from the story?
Jenna: It’s mostly about Belladonna of Sadness, a 1973 animated Japanese film. It’s a very psychedelic movie. The plot follows a French maiden who weds a knight and experiences horrific sexual assault. After that, she goes through this psychedelic reclamation of her sexuality, becomes a witch and seeks vengeance. In the end she is persecuted and dies, but in the song I flip it to focus on her power, making it about her empowerment rather than her suffering.
How did the relationship with The Flenser first come about? They have such a distinct roster and identity as a label. What made it feel like the right home for Faetooth, and what has working with them been like?
Faetooth: They have been extremely welcoming and we are just so thankful to be working with them. We have always admired the label and it is an honor to join the family. It doesn’t feel like just a label, they feel like friends. We knew we wanted to reach out to them, and when we played Roadburn Festival that really solidified us working together. They also have a really eclectic roster, and we love their vision and the way they have curated the label.
I watched your KEXP session, and you guys have such a commanding stage presence, especially for music that can be so intimate and atmospheric. What was that experience like for you?
Faetooth: Surreal. It was the biggest honor ever. It was so easy and the crew was so welcoming. The volunteers were so sweet. Everyone made it so comfortable, like they weren’t just working the event, they genuinely supported us. It had been on our bucket list, and we were so glad to perform these new songs that people probably hadn’t even seen live footage of us playing. What KEXP does for music and culture is so important and allows people to have such an organic introduction to different types of music.
In terms of playing onstage, is it ever nerve-racking? Or does it feel like second nature at this point?
Faetooth: It’s second nature. It’s only nerve-racking when family is there.
What was the experience like performing at major European heavy music festivals like Roadburn, Hellfest and Download Festival?
Ari: Magical. We have never been so spoiled. Our music brought us there to have these incredible experiences that have been so rewarding. There was so much excitement in the air. It was so amazing to see our audience on the other side of the world and realize we aren’t just a local LA band anymore.
You’ve talked about wanting your shows to foster community, particularly for LGBTQ fans. What does making a metal show feel safe and welcoming actually mean to you beyond the idea of everyone being welcome?
Jenna: Metal is such a male-dominated environment. It is so important and cool to give a heavy space to groups who have historically been excluded from it.
You guys have spent a lot of time on the road lately. Has there been a point where you have to balance your momentum around the band with taking care of yourselves? Is there anything specific you’ve learned in terms of self-care or how you approach each other on the road to make touring more sustainable?
Faetooth: We are always learning how to balance touring and self-care. We try our best to keep up with our routines and remind ourselves that we are humans with needs. Some things that help us are taking the mornings to ourselves, spending the evenings doing things we enjoy and remembering we are out there with our best friends. We go out to eat together, have fun and touch some grass.
…
…
As Faetooth have gotten more attention, have you noticed a gap between the band people think you are and the band you actually are? What do people tend to get wrong about you guys in terms of misconceptions?
Faetooth: People may place their expectations of what doom should be, assuming it will be dark and tough, but we prefer not to limit ourselves to what our genre traditionally looks like. We are whole humans. Some days we are full of energy, some days we are tired. We do whatever we want on stage, and that is what makes us stand out in this genre.
As Faetooth has grown, you’ve found yourselves with more people listening to what you have to say. How important is it to you to use that reach to draw attention to issues and communities you care about?
Faetooth: It’s literally the point of being in a band. Music is political. Sorry to people who disagree, but history proves my point. When you see a visual artist not speaking up, it can feel really unsettling in terms of who you are supporting, because art is a depiction of what you care about. I couldn’t think of a better place than the stage to speak up for what you believe in. Music is magical and beautiful because it’s rooted in what we care about most.
Was there a metal record that changed the way each of you approaches your instruments? Not necessarily your favorite record, but a record that inspired you to want to experiment further with your sound?
Jenna: Calling All Cars on the Vegas Strip by Jucifer was the first sludgy album I ever heard, and there is so much going on. There are punk parts, trip-hop elements. It changed the way my brain understands music. You can play anything and make it heavy. There are no limitations.
When one of you brings in the beginnings of a song, how does it develop once everyone starts working on it? Did anything on Labyrinthine change significantly along the way?
Rah: Not really. If we change anything, it’s mostly a time signature or the key of a song, maybe the tempo, but a song is never rewritten. It only grows.
Ari, when you listen back to Labyrinthine, is there a guitar part or a song where you feel like you pushed yourself somewhere you hadn’t gone before as a guitar player?
Ari: Absolutely. Our producer, Joseph Calleiro, really pushed us to try different things and see what stuck, but most importantly to see what felt like us and what came naturally. I really wanted to expand and learn more in the process between writing our two albums, developing dynamics and honing in on our sound. We really pushed to have guitar leads.
What have been some of your most meaningful fan interactions?
Faetooth: We have received handwritten letters about how our music helped someone survive through hard times, trans friends telling us our music supported their transition. What means the most to us is knowing we were able to hold someone’s hand through a hard time and that someone was brave enough to tell us that.
Is there a particular song you especially enjoy playing live, and what is it about that song that makes it stand out onstage?
Ari: It depends on the night. It has its cycles. It comes down to how we are feeling and what’s going on in the world. It’s always nice to see the reaction and watch how it lands with the audience.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, and you’ve heard from listeners who say Faetooth’s music has helped them survive incredibly difficult periods in their lives. What have you learned in your own lives that you’d want to share with fans who might be struggling?
Faetooth: As artists, we write about our mental health and inner turmoil all of the time. Having a creative outlet where you can be transparent and express yourself is so important.
You mentioned that you’re heading back into the studio very soon. How far along are you with the new material, and is there anything you can tell us about what you’re working on or where Faetooth might be headed next musically?
Faetooth: The songs are finished and will be recorded in September and October! They are danceable, heavy, devastating and have even more of a live feel.
Looking back so far, what have been some of the most significant experiences you’ve had together because of Faetooth?
Faetooth: Getting to experience this journey with each other. Before we were ever bandmates we were friends, and that is what makes this dream a reality.
…
Labyrinthine is available now via The Flenser.
