With a self-titled album, a slew of EPs, and a viral “Creep” cover under their belt, California grunge-pop duo Raue have half a decade of experience when it comes to bringing their punky material to increasingly high-cap venues. Yet in a sense, it’s only getting harder to present these songs to audiences as they also inevitably get more personal. “I want listeners to feel like we’re unmasked—raw, relatable, and real,” guitarist/vocalist Paige Kalenian shared of their newest EP too scared to explain, which drops tomorrow.
The project’s four tracks strike an impressive balance of upbeat pop-punk and darkly shaded shoegaze, with opener and early single “Are You Bored Yet?” seeing Kalenian wrestle with the anxieties of maintaining a creative voice. In a sense, the playlist the duo—including drummer Jax Huckle—created for us in honor of tomorrow’s release date could serve as a set of influences on these songs (see: the grungy shoegaze of Deftones, Hum, and Title Fight). Though just as tellingly, the songs they chose are meant to signify the music that gives them the strength to continue on, the confidence to face each new crowd.
As they gear up for a tour supporting Sweet//Spine alongside wilt and sodistilled, check out their pre-show playlist below, along with some backstory on a few of their picks.
Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”
This song simply never misses. When we’re with our team and we’re all nervous before a gig, that line comes on—“I’m fucked up, homie, you fucked up / But if God got us, then we gonna be alright”—and everyone starts chanting it like a mantra. It’s a comforting reminder that everything’s gonna be OK.
Dominic Fike, “hi grace”
When we play club-sized tours, the crews are often smaller, so we end up being a lot more hands throughout the show days. I got into the habit of leaving my Airpods in while we’d carry and set up our gear. The routine started to become another version of a morning coffee helping me ease into the day. When 14 minutes first dropped (even before it hit DSPs) I had it on repeat almost every morning, helping me calmly get into the groove of things.
Ultra Q, “Waiting”
I have so much love for this band. I’ve been following them since I was, like, 12 and will die on a hill telling you how good I think their music is. “Waiting” quickly became a go-to for me since its release. I’ve got a lot of beautiful memories with my family and friends around this song, and I like to listen to it when we’re on the road to quickly transport back to the comfort of that nostalgia.
