Appropriately described as Disco rock, The Guru can certainly get a crowd bobbing their heads—or dancing like maniacs. With a lunatic vocalist, a cross between Isaac Brock and Brak, the band swathes our ears with an overtly melodic mix of dueling guitars, pulsating bass, and drums straight out of boogie nights.
The guitars are absolutely amazing on “Native Sun”—intricate riffs battle for the forefront. Their melodies can be compared to riffs of bands like The Owls or Don Caballero. The Guru is able to utilize traditional jazz chords while maintaining a rock sound—tough to do. In fact, in the breakdown of Pirate’s Cove, the band draws guitar influence from the jazz standard Blue Bossa. The group seamlessly floats through time signatures like they don’t exist. In general, the band has a strong grasp on song writing. Though, at times, the guitars become a bit too much and sound like wanky blues riffing from a 70s porno. But structurally the songs are solid. I do have one cavil though: the album was mastered way too loud and at times digital clipping is apparent. But the mix itself is rather intriguing. The Guru makes great use of space, reverb, and panning.
Friday, September 30, 2011 at
Branford American Legion
243 North Main Street
Branford, CT
$8 - All Ages - Doors at 6:30, show at 7
No drinking/drugs/bullshit, there's a nice bar in the building where you can go to get you drink on. The people who run this hall are fucking awesome so respect them.
The Elm City Popfest is over. But, thanks to Mark Niciu, there are many videos from each night. Here are a couple of the videos. More can be found on February Records Facebook page.
The Inclined Plane - Killer Roentgens
Sidewalk Dave - Chord Organ Blues (Daniel Johnston Cover)
Could there be a better time to hear Fugue’s new album than the autumn? Kind of like the mosaic of leaves that swirls around one’s head, Fugue’s YEARS is often a collage of interlaced guitar, keyboard, and bass melodies that combine to give birth to some larger, unified feeling. Unlike a lot of guitar-driven instrumental rock, YEARS resists repeating simple and catchy melodic hooks; rather, the album presents kick-ass melodic lines but allows them to permutate in new shades as each song transforms.
Taken as a whole, each of the songs on YEARS generally has a melancholic quality to it, but it’s one that is complex and rich. Each of the four songs is a journey in which tempos, moods, melodies, and chord progressions are continually evolving. While Fugue impress with their compositional and instrumental virtuosity, they skillfully avoid falling into the trap of becoming over-technical showoffs. Part of the credit there must go to the drummer, who animates the music with surprisingly unconventional rhythms but pulls it off with organic ease. Additionally, for all of its cerebral quality, YEARS is still a post-rock album that will melt your brain with distortion-heavy crescendos and hypnotically charging riffs.
It was sad to hear recently that Fugue is breaking up (they have schedules for their last live shows posted on their FB page). I am, however, looking forward to hearing the new projects that Fugue’s members will inevitably get involved with. This last album speaks to both their musicianship and innovation.
High pop, indeed! High Pop are a band who channel punk, brit invasion, freak folk and a whole mess of other genres for their EP "Hippie Speed Ball". This band's recordings manage to find intricacy in their quality and mix despite being Lo-Fi. Generally speaking, I love Lo-Fi and there is no exception here! I was most impressed by how this band manages to work their medium for what it's worth. They clearly know what their equipment is capable of and play to the strengths of it. These guys have a real Ty Segal thing going on with their vocals occasionally blowing out all other instrumentation on their recordings. The results are, frankly, exciting!
The songs themselves are lean, which is great for me! I have a pretty bad case of musical ADHD which makes this band particularly favorable in my brain with song lengths averaging on 2 mins. Opener "The Shakes" belongs right where it is, as the first impression you get of this EP. The chorus is anthemic, despite having more complexity than a song of anthem caliber. I love the Ramones style "The Charm". EP closer "Crafts" is an awesome shoegaze song that gives us a little medium reminder at the finale, with a "tape malfunction" that slows to a grinding halt. Nice dismount, High Pop!
Do yourselves a favor, head to High Pop's Bandcamp site and get "Hippie Speed Ball" now.
Nostalgia: An old photograph of someone passed.Old toys of somebody grown up.A disassembled-bed in the attic.Ghost in your Basement?This four-piece, Torrington, Conn. band wields an interestingly nostalgic (yet hopeful) tone; a singular sound from people so young.But they handle it well on their recent EP “Basements.” Composed of a standard indie-rock setup, two guitars, bass, and drums, Ghost in your Basement envelops us with the sounds of yesteryear.
