Photo courtesy of Nick Marshall

Over a year has passed since the fire broke out in Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse that took the lives of so many artists and music fans. One of these artists was Cash Askew, who played with Kennedy Ashlyn in the band Them Are Us Too.

The duo first met in 2012 at UC Santa Cruz, and soon learned that they shared tastes in music. Sparing no time in putting out jams, Them Are Us Too soon began playing all over the Bay. Their debut album, Remain was released when both Cash and Kennedy were just 21 years old.

“After we made a demo and did a West Coast tour, we dropped out of school. We always just wanted to make music and tour, and we were really excited to be signed to Dais and to put out our first album,” Kennedy said in an interview with AdHoc.

Making music and touring is exactly what the band went on to do. The group played all over the country, including at the Terminus Festival in Canada. Them Are Us Too’s music offered an inspired take on noisy, shoegazing sounds. Songs like “Fall” perfectly paint how skilled Cash was with using her guitar to create a wide soundscape of echoing, reverberating chords. Unfortunately, they were not able to complete a second full-length project before Cash’s passing.

Though Kennedy has continued her music career under the moniker SRSQ, she also carried on the drive to complete that unfinished sophomore album. So she went back into the studio with Cash’s stepfather, Sunny Haire, and her girlfriend Anya Dross. Now completed, Amends, arrives on June 29 on DAIS Records, three years after the label put out the band’s first album.

“Nothing will ever compensate for the loss of Cash, but as we struggle to put together the pieces of what the world is now, what life is now, I hope this record can help to fill in the gaps. And give us some amount of peace.” — Kennedy Ashlyn

Amends‘ first single, “Grey Water,” takes on the familiar ambiance-heavy sound that first propelled Them Are Us Too into the spotlight. The sound is so dreamy, propelled by some thrashing drums, that it’s easy to get lost in the music.

Cash created such a captivating atmosphere in her time with Them Are Us Too, and for that sound to be reignited and reflected with the help of her loved ones on Amends is a beautiful thing.

Photo by Kristin Cofer