"We all went through Daniel's passing," Thompson says of the recent passing of Admiral Angry's Daniel Kraus during the writing process of 'Desolo,' one of the band's collective close friends. "It's definitely a negative energy on the album for that reason among many others. But, we don't want it to be saying it's hopeless. Not only with the lyrics, but also with the music, there's definitely an awkward vibe [for the band], but we wrote these songs in context to a series of less than ideal circumstances; like you don't relate to anyone, that you're more alone than you will ever realize. That's what we tried to do with these songs."

Tying into those feelings are the appearance of Admiral Angry vocalist Chris Lindblad on two of the tracks on 'Desolo,' including the 12-minute EP-closer "Ballacaust."

NORIEGA will make its live debut in its current incarnation Thursday, Oct. 29 in Los Angeles at Relax Ba alongside Struck By Lightning (ex-members of Mouth of the Architect), Danger Invites Rescue, and Weight. The band also plans on holding a record release show closer to the release date of 'Desolo,' and is mapping out tentative touring plans.

NORIEGA live
10/29 Los Angeles, CA � Relax Bar (with Struck By Lightning, Danger Invites Rescue, Weight)