Peak performance

>> Richmond, VA’s Denali likes it glacial

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Hyped in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, as the current big thing, Denali (the Athapascan word for North America’s highest peak) combines melancholic guitar passion with sampled, synthesized calm. Frontwoman Maura Davis’s gorgeous vocals straddle delicacy and force, while brother Keeley spots with generous guitar and keys. The Mirror had a chat with Keeley, who also fronts Richmond rockers Engine Down.

Mirror: How did the Sparklehorse connection come about? They’re also from Richmond, right?
Keeley Davis: Yeah. Cam, our guitarist, used to intern at Sound of Music, the big studio in town, so he gave our demos to the owner, Miguel, who really liked it and passed it to [Sparklehorse singer-songwriter] Mark Linkous. I didn’t really know Sparklehorse much beforehand but Miguel was telling me, “That guy wants to work with you, he has really interesting, experimental ideas in recording.” So I listened to his record and thought, “Oh. Wow. We should try this out.”

M: I know you chose the band name because it suggests something cold and remote, but how did you settle on Denali?
KD: Cam was telling us that Denali is the one mountain his mother won’t climb. She’s a mountain climber but she just wouldn’t do that one because it’s so tall and extremely dangerous at the top because of the cold, so we were excited about that whole Acme idea. And you can’t really box us into a genre based on that name, you just have to listen to us, which is great. We wanna be able to experiment, no matter what.

M: Is Mount McKinley commonly known as Denali, or is it an obscure alternate?
KD: I guess it’s common because we keep finding products named Denali. There’s Denali ice cream, there’s a GMC truck called Denali, and it’s, like, the biggest SUV I’ve ever seen. Some people really like to inform us what else is called Denali, like it’s their goal in life. I’m, like, “Oh, that’s great, a motorcycle, I’ll have to get one.” :

With 90 Day Men and the Secrets at Casa del Popolo on Friday, August 2, 9pm, $10

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