Powder Horns

BIO

Brett J Kent laughs as he recalls the birth of Powder Horns, the Asheville-based rock band of his creation: “I never thought I could!” 

It turns out he can. Following the lockdown of 2020 and the sudden collapse of his previous band, Brett describes that time period. “I was ready to give up. After too many disappointments and falling-outs, it would have been easy… but I knew I had some things left to say.” But Brett’s predicament was that he was a bassist who had never written a proper song. So, as a sort of challenge to himself, he decided he would pick up an electric guitar, cultivate an excess of willpower and not stop until he had something. To his surprise, what ensued was a flood of creativity. Brett unlocked something inside of himself that was completely buried. For the first time ever, he couldn’t stop the ideas from flowing out. Brett promptly began workshopping songs with a modest home studio setup, recording every instrument one at a time – including drums. 

The songs felt solid from the get-go. As it turns out, Brett realized that his long running experiences of working in record stores, music venues and recording studios instills strong ideas and values of what makes a song good. There’s no way he wouldn’t have been influenced by the 15 years spent in and around music. The main thing Brett knew was that the presence of passion in artistic expression is what distinctly separates the so called good from the so called bad. He explains, “If I am passionate about my vision from every angle. It will mean something. It will mean something to me. And perhaps it will mean something to others as well”.  This attitude pushed Brett to dig deeper into chiseling a vision of an authentic expression of self —— And so, from the crevices of his mind, Powder Horns began to spawn. He knew he had to peel back many layers of his ego and trauma responses to tap into raw emotions. “I’m going to make myself sing loudly about my deepest feelings?!? I was scared.” But he kept going. 

Lyrically, Brett managed to tap deeply into a place where he could be honest. Dealing with the suicide and death of close friends, the paranoia of hyper-vigilance, and diving into the depths of his own childhood sexual trauma – he found the truths he needed to release, through song. He had to sing – and scream – these songs, until his throat was on fire. And it enriched him. Brett was finally able to stare down his inner demons and exorcise them into songs, which are just as fierce as they are courageous. 

With lyrics and imagery flowing, Brett honed his skills as a guitarist and as a vocalist. At first, his goal was to get it all off his chest and onto homemade demos that he could listen to for a therapeutic release – the songs were good, but he knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he recorded them in a fidelity that suited his taste. With a determination to see his vision through, Brett finished fleshing out those demos and booked studio time. He was finally ready for someone to help make it better, but most importantly – he was comfortable enough to share his stories.

While rounding out Powder Horns’ live lineup, Brett linked up with fellow Asheville musician, Elijah Raymer. A drummer as unique of a musician as he is talented, Raymer hits hard, plays fast and makes his drums sing – he was the perfect fit for Powder Horns. In searching for a place to track the songs, Powder Horns found a relationship with Adam McDaniel and Alex Farrar, the studio wizards behind the boards at Asheville’s revered new recording studio, Drop of Sun. Together, they took the ideas to the finish line. Collectively, it was pure chemistry from the outset. Each had the resounding feeling that they were making a great record, and for Kent, it truly felt liberating.

After recording the bands’ first EP and their self-titled follow-up debut album, there was no slowing down Powder Horns. Before their debut full-length was even released, the band had already begun tracking their forthcoming sophomore album, Dissolution. Brett passed the bass duties off to Matt Tobia, wanting to approach this record with a raw, live band feel. In a frantic three days, Powder Horns tracked Dissolution’s seven songs in its entirety. Deviating from the bands’ traditional approach, the new album takes a different path. There are still plenty of fast, loud songs – but there’s also a lot of nuance in the songwriting. 

Album standout “Arm’s Length” is a delicately fragile centerpiece, while “Unlovers” (the album’s lead single) is a turned-up rocker that brings as much grunge and grit as the album closer “The Cloud and The Stone” brings heartfelt songwriting. Another highlight “The G.O.M.s” pummels the aural canvas midway through, with an unrelenting wash of spiraling guitars and gripping vocals. For once, the record that the band set out to make is exactly the record they made. It lives and breathes as anything can live and breathe – Brett and his bandmates were overwhelmed with the final result.

Live, their lineup is now rounded out by second guitarist Tony Bones, exerting an energy that harkens back to punk’s genesis – though it would not do justice to describe them as just punk. Powder Horns fuses punk and noise rock with an undeniable dose of power pop, resulting in bonafide earworms.

PRESS QUOTES

“…bring together punk, garage rock and noise rock sounds, alongside a discernible share of eighties-infused power pop.” – Destroy // Exist

---

MUSIC

OUT NOW: Powder Horns’ lead single “Unlovers” + official music video: https://powderhorns.fanlink.to/unlovers

---

PHOTOS