In 2011, most indie rock groups go for a meagerly composed and emotionally aloof tone.Ghost in your Basement is pretty much the opposite of this. They are sincere; you can tell that they put a lot of time in to their recording.In my notes, I wrote that this EP reminds me of Mogwai and Modest Mouse.But after thinking about it for a while, a better comparison would be the band Bedhead.Lush instrumental parts with vocals sparsely interwoven yields the bands beautiful soundscape. Many of the songs are slow, arpeggiated, and sad.The EP’s Lo-Fi-tone, with noises creepily reverberating in the background, creates an unsettling feeling.But just as it gets a bit too much to handle, the group changes tempos, and direction, leading into a classically driving indie-rock song.These kids certainly have a knack for writing music.While this might not be for all, it is refreshing to hear sincere indie rock.It is certainly worth a listen.
Basements EP for sale on BandCamp (Band is also selling it on Cassette at shows):
Deluxe is on the cutting edge of the 1980's vibe! If 2011 is truly the year of retro, then these fine gentleman are striking while the iron is hot. Employing the use of technologies old and new, Deluxe adorns their songs with lush instrumentation. Drum machines, synths and guitar all intermingle on the Plastic Glass single. The short story on Deluxe: Started in 2009 by Jayson Munro (The Striders, Ghost of Chance) and Dave Brook, this project was largely an idea until 2011 with the recording of several new songs. Jayson and Dave wield software like experts, as they do analogue instruments (guitar, bass, analogue synth). While no shows are currently lined up, they are working on their debut release and are hopeful to play shows in support of it. Whether you like synthy, anachronistic pop music or not; the passion embedded in the songs is undeniable. These are people who are here to create music.
Jayson Munro has a long history of writing songs, and he remains true to form with these songs. Solid, natural progressions with the icing of 80's styling make this initial single an obvious portent of what's to come. We wait patiently for Deluxe to fill our ears with a smattering of tongue-in-cheek serious music!
Since releasing their debut self-titled album a few years ago on Meteorcity, Boston heavyweights Elder took a little break before releasing their sophomore effort, “Dead Roots Stirring”, which comes out on October 25. CT Indie sent a bunch of questions to guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo (the band also includes bassist Jack Donovan and drummer Matt Couto) and here are his answers on all things concerning the band. If you like what you read here, remember they are playing this Saturday at the Cherry Street Station in Wallingford with our favorite local sleazy riff slingers NightBitch and Rhode Island’s Thrillhouse. Keep it heavy!
How does the new album differ from the previous one? How are they similar?
In one word, the new album is a lot more personal. It definitely shows a maturation and a move toward a more unique sound within the stoner rock framework, whereas our first album was more a culmination of different sounds that inspired us. Of course we've retained a lot of elements from the last album; lots of fuzz, a driving rhythm section, emphasis on “heaviness”, whatever that means... but we've also become more complex and melodic, and I think overall Dead Roots Stirring is more akin to a classic psychedelic rock record than the modern stoner/doom one.
Why the long wait between albums?
There's quite a few reasons why the new album took so long. One big thing simply had to do with our schedules. We were all going to school and working, and while Matt and Jack live in Boston, I've moved around a bit. Under those circumstances, we just weren't able to practice that often. Another reason has to do with the creative process, I think we're just slow writers and we like to let our songs evolve for a long time before we put them down in stone (or vinyl, for that matter). Lastly, we had some delays between recording, mixing and mastering, and since we're all busy we had to put it on the back burner for a while even though we were all anxious to have it released as soon as possible.
There aren’t a lot of lyrics on the album. Was this intentional? Were you trying to let your instruments communicate ideas that you couldn’t put into words?
Lyrics are always the last thing to be added to a song, and although they could be written at any point during songwriting – or even before, serving as a sort of thematic guideline – they are not the focal point of our songs. I think that's much more apparent on our first album than on Dead Roots Stirring, where the lyrics are certainly more meaningful (no Conan references!). The sparseness of lyrics is intentional in the sense that I write as many or as few as I think the song needs. I think that the music itself is much more evocative of emotions or ideas than any words. We're at the point where I might call ourselves musicians, but I'm definitely no poet, so we let our music do most of the talking.
What is the meaning of the album’s title?
