PLAYGROUND BOSTON

Memoryhouse - Photo Credit: Adrian Joseph Vieni

Great Scott continued their epic summer line up this past Monday with a killer triple bill featuring local act Avoxblue opening up for Long Island’s Twin Sister and Memoryhouse, a dream-pop trio from Ontario.

Avoxblue, the electronic solo project of Cambridge-based Jimmy Rossi Jr., provided a pleasantly solid opening act for this night of dreamy, ambient, mood music. Set up behind his laptop and other musical equipment, his droning sounds had the crowd bopping their heads along to his experimental beats and grooves.  Avoxblue played a short set but was able to gather the attention of both headliners who were out in the crowd watching his performance. The early arriving crowd at Great Scott gave Avoxblue his love, and Avoxblue returned the favor by closing out with a great rendition of his track “TimeWaves.” An EP dropping in the fall should be something to look forward to from this talented solo act.

Twin Sister - Photo Credit: Nir Landau of Foundwaves.com

Twin Sister performed next. This was their third show in Boston in the last six months – the band’s relentless touring and critical acclaim has earned them quite a following as the venue reached its peak audience during Twin Sister’s set.  The band showed a more confident and raucous vibe than they did in their previous performances at TT the Bear’s and The Middle East. Lead singer Andrea Estella led the band through an inspired performance of “Lady Daydream” to open, as her glass of whiskey and neon pink pocketbook rested at her feet during the performance. Estella brings an “I just walked up from the bar” accessibility to the band but it is the cohesiveness of the whole group together that really makes Twin Sister something to write home about. Their two EP’s this year, Color Your Life and Vampires with Dreaming Kids have received well-deserved massive acclaim, and the band’s live performance is equally as impressive. Lead guitarist Eric Cardona (totally thought he was Jewish, guess not) turned in an inspired performance. His distorted guitar solos took over on improvised versions of “Milk and Honey” and “Other Side of your Face” The addition of Cardona’s shredding is a welcome weapon in the Twin Sister arsenal. This might have been your last chance to catch Twin Sister before they move onto a certain bigger venue about half a mile down Comm Ave.

Twin Sister Live @ Great Scott 8/9
Video courtesy of Michael Marrotta of the Boston Phoenix

Memoryhouse headlined the show, and even though they suffered a little from some of the crowd trickling out after Twin Sister’s performance, you would never have known it. Memoryhouse really stole the show this night. The band’s debut EP The Years clocks in at a dainty 14 minutes long, which is even more surprising considering the solid 45 minutes the band clocked in during their set. (Download the EP for free here!) Another band in the Cocteau Twins / Mazzy Star inspired dream pop mold, Memoryhouse’s fresh take on the genre features a more rhythmic backdrop and a more in-your-face guitar punch than other bands of that style. They even finished their set with a crowd pleasing cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep.” This was the first stop on a brand new US tour for the Ontario trio, and it should be the start of a long and productive career making music for this experimental, yet listenable band.  An added bonus, and further incentive to catch Memoryhouse next time they come around – lead singer Denise Nouvion’s dance moves are unmatched by anyone in indie music today.

Memoryhouse Covering My Bloody Valentine, Live @ Great Scott 8/9
Video Courtesy of Liz Pelly of The Pelly Twins Blog

Check out Foundwaves’ full gallery of Twin Sister and Memoryhouse!

Avoxblue

Twin Sister

Memoryhouse

Great Scott

“Waiter/Guitarist/Music Producer seeks female teacher, preferably teaching in a rough area, to form one of the most buzzed about bands of 2k10. Must like KoRn.” Not only is that the start to a potentially awesome fairy tale, but it is also the basic circumstances under which Sleigh Bells were formed. Working as a waiter, guitarist/producer Derek Miller encountered Alexis Krauss as she ate lunch with her mother early in 2009. Fast forward to now, and this former school teacher/waiter combo combine to form the hottest act in America right now.

Sleigh Bells - Photo Credit: Kyle Dean Reinhard

Sleigh Bells brought their hard rocking, abrasive sound to the Royale last week as part of a killer double bill with South African rap stars Die Antwoord. Sleigh Bells‘ live performance has helped transform them from local bar band to national act, currently signed to MIA’s N.E.E.T. Recordings, and Thursday night at Royale they did not disappoint. The band played for an energy packed 40 minute set, as they played through eight of the ten tracks on their debut album Treats, along with one currently unreleased song. With a back drop of strobe lights and an eager crowd before them, vocalist Alexis Krauss jumped around the stage, doused the fans with water, and crowd surfed her way into the audience’s heart as she sang the energetic anthems that have made Sleigh Bells a popular choice in both raucous bars and spin classes alike. Guitarist Derek Miller mostly stayed in the back and shredded away on his red Gibson as he let Krauss pander to the crowd – but it’s Miller’s riffs and song writing ability that have helped catapult Sleigh Bells to the heights they now reach.

