Chapel Hill musician Reese McHenry released her first solo record, No Dados, on April 12 on the new Chapel Hill-based record label Suah Sounds.
The 13-song, 43-minute album is the fifth release on Suah Sounds and is a garage rock album filled with powerful vocals and classic rock and roll guitar licks. Some standout songs on the record include the opening track “Magnolia Tree” and “Summer Sheets.”
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani and his father Raymond Venutolo-Mantovani created Suah Sounds in 2018. McHenry and the Mantovani’s had met and become friendly in the music scene, leading to the release of No Dados on the label.
“After I moved to Chapel Hill from New York City, I realized [McHenry] was impossible to avoid. She was always playing everywhere,” Michael Ventulo Mantovani said. “Obviously, her voice is the first thing anybody notices about her, but she’s also a world class songwriter.”
No Dados was recorded at Fidelitorium in Kernersville with Missy Thangs in August 2018. The record received notable press from sources such as Pitchfork, Paste Magazine and Indy Weekly. Bandcamp named the record album of the day upon its release.
“With No Dados, her solo debut, McHenry delivers a cohesive and thrilling exhibition of her raw talent,” Allison Hussey wrote in a Pitchfork album review.
In 2009, McHenry was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Her out-of-rhythm heart caused multiple strokes and congestive heart failure.
“I didn’t realize at the time that these crazy episodes I was having were strokes. I thought it was from all this new medication I was on,” McHenry said.
After her strokes, she had to relearn how to do everyday activities, which included singing and playing guitar. Recently, McHenry has been taking vocal lessons to strengthen her voice and learn how to maintain it while on tour.
McHenry moved to Chapel Hill in 2000 from Wisconsin and has made a name for herself in the strong arts-based community.
“The music community in the Triangle is crazy supportive and really pushes me to be better,” McHenry said. “It pushed me to put more thought and time into the music I make and the way I show up for my fellow artists.”
She has also collaborated with the popular local band Spider Bags. Together they put out the record Bad Girl in 2017 and recently went on tour together, opening for Mike Krol and playing a few showcases at South by Southwest.
“Spider Bags is the greatest band on earth. [Members] were patient and supportive when I was so sick. The record Bad Girl took us seven years to make,” McHenry said. “The tour with them was like spending 12 days with your good buds, doing the thing you love the most in the world.”
McHenry writes her songs after hearing a cool line or after coming up with a word or storyline; she then plays her acoustic guitar and tries to find a riff to match.
“If it’s good, I won’t stop writing until it’s done. It can be, at times, obsessive and time-consuming,” McHenry said. “This album is the first under my own name, and I could see every aspect of the writing, recording, production and art layout before we started recording.”
McHenry toured the country this spring in support of No Dados with 14 headlining shows. Her new album can be found on all streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp.