Dead Roots Stirring is a reference to a feeling of rebirth and renewal that comes after a period of stagnancy, depression, hopelessness, etc. In its most literal incarnation, this is springtime, where the “dead” roots of trees are imbued with life, heralding the arrival of another stage of the eternal cycle of life and death. I think its a feeling that everyone can identify with, and it's that feeling which is the undercurrent to the album, giving it a much more uplifting tone than our previous works. If that all sounds too esoteric, the phrase actually was taken and reworded from a scene in War and Peace, which was inspiring and changing me quite a bit at the time. A lot of the lyrics on Dead Roots Stirring, including the title track itself, deal directly with timeless themes from the book.
Was it your intention to take the album in a more psychedelic direction? It’s also more melodic. Was this done intentionally?
That was 100% our intentions. In general we wanted to, and still want to continue moving in a more progressive and psychedelic direction. Elements such as melody and dynamics are so much more expressive than simple, chugging riffs – even though that will always remain a component of our sound! But as we grow individually, as musicians and collectively as a band, we need to reshape things to reflect those changes. I don't expect the Elder of 2015, if we're around that long, to sound much like the Elder of 2011.
How did the recording process go this time? What was it like working with Clay Neely?
The recording process itself went very smoothly, partly because of our preparations (as I said, the songs were fully fleshed out and ready to be recorded) and also because we connect very well with Clay on a musical basis. It was extremely helpful working with an engineer who was familiar with us live to help us tap into the sound aesthetic we were aiming for. Recording for the first time in a “real” studio was also a bit different from our other endeavors (the split with Queen Elephantine and Elder were both recorded in my basement); we had access to awesome gear and the chance to experiment with Clay's know-how.
What are the future plans for the band? More touring? Trying to make the band a full time thing?
I think our biggest ambitions right now are touring and working on new material. I'd like to keep momentum so as to avoid another huge gap between albums, but the future is too uncertain for all of us right now to say that we'll be able to make Elder into a full-time gig. In any case, we plan on touring the US and Europe at the first feasible moment!
Goatcult Presents:
Elder
NightBitch
Thrillhouse
Saturday, September 24
Cherry Street Station
491 North Cherry Street Extension
Wallingford, CT
This is the video for "Please, Come Home" by The Inclined Plane , a band you are probably not cool enough to have heard of yet. Go to their BANDCAMP to hear all of their tunes and prep yourself for the release of their new album "The Backwards Frontier" to be released on 11.11.11 on Popular Wallpaper Recordings Featuring Jenny Wad on vocals ;)
See more videos from The Inclined Plane by CLICKING HERE
The first thing that hits you is the guitar; it’s heavy and fuzzed out, like it’s bearing the weight of the world on its shoulders. Then there are the bass and drums, pounding out time at a slow, deliberate pace. And finally that voice, hits you, but it’s not your standard doom bellow, it’s warm and emotive, more folk singer, than lord of metal. What you hear sounds familiar in some ways but different in others. It may be doomy in some regards, but it definitely isn’t doom in the traditional sense.
Singer/guitarist/songwriter Patrick Walker of 40 Watt Sun wouldn’t want it any other way. You see while us critics like to label things in the most simple ways possible, artists like Walker enjoy messing with our conventions and give a totally fresh take on a very venerable type of music. In fact 40 Watt Sun, is his way of getting out of the shadow of his former band Warning, who were much respected in doom circles.
“I started Warning when I was sixteen years old. It was no longer representative of me as a person or of the music I wanted to make. It was time for me to make a clean start,” said Walker.
Warning ended in 2008 and 40 Watt Sun was started up in 2009 with the sole intention of writing honest songs that reflected his current state of mind. There are some similarities, but the differences are major. They’re more reflective of the here and now and don’t bother with conforming to certain rules of the genre.
“Well obviously I still sing the songs and write the music as I did before. And it’s “heavy”. These are, I guess, obvious but superficial similarities. I think the music is more “song-based” now; Warning was very “riff-based” wasn’t it? But I don’t like to analyze things. The music is just representative of where I am now, that’s all,” said Walker.
One thing that is evident on the band’s, which also features bassist William Spong and drummer Christian Leitch, debut release, “The Inside Room” (Metal Blade/Cyclone Empire) is that while the music on it does bear hallmarks of doom, there are little tweaks to the formula that make it totally unique. For instance, there is a subtle pop element to it, where the songs just aren’t based around the riffs. They are expertly crafted things, ones that stretch boundaries. But even though it’s poppy don’t go trying to put any labels on the music because Walker isn’t having any of that.
“I just wanted, and want, to write good songs; that’s all I was aiming for. I’ve heard “pop doom” used before actually – it’s not a new one. It just sounds like another pedantic, over-specific genrefication term to me and ultimately more than a little ridiculous,” said Walker.