Die Antwoord - Photo Credit: Exile On Moan Street

Foolishly, much of the crowd left after the Sleigh Bells performance and missed an opportunity to see Die Antwoord do their thing on stage. Die Antwoord is a three piece rap collective from South Africa. Charismatic lead singer Ninja looks like Dolph Lundgren minus 20 lbs of muscle, while his female counter part Yo-Landi Vi$$er looks like a shrunken down Lady Gaga. The two played off each other brilliantly as a mostly reluctant crowd was quick to come around to the band and their “Zef” stylings. The band opened with their hit single “Enter The Ninja” and turned in a set that had everyone urban dictonary’ing Zef upon their return home.

Ear drums pounding and caked in sweat, the crowd at Royale this night was treated to an excellent double bill. Both bands then made their way to New York to play the M.I.A curated HARD festival where, by all accounts, they stole the show from the truffle fry eating curator. It won’t be surprising to see both these acts in much bigger venues on their next trip though town

Sleigh Bells – “Treats” Live @ Royale, 7/22 – Video c/o Barelytomson

Die Antwoord - Photo Credit: Gemma Simone

Sleigh Bells

Die Antwoord

Royale

Destroy Babylon - Photo by Sheryl Lanzel

Yes, I’m pretty sure they ran the recording of “I’m on a BOAT!” during the set change….

But that truly wasn’t the highlight of the night’s voyage around the bay, which was filled with frivolity and fluids (of the alcoholic variety), set to the disarming sway of the vessel and inspirational performances by two of Boston’s finest groups of groovesmiths.

The Macrotones (Check out that friggin' sunset!)

The night’s opener, The Macrotones, are admittedly a little hard to pin down sonically. Obviously the creative solos and refreshing changes in leads between their horn players require some improvisation, but to call them a “jam band” really undersells the elaborateness of their ensemble sections… not to mention the vast array of influences as they dip into the wells of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Reggae, and even Celtic styles – all the while providing a steady thump that kept
listeners’ feet shaking the upper deck!

And shake it did! With a full house up top filled with semi-random cheers at the particularly rousing moments of the performances, the bands incessantly continued their cavorting with admirable fearlessness as the boat –quite literally– rocked in the waters on a backdrop of a vivid sunset over the Boston skyline.

Destroy Babylon

As the second and final band on the bill, Destroy Babylon began their set with four well-placed and well-played originals to warm the crowd back up against the ocean breeze. Even though I love the Clash at least as much as the next guy, I was quite impressed by their original material – filled with extra-intricate harmonies, adrenalized backbeats, and very satisfying guitar tones to round off a very tasteful and appropriate prelude for their cover set.

Inevitably, that favorably-anticipated moment arrived for us all to hear London Calling, in its entirety, but what I wasn’t expecting was to hear some medleys and segues tacked on and scattered about the various London Calling favorites, such as DB-covering-The Clash-covering-Toots and other Clash favorites from Super Black Market Clash, Sandinista!, Combat Rock, and their self-titled debut. These boys know and love their Clash!

It’s easy to go on about a great pair of bands, but a very big hats-off is deserved towards Rock On! Concerts for putting together an entire summer’s worth of similar boat-shows, dubbed appropriately, “Concert Cruises.” Looking at the future for these cruises is just shy of mouth-watering, especially considering the upcoming performances by Township (7/16… Oh, and Electric Six will be there, too), and The Slackers (9/10). (Click dates for ticket links)

(Ed. note: Couldn’t find any video of the Cruise, but did find this one of Destroy Babylon and The Macrotones performing “Rudie Can’t Fail” and a little bit of “White Riot” the following night down at the Brooklyn Bowl)

Destroy Babylon

The Macrotones

Rock On!

Lady Lamb The Beekeeper

Last Thursday, Church celebrated the beginning of summer (only a week late) with a Beach Party, presented by Agent Bishop Productions. Hawaiian shirts, leis and fake tattoos dotted the bar and pool tables as the audience was treated to 4 of the best female fronted bands New England has to offer.

St. Helena - Photo by Perez

First up was St. Helena, a five piece with an interesting, eclectic mix of sounds ranging from the bubblegum pop sensibilities of The Beatles or Dr. Dog to more moody, soulful tunes. Frontman Patrick Teahen took the lead on many of their songs, but those sung by keyboardist Magen Tracy had a more introspective feel, reminiscent of Tidal era Fiona apple minus the pretention. (In case you were wondering, that’s a very good thing.)

St. Helena – “Superheroes Make Mistakes” – Slow Jack
[PGB Track Of The Week #6]

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After St. Helena, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper trotted up on stage. An unassuming young woman with giant black glasses resting on her nose, Aly Spaltro was the belle of the ball. She smiled and introduced herself: “Hi, I’m Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and this is my band,” she said with a wave of her hand to the empty stage behind her. Those who were not immediately wooed by her charm became enthralled as soon as she began to sing. A very big voice comes out of that little woman. She oscillates from beautifully constructed metaphors [I want to touch you like the sea touches the soil – I want to hold you like the milk holds the spoil] to statements so obvious that they become stunning [My hair was long – so I fucking cut it.] She commanded the audience with her every move.

Aloud - Photo by JustBill

Next up was rock and roll quartet Aloud. By now, Aloud should be familiar to anyone who lives in Boston and has ears. They were touting the upcoming release of their new record Exile, coming out this September. Along with offering a presale, Aloud played several songs from the new record. “I’m about to say the four words that no audience wants to hear,” Guitarist Henry Beguiristain smiled at the crowd, “We have new songs.” The audience fake-groaned (or perhaps really groaned), and one fan screamed “Marriage has ruined this band!” (in reference to the recent marriage of singer/guitarists Beguiristain and Jen de la Osa.) Aloud’s performance was unconventional to say the least: Like St Helena, they mix light, airy power pop songs that are reminiscent of Phantom Planet (also a good thing, in case you were wondering) with more subtle, instrumentally driven songs. At one point, De la Osa and Beguiristain leapt off the stage into the crowd and played standing and sitting on the club floor respectively.

Aloud – “When The Ants Attack The Queen” – Fan The Fury
[PGB Track Of The Week #28]

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Aloud finished their set by calling up all of the ladies of the evening (not ladies-of-the-evening, rather all the ladies that were on the bill that night) to join them in a rendition of The Supremes’ “Can’t Hurry Love.” (Video courtesy of Michael Epstein from TheMotionSick Youtube Channel)

Naked On Roller Skates - Photo by Steve Wollkind

The last act of the night was Naked On Roller Skates. Travis Richter, drummer for Aloud pulled double duty as lead guitarist for the final band as they played impossibly catchy rock tunes with attitude to spare. NORS’s powerful vocals and strong hooks make them seem as if they were plucked from the soundtrack of a teen comedy about believing in yourself. Once they get rocking, it’s impossible to not find your head bobbing and toe tapping.

St. Helena

Lady Lamb The Beekeeper

Aloud

Naked On Roller Skates

Agent Bishop Productions

Church

Photo by Heather Canterbury

Aloud AND The Beatings on the same bill? You’re kidding, right? Its not uncommon for two bands who have had such a profound impact on the Boston music scene in the past decade to share a bill, but it’s rare when they exhibit such a glaring contrast in styles. Aloud is straight-up rock – catchy hooks, singalong vocals, crunchy riffs. The Beatings are a bit more on the indie-noise-rock side of the spectrum – feedback and distortion used as instrumentation, droning verses giving away to screaming choruses, that type of thing. What might have initially seemed like an odd pairing ended up a match made in heaven though, as both bands had the entire venue howling for more! Apologies to Hello Ninja and Action Camp, who opened the night but I was unfortunately not able to catch.

Photo by Mick Murray

Aloud got things started with a sweet “whoa-oh” singalong intro to “Sometimes I Feel Like a Vampire” as they took the stage and strapped their guitars on. They followed that up with another song off their latest record, “Fan The Fury,” before launching into some older stuff, beginning with a more upbeat and rockin’ version of “All I Can Do.” Everything gets harder, louder, and more intense when Aloud plays live – you think they’re studio stuff is good, you NEED to get your ass down to one of their shows. Lights flashing, guitars blasting, drums crashing – Aloud is easily one of the best live acts in the city.

Aloud – “Fan The Fury” – Live 2009

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Highlights of Aloud’s set included a stripped-down mandolin version of “The Last Time,” guest-clappers, the poppy love song “You Got Me Wrong” taking on power-balladesque tendencies when played live, and an amazing performance of “When The Ants Attack the Queen” (with all levels jacked up to 11) that absolutely tore the place down to close out their set. The band makes excellent use of back-and-forth vocals and harmonies between singers Henry Beguiristain and Jen De La Osa – a complementary style that is reflected in their guitar technique as well. The raw emotion in De La Osa’s voice contrasts perfectly with Beguiristain’s smooth and polished tones, making for amazing harmonies that strike you as somewhat harsh before you realize how well they fit together. Aloud plays upbeat rock songs that wouldn’t normally fit the definition of ‘catchy,’ but nonetheless are still stuck in your mind days after hearing them.

Photo by Annie Burns

But wait, isn’t that Jesse James from The Lights Out playing drums for Aloud? Yes! Jesse sat in on skins for the evening as Aloud is currently auditioning new drummers, and he nailed every last note. It was clear to all in attendance how much of a blast he was having – sure he’s in a successful Boston band, but that didn’t stop him taking the opportunity to rock out with one of his favorite local acts on the side!

Check out this little summary video of Aloud’s set, courtesy of Aloud’s Youtube channel:

The Beatings certainly had a tough act to follow after Aloud’s energetic performance, but the 10+ year veterans of the Boston rock scene were more than up to the challenge. They had a much different vibe, but from the first angst-drenched wail from the depths of frontman Eldridge Rodriguez’s soul the crowd was hooked. A Beatings set blasts forth a veritable wall of sound onto the crowd, a wall chipped away at by hammering drums and bone-chilling distortion effects until it comes crashing down in a brilliant crescendo of sweet, sweet noise.

The Beatings – “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained” – Late Season Kids

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The highlight of any Beatings set is the seamless integration between three different vocalists. The aforementioned Rodriguez can belt out heartfelt wails with the best of them, while bassist Erin Dalbec croons out sweet melodies filled with an incredibly appealing suggestiveness. For the record, I’m not usually a fan of that indie-monotone vocal style (a la Interpol) exhibited by guitarist Tony Skalicky, but the stark contrast between his voice and the other singers made it work incredibly well. In a comedy skit, Skalicky would play the straight man, setting up the joke for Rodriguez to deliver the hilarious punchline. This combination of vastly different vocal styles, laced over dissonance and looping guitars creates the signature style that The Beatings have embraced… and mastered.

Photo by Jay Breitling

Aloud

The Beatings

Great Scott

Upon seeing their live performance, Kingsley Flood immediately impressed me with their self-dubbed “Post-Americana” homage to acoustic blues, bluegrass, and Dixieland jazz, all the while filling their tasteful arrangements with strong lyrical imagery, and Dust Windows, the recorded version of this band’s musical arsenal, did not disappoint.

“Cathedral Walls,” starting in at track three, heralds in the next seven tracks that, during every playback, actually made me stop whatever I was doing and just listen.  “Cathedral Walls” opens with a great mellotron-sounding pad that gives way to vocalist Naseem Khuri’s signature acoustic guitar.  Khuri’s scratchy, Dylan-esque (but in pitch!) voice settles in to set the pace on verse one, and the song just builds from there. Drummer Will Davies enters the first chorus and leaves out a much anticipated second stroke, which, accident or not, gives me goose bumps every time it happens.  What follows is a very satisfying, four-minute, musical payoff. Nick Balkin’s bass part is very mid-rangy, but serves the song in a deliciously utilitarian & reliable way. The mandolin & guitar melodies are very sweet and catchy, and the background vocals are excellently written. Khuri’s final benediction before the chorus is his shortest but most rewarding lyric in the song:  “…. so call it a prayer / call it a lie / but nobody gets out of life alive.”

Kingsley Flood – “Cathedral Walls”

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Diversity in instrumentation is the rule for this album, as it is filled to the brim with tasty melodic supplements — like the fantastically intonated banjo in “Back in the Back,” or the delectable keyboards, violin melodies, and trumpet solos in “A Little Too Old.” Michael Spaly’s guitar playing, particularly the chirps in “A Little Too Old,” clean & delicate swells in “Good Enough,” and emotionally rich vibrato in “Roll of the Dice,” consistently satisfy from the album’s beginning to end.

However, such an assortment of fine ear candy runs the risk of sounding too compartmentalized when the stream of players appear and disappear all too suddenly. There’s also a slightly edged texture to the recording, whether it’s from a lack of appropriate warmth that I’m