In the great Pacific Northwest, nestled in Portland, Oregon, lives dark rock outfit Hoaxed. Paving their way in a super robust music scene, especially metal, the group is inspired to be just a part of the evolution of their corner of the world. The trio, Kat Keo (Vocals / Guitars), Kim Coffel (Drums), and newcomer April Dimmick (Bass / Vocals), are in it to win it and carving out a nice career thus far.
“We’re super aware that each of our talents and contributions are what share the band. We couldn’t do it alone. We each have really different influences and starting points when it comes to music, and the combination of all those bits are what make the uniqueness of Hoaxed. It’s always been tough to categorize what we’re creating. Dark rock feels like the most applicable label, but we know everyone takes their own meaning from the songs and the band. Overall, Hoaxed is something we naturally created. It feels like the right expression for us; we use this project to explore the darker side.”
Their newest album, Death Knocks, was released in February via Relapse Records. It took three years to get everything just right, from choosing the right mixer that understood the vibe they wanted, to navigating major life-changing moments, such as Coffel recording while being pregnant, to then bringing her son into the world. They maintain that even the “bad parts” were great because they went through them together and came out better because of it.
“Those three years were so transformative for us. We took that time to understand what the Hoaxed sound is, with all three of us driving the creative. We had a lot of experiences on tour that helped shape what we shared in this release. It’s been great to see all those learnings manifest into an album and to finally share that music!”
The whole process started with the writing of “The Seas Fall Silent.” It took almost a year to materialize, writing in between tours and giving it a wide breadth to take shape. It became the whole foundation of the record. Once that was completed, the rest fell into place. Lyrically, the album touches on themes such as morality and what comes after, while also exploring the stories of women and characters who live close to death and its aftermath.
“Kat took a lot of inspiration from the current world when writing the lyrics. There’s so much darkness and oppression; exploring those themes is our way of quantifying our reality. On our past records, we’ve touched on our fascination with death and darkness, but we really leaned into it for this one. Yes, there is a theme in the lyrics on feminine strength. It’s just our reality; we’re women with a voice, and we find a lot of comfort in exploring other characters that are similar. We used this record to explore those ideas and face some of our personal darkness.”
The trio can’t wait to hit the road some more. They are itching to get overseas and tour outside of North America. They love playing these songs live and are beyond excited to be able to share them with the world. It’s a message full of inspiration and hope for a blazing and exciting future.
“The album was a pretty vulnerable share. We explored a lot of themes and really dug in deep. There’s definitely pride in allowing yourself to be that real in the art that you’re creating. We’re just proud of letting ourselves pursue this dream. It takes a lot of sacrifice, but it’s worth it. These past three years, we’ve all grown and learned so much together, and we’ve become stronger because of it.”
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