King Woman

Kristina Esfandiari launched King Woman in 2009 as a solo outlet that fused drone, shoegaze, and doom metal with ethereal elements, yet obligations to her other projects—Miserable, Dalmatian, Sugar High, and NGHTCRWLR—delayed any public material. The first release, the 2013 single “Degrida/Sick Bed,” enlisted Jess Labrador of Tied to the Branches and Chasms as backing band. Its 2014 successor, “Dove/Fond Affections,” closed the solo era; by the 2015 Doubt EP the lineup had expanded to include drummer Joey Raygoza, bassist Peter Arensdorf, and guitarist Colin Gallagher. After signing with Relapse Records in 2016, the group unveiled its debut album, the mystical and towering Created in the Image of Suffering, in early 2017 and thereby solidified its status as a full band. Four years later came the hypnotic sophomore long-player Celestial Blues, which expanded the palette with post-rock and grunge while addressing trauma and religion drawn from Esfandiari’s childhood under charismatic Christian parents.