Stay Sharp
Four Songs
Monkey Wrench; 2008
Hardcore and punk aren’t noted for being the most positive or optimistic of genres. Not that they’re intentionally angry, frustrated, or disaffected forms of music, but more that they do require a certain level of aggravation in order to be fully developed and appreciated. Granted, the source and/or recipient of that aggression might not be the healthiest, but it doesn’t make the feelings any less valid. But it’s rare to come across a band as young and raw as Stay Sharp whose music evokes the required emotional rawness, but is coupled with a relational awareness and realism that much more adult that their years would suggest. Introducing themselves to the world with their Four Songs EP, this Philly four-piece has put together an appropriately titled four-song project that comes across as a complete eight-minute story-cycle chronicling conversations the protagonist has with his adversary. Addressing themes like conquering depression (“Winning Is Everything”), breaking codependency (“Hatfield of Dreams”), confronting a loved one (“Sign It”), and defeating apathy (“Charge The Mound”), each track gallops along at a classic East Coast punk speed and achieves a state of barely controlled frenzy that manages to keep the lyrical content from potentially wallowing in its own misery. This is a solid first effort from a band that’s tackling dense material with a very mature perspective.
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Jumpercable
EP
Monkey Wrench; 2008
The immediate appeal of balls-to-the-wall hardcore is that it presents the core tenets of the genre in all of its unfiltered glory. Guitar, bass, drums, and vocals come together as a singular furious voice, intent of expressing the ferociousness of the music and lyrics in a tightly wound and concise package, free of exterior trappings. But this reviewer’s chief concern is that there are times when those trappings are rather necessary, as they can often provide some stability to an otherwise no-holds-barred genre. Thus, what’s at issue with EP from New Jersey’s own Jumpercable is not that their 9-song, 10-minute effort isn’t a worthy and worthwhile addition to the ranks of hardcore, but that it’s all over before the listener can actually appreciate what’s just happened. And maybe that’s the attraction here: these four guys rock, rock hard, and rock quickly, leaving little room for wasted time or extraneous fluff. Yet, it’s the longest tracks on EP that are the best and brightest – “No Headlights” (1:51) and “9 on the Tension Scale” (1:50) find the band moving musically in all of the right directions, as they give themselves the space to write hooks, choruses, and breakdowns, all of which are essential elements to hardcore. So, if we’re all lucky, Jumpercable will continue to grow as a band and we’ll be treated to another collection of their intense brand of hardcore, but let’s hope they give us a larger sample next time.
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Fresh Faces and Profound Performances
An Interview with Blind Pilot
There’s a lot to be mocked in contemporary folk music, what with the abundance of well-marketed, pretentious hacks and their three-chord, gag-me-with-a-spoon depressing love ballads. Then again, when any given genre reaches a certain level of popular acceptance, the core tenets of that style are going to be abducted by the mainstream for artistic exploitation. So how does a scene recover from such an occurrence? How does a folk act even attempt to make music without subjecting themselves to unfair criticism, comparisons, and quick dismissals? Well, if you’re the Portland, OR-based duo-turned-band Blind Pilot, you hitch up your pants like a big boy (or girl), compose some beautiful tunes that defy lazy associations, and present your sound to the world with an innocent strength that awes listeners and concertgoers. Thus, when presented with the opportunity to interview Israel Nebeker, the group’s primary songwriter, I jumped at the chance to do so.
APN: Blind Pilot seems to have turned the traditional folk singer/songwriter genre on its ear. Your music comes across as simple and sweet, yet so aware and world-weary, and you manage to accomplish this without sounding simpering or cynical. What does the songwriting process look like for you?
Israel Nebeker (IN): I’m glad that all those things come across to you. I’m not trying to make music that is turning anything on its ear. Songwriting is a really simple process for me, yet the hardest thing I try to do: I get an idea, and if it’s good enough I spend a day or two or three or four and live with it and work it and do nothing else ’til it’s done. It’s not plodding though; it’s fast with ideas. As far as intent, I really just want to make music that is honest enough to me that it moves me, so that it might move other people too. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Crash
Pony Ride
Rykodisc; 2008
There are host of organizations out there designed to prevent, curtail, and/or put a stop to major forms of abuse that exist in the world. Animals have PETA and the SPCA, the environment has Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, and American citizens have the ACLU, while the rest of the world has Amnesty International – all designed to be the advocates for those who do not have the ability to protect themselves. So, who’s going to come together to protect music fans from crappy retro-cool groups? Granted, it might be a bit over-the-top and ridiculous to compare fan rights abuses human/animal rights abuses (or to even claim that music fans have “rights”), but this music reviewer is tired of subjecting his ears to yet another band’s lame attempts to strip-mine of the past in order to look hip in the present.
Sadly, record labels insist on churning out this schlock for the already deaf and dumb average American music fan, including their most recent offering Pony Ride from The Crash. Hailing from Finland, this four-piece merges together ABBA-aping string samples and keyboard swells with lame, jangling Brit-pop to create a sound that comes across as initially catchy, but becomes increasingly annoying as you realize how derivative it is. Amazingly, this is the type of trendy music that’s perfectly matched for inclusion in commercials that have been demographically matched to the newest chic product: aka you’ll want to throw the remote control through the screen after you’ve been bombarded by it for 2 weeks. The songs are either simpering, overly sweet efforts to pen “Solid Gold”-styled love songs for the ‘00s (“Grace” and “Stalker” come to mind) or barely passable indie pop tracks with faux angst (the title track and “Filthy Flower” are good examples). I’m sure that the four men of The Crash mean well, but these attempts at crafting finger-snapping, toe-tapping pop tunes come across as hackneyed and less than memorable.
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Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies
Bluebird
Breakout; 2008
Do the terms “folk,” “country,” “alt-country,” and their various synonyms mean anything anymore, or have they all been swirled together under the moniker “Americana”? While there are intensely nerdy musicologists among us who could debate the finer lines of separation between those cooperative (and often competitive) genres, it remains to be seen and heard whether or not any musician can set out to perform in one exclusive style without subconsciously dabbling heavily in other related sounds. Even worse are reviews like this one where the writer often make heavy-handed and clumsy comparisons between the music under examination and whatever vaguely related act might be on hand. It’s not that we’re intentionally being lazy with our musical associations, but that there is little overt difference between many of these acts in the current landscape.
One side of this discussion declares that the blurring of such lines is of great benefit, as this has brought together music fans who might never have willingly crossed their imaginary lines of taste. In contrast, others claim that doing so only produces a bland, homogenized scene that’s a shadow of its former self, weakening them all beyond recognition. In the middle stands a band like Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies, willing to embrace the debate with a hearty reverence and able to produce delectable songs that reverberate with strength, swagger, and sensitivity. All of the aforementioned styles find room on the group’s sophomore album, Bluebird, managing to give each ample room to breathe and live. “Your Brother, The Poet” and “Adeline” are lovely, intimate acoustic tracks, while “Over And Again” and the title track ring with the emotional weight of classic country. Across the aisle, “Morning Cigarettes” and “Sophia” evoke the more rock-meets-country aspects of alt-country, and to top it all off, “High School Drugs” and “Glory Hallelujah” would feel right at home on a Pat Green or Robert Earl Keen record. Though some might balk and blanch at the fractured sonic ideas of such a description, Bluebird is a remarkably balanced effort from such a young singer/songwriter and his band – Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies are able to make it work.
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