Growing

Growing emerged in 2001 from Olympia, Washington as a largely instrumental, drone-oriented duo whose approach drew from the Velvet Underground’s foundational experiments and the subsequent refinements heard in Spacemen 3 and Acid Mothers Temple, while incorporating a subtle trace of doom-metal weight. Guitarist Joe Denardo, bassist Kevin Doria, and drummer Zack Carlson first circulated a handful of self-released cassettes before issuing their initial vinyl artifact, the 7" EP Dry Drunk on Woman, which later appeared on CD-R. In 2002 the Michigan-based micro-label Animal Disguise combined two of those cassettes—Fear of Life/Death and Five Patterns—onto one tape and simultaneously issued the double-cassette set Above/Below Sea Level, whose two components were intended to be played together in the manner of the Flaming Lips’ Zaireeka. Kranky Records then introduced the group’s debut full-length CD, The Sky’s Run into the Sea, in 2003; shortly afterward Denardo and Doria relocated to Brooklyn, prompting Carlson’s departure. Operating thereafter as a duo, the pair deepened their reliance on effects and loops to compensate for the absence of drums, resulting in 2004’s The Soul of the Rainbow and the Harmony of Light on Kranky, followed by a move to Troubleman Unlimited for the 2005 release His Return and 2006’s Color Wheel. An extended run of archival live documents that revisited their cassette-era origins preceded the 2007 studio album Vision Swim. Later that same year the duo aligned with The Social Registry, which issued one of its Social Club 7"s in early 2008 and then the concise four-song EP Lateral. After signing with Vice Records, Growing delivered the more electronic Pumps! in 2010. Following an extended hiatus, the band resurfaced in 2017 with its ninth studio album, Disorder.