Portland, Oregon's Rhododendron have joined The Flenser, releasing first single "Firmament" from upcoming album Ascent Effort today.
The band combine noise and prog influences to create sweeping epics of music. On Ascent Effort, the record documents a period of change defined as much by instability as progress, where confusion and renewal unfold at the same pace.
Formed in 2019 while the band’s members were still in high school, Rhododendron’s Ezra Chong (guitar, vocals), Gage Walker (bass), and Noah Mortola (drums) set out to push their musical limits without regard for genre boundaries or audience expectation. For Ascent Effort, the band joined the roster of The Flenser, aligning with a label that has long championed artists who work in tension rather than comfort.
In the past 7 years the trio has developed a sound rooted in technical precision and repetition. Drawing from the angular experimentation of underground rock in the 1980s and 1990s alongside elements of jazz, ambient, and progressive music, their compositions are deliberate with intensity. Riffs fracture and reform, rhythms lock into patterns only to break apart, and extended passages build pressure before shifting direction.
Performing regularly in Portland, the band has cultivated an intense and loyal local following. The live setting hardened the material. Songs grew heavier, sharper, more physical through repetition and high volume.
About the single, bassist Gage Walker reflects:
“Firmament was the first song written for Ascent Effort and ultimately chosen to open the record for its slow build of tension and similarity to the ethos of our previous works, serving as a perfect natural continuation from where we left off. It’s most emblematic with its abstract 'triptych' song structure, where three distinct sections are tethered together, but with significantly more refinement in how each section blends with the next. We usually don’t commit to having songs remain fully instrumental, but we don’t want to disturb when the emotional spirit of the song is conveyed fully through its instrumental foundation.” - Gage Walker
Ascent Effort will be out May 15th, 2026 on The Flenser.
Listen to "Firmament" and pre-order Vinyl, CDs, Tapes, and merch through the links below and on nowflensing.com.
