PROVOKER

With their scowling post-punk anthems, you’d be forgiven for thinking Provoker came straight out of late 70s industrial England. But you’d be mistaken as group is from the San Francisco Bay Area, a region far better known for birthing psychedelic pop bands than darkwave overlords. Originally conceived by guitarist Jonathon Lopez as a solo project to compose horror film soundtracks, Provoker gradually evolved into a full band with the addition of vocalist Christian Crow Petty and bassist Wil Palacios. In this final form, they’ve released three albums on Swedish label YEAR0001 – most recently Mausoleum, which dropped in May with Kenneth Blume (aka Kenny Beats) serving as executive producer.