Ramonda Hammer’s Honest “Hoax” and “Better View” Off Forthcoming Album

With combustive guitars and steady percussion, Devin Davis— singer and frontwoman of Ramonda Hammer— belts out the first honest words from new single “Hoax,” boldly declaring: “We will have to save ourselves.”

In the grunge laced track, the dichotomized loneliness and resounding independence blasts through Davis’ vocals alongside guitarist Justin Geter, bassist Andy Hengl, and drummer Mark Edwards. Echoed words play over and over through the three-minute and fifteen second track, finishing off with a definitive “No one is coming, no one.”

A triumphant return for Ramonda Hammer, the LA-based quartet will release their second full-length album I Never Wanted Company on June 14th, continuing the theme of relationships and Davis’ internalized doubts across ten tracks. The album addresses her own dependence on others head on, detailing her efforts to take back control and other stark observations of her life. About the album, she states, “I’m an anxious person. It helps me to play loud rock music with gritty sounds and brash lyrics. Sometimes you need to scream to wake up.”

Their newest release “Better View” echoes the same, rather sardonic, view of the complicated nuances in relationships. “I’m trying to show you a better view” is groaned against the accompanying guitar and drums. Cheeky lyrics like “I adore you better when we’re talking shit outside” give the track a feeling of love as well as self-deprecation, her self-awareness shining through each line.

“Better View” and unreleased tracks “Relativity” and “A Dramatization” have Davis revisiting a prior relationship with a binary partner. Davis sings, “I want to love myself the most, and still get fucked by you the most” and later “I did a hard thing, but you don’t get hard now.” Davis explains, "Those are pretty sexual things. I don’t write lyrics about sex too much, but it’s an important part of attraction, understanding identity, and the difference between hetero and queer relationships— especially a queer relationship with a person who doesn't identify with the body they were born into.”

Be sure to keep an eye out for Ramonda Hammer’s I Never Wanted Company, set to release next month through New Professor Music.