The vocals are another striking feature of the album. In a genre where most vocalists need to sound angry and raw, Walker’s vocals are plaintive and emotive coming off more Michael Stipe than Messiah Marcolin. It’s this commitment to singing more naturally that gives the album more of a special quality. They’re more human. Just don’t go thinking that vocals were made a focal point of the album, because Walker sees it in a complete different way.
“Actually quite the opposite. After "Watching from a Distance" (Warning’s final album) people talked a lot about the vocals on that album and it reached the point where I felt a little uncomfortable about it; adjectives such as “dramatic” or even “theatrical” would sometimes be used. With the 40 Watt Sun record I wanted the songs to speak for themselves; I didn’t want there to be a kind of “vocal performance” at the forefront of it all. So we set the vocals back somewhat. They certainly weren’t meant to be a focal point,” said Walker.
And one more thing, don’t you dare call the record “sad”.
“I think my issue was with people labeling the record “depressing”, albeit in a “complimentary” way,” said Walker.
So, there you have it. 40 Watt Sun are creating genre free music out of the bits and pieces of different genres. By throwing out the rulebook they managed to create one of the more interesting heavy releases of the year, one that is definitely worth checking out, just like the band themselves when they play Daniel Street in Milford on September 18.
If you are a fan of heavy music, you won’t want to miss this one.
Manic Productions Presents:
40 Watt Sun
Treebeard
Sunday Sept. 18
Daniel Street
21 Daniel Street
Milford, CT
On July 29th 31 artists from across CT swapped their unfinished art and are spending the month of August transforming their new piece into a true collaboration.
Don't miss the unveiling of the finished work Saturday September 3rd @ 7 p.m.
Featuring Music by M.T. Bearington
Titles have followed up their video for Lug Me with yet a new and equally fantastic video for their song Pillowcase.
Info on Titles for those new to this sick band:
New Haven 5-piece, Titles recorded their third studio LP, Dirt Bell at various locations in Connecticut: from their skate park practice space to the guitarits' dad's furniture store, in some attics and basements and wide open spaces. The album was tracked by Titles themselves before the 12 songs were mixed by Greg Giorgio at Tarquin Studios whose previous successes include records by The National, Jónsi Birgisson and Paul Banks.
Dirt Bell takes its name from "Demon and Dirt Bell," a book by songwriter Titles' songwriter himself, Brad Amorosino. The book is an illustrated fairy tale in which a man wanders a dark world in search of a mystic bell that, when struck, rings endlessly and turns evil creatures to dust.
Titles began 5 years ago when songwriter Brad Amorosino and drummer John Miller began as a duo in 2005. The following year the band gained two members and released its debut self titled LP. They went on to release a split with fellow New Haveners, The Mountain Movers in 2007 and in 2008 they released their sophomore LP, Up with the Sun, which found itself on the iTunes Top Ten Best Alternative Albums You Didn't Hear list for 2008. Last year, guitarist/steel player Matt Wilson moved to Knoxville TN and the band was joined by keyboardist Dan Franko.
Come down to Elm Bar for an awesome night of noise pop, electronica, and good times.
The Field Recordings got a new album to check out and will most likely play a lot of material from it.
Fake Babies just finished recording a couple new tracks as well and will also be playing those that night (no links yet for the new stuff but keep your eyes and ears open, they'll be hitting soon).
Night Owls: CT melodic-hardcore/post-punk. They will be releasing their definitive EP in August and hitting the road for a few dates with Deadlights. Ex-Don’t Say I Wont
Friday, September 2nd, 2011, Indie Night @ the Oak brings:
Location:
Charter Oak Cultural Center
21 Charter Oak Ave
Hartford, CT
All Ages - 8 PM - $6 or only $5 w/ a canned good donation for Hartford Food Not Bombs
Co-headlined by Shrinnirs (aka Bimbo Shrineheads/Shrin/The Shrinnirs), this Dog-Faced Hermans-like duo starts off the night, going on at 8:00, so do not be late. Dawn Cook (vocals) and Joe Malinowski (drums) are a non-genre. Not to be missed.
Old Man Lady Luck, will be finishing the night off. Dark instrumentals, like The Notekillers slowed to a vicious crawl, setting the mood for a David Cronenberg autopsy scene. With drumming as good as Todd Trainer from Shellac, and an early Jesus Lizard feel, do yourself a favor and stay late for Old Man Lady Luck.
