“The Paranoia Party tells the story of a confrontation with extraterrestrial life with all of the true musical mayhem it deserves — and that’s just on the surface level. Embedded in its cavorting song structures and sprawling scope, the very human feeling of dreading an existential threat makes itself and its complexity abundantly clear. The album’s finale “Cosmic Border Cop” feels terrifically on the nose in that regard. To say that borders occupy a significant place in current U.S. and global political discourse would be an understatement, and this album explores how their brutal enforcement affects the people on the other side. Crafting a work that operates on as many levels as The Paranoia Party is no small task, but Unnatural Ways founder and renowned guitarist Ava Mendoza proves more than ready.” –Captured Howls

“… it’s Brooklyn-via-Oakland six-stringer Ava Mendoza deconstructing of blues and punk into brutal shredfests that’s causing a ruckus in NYC’s DIY hubs. (Unnatural Ways) effortlessly bounce from the noisy din of Sonic Youth’s heavy space-rock jams, Black Flag’s prog-jazz instrumental freak-outs to the outlier twang damage of Fred Frith“ -Noisey.Vice

“Metallic overtones and soothing distortion held down by irresistible shifts in the backbeat and forefront riffing dissolve together in pure, noisy ear candy. Science fiction is once more a metaphorical escape from the oppression of the tyrannical governments and beliefs, dissolving into a car-crash dystopian end that leaves more questions than it answers; as the record’s opener, listeners can trust they’ll be drawn deep into the conceptual nightmare and rewarded greatly with the aural payoff of Mendoza and co.’s singular talents.”-Revolve sr

“the metal-jazz guitarist Ava Mendoza closed the night with her trio, Unnatural Ways, playing loose and charging originals that started with a drone of guitar effects and gently draped cymbal sounds, then lurched into slashing power chords. On “Alien Goo,” Ms. Mendoza sang in a soaring alto, stepping away from the mike occasionally to do some two-handed, corkscrew shredding toward the top of the guitar’s neck.” –NY Times

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Our newest record, The Paranoia Party is out now on Sleeping Giant Glossolalia. Get it HERE.

The Facts: Unnatural Ways is a three piece American band formed in 2012 by guitarist/vocalist Ava Mendoza. The group calls Brooklyn, NY home, where it plays many local shows each year. UW also keeps busy on the road and has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, often surrounding festival performances such as the Moers Festival (Germany), Victoriaville/FIMAV (Canada), and Jazz em Agosto (Portugal). The band has two full length albums on labels Tzadik and New Atlantis, and a third pending release on Sleeping Giant Glossolalia.

Over their years of playing together the group has developed a deeply personal sound; raw, heavy and never far from an absurd nervous breakdown. Drawing from their backgrounds in noise rock, free jazz, and metal the band pushes the boundaries of written music to put on powerful and unpredictable live shows. Consistent lyrical themes include: political paranoia, inclusion/exclusion, alter egos and alternate realities. A funny and blunt celebration of the best and worst of the modern American landscape.

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DISCOGRAPHY
UNNATURAL WAYS- S/T
Their self-titled debut LP was issued in April 2015 on New Atlantis (Microwaves, Upsilon Acrux, Microwaves, William Hooker, Elliott Sharp). ***LPSs SOLD OUT. Digital files available HERE

UNNATURAL WAYS- WE ALIENS
Their second release, We Aliens, was released on John Zorn’s Tzadik label in August 2016. CDs available HERE. Write ava (dot) mendoza (at) gmail.com for digital files.

UNNATURAL WAYS- THE PARANOIA PARTY
Record #3 released March 2019 on Sleeping Giant Glossolalia (Multicult, Mick Barr, Skryptor). Available HERE.