"The Paranoia Party tells the story of a confrontation with extraterrestrial life with all of the true musical mayhem it deserves — and that’s just on the surface level. Embedded in its cavorting song structures and sprawling scope, the very human feeling of dreading an existential threat makes itself and its complexity abundantly clear. The album’s finale “Cosmic Border Cop” feels terrifically on the nose in that regard. To say that borders occupy a significant place in current U.S. and global political discourse would be an understatement, and this album explores how their brutal enforcement affects the people on the other side. Crafting a work that operates on as many levels as The Paranoia Party is no small task, but Unnatural Ways founder and renowned guitarist Ava Mendoza proves more than ready. They’ve put a variety of cosmically slanted styles through a blender and laced the result with an earthy intensity, allowing for the listener to find the shining points of commonality between jazzy metal and heavy noise rock." -Captured Howls
"While it wouldn’t be dishonest to classify The Paranoia Party as a noise rock release, you’d be missing out on the electrifying jazz and metal influences present all over the album. Opener “Go Back to Space” sets the mood, morphing from mid-tempo, dissonant rock into unhinged, manic chaos. The Paranoia Party, which was mastered by Colin Marston, is a unique beast and one that will likely yield new surprises and details for many more listens."-Decibel
"With this release, Unnatural Ways aim to tackle issues plaguing the United States political realm in the current day. Mendoza explains, "The album is about aliens and being alien: political paranoia, inclusion, exclusion, migration, immigration, border crossing, alter egos and alternate realities." Not ready to succumb to the woes of the righteous fear-mongers, she notes the album's title "refers to finding celebration within the state of tension and fear we are living in."
Metallic overtones and soothing distortion held down by irresistible shifts in the backbeat and forefront riffing dissolve together in pure, noisy ear candy. Science fiction is once more a metaphorical escape from the oppression of the tyrannical governments and beliefs, dissolving into a car-crash dystopian end that leaves more questions than it answers."
-Revolver
credits
released March 22, 2019
Unnatural Ways is:
Ava Mendoza- guitar, sing, electronics
Tim Dahl (Child Abuse, Lydia Lunch Retrovirus)- bass
Sam Ospovat (Enablers)- drums, electronics
Art by Patrick Grzelewski/Orogenesis Press
Recorded by Jason Lafarge (Swans, Devendra Banhart, Opening Bell, Gnaw, Nastie Band) at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn
Mixed by Colin Marston (Gorguts, Kelly Moran, Krallice)
Mastered by Alex Theoret, Turtletone Studio, NYC
Released by Sleeping Giant Glossolalia
AVA MENDOZA is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Her guitar work has received acclaim for its
technique and viscerality. She is best known as leader of experimental rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer on guitar/voice. Performing/recording credits include work with Carla Bozulich, Fred Frith, Malcolm Mooney, Mike Watt, Nels Cline, John Zorn, and Negativland....more
Mendoza ★ Hoff ★ Revels: Echolocation, the debut album co-led by bassist Devin Hoff and myself, featuring James Brandon Lewis- tenor sax and Ches Smith- drums Ava Mendoza
supported by 15 fans who also own “The Paranoia Party”
After a precision liftoff in Tabasco and setting a course to travel the space ways from planet to planet, the album peels away through a wormhole just past Saturn in the eponymous track Mayan Space Station to journey through time and space in Canyons of Light. eric F
supported by 8 fans who also own “The Paranoia Party”
Some of the most interesting hiphop I've had to hear in years. In takes in all fields of music to create something rather unique. The mood of it is rather grim but not without hope. I'd recommend to listen to it fully in one go to get the best of it. Thibaut Devigne
A raucous adventure through noise, no wave, off-kilter DIY prog, and the absurdist side of post-punk from Pagan Athletes. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 13, 2023
You’d expect an album titled “Velociraptor” to be heavy and this doesn’t disappoint, as it’s jam-packed with serrated noise & feedback. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 22, 2023