Mother Room and Teal – photo by Lauren Luck

The Native Sound may be a New York-based record label, but they’ve been steadily releasing an diverse array of Bay Area acts for some time now, including John Vanderslice, King Woman, Unconditional Arms, and more. The label’s latest is a split cassette from two Oakland artists that take different, but equally intriguing approaches to harnessing atmosphere and noise: Mother Room and Teal.

The functionally-named Split marks the sixth release from James Meuleners’ Mother Room (in two years!), with two tracks that feel unsettling and entrancing. The haunted atmospherics convey a sense of dread, suggesting that the most disturbing sound is a barely-audible one off in the distance. By contrast, Teal’s “The Morning Pt. 1” is a melodic slice of brooding post-punk submerged in layers of noise, while part two balances its density with a dreamier quality.

Split arrives on December 11th digitally and via limited edition cassette tapes. While you pre-order it on The Native Sound’s site, you can stream our premiere of the whole thing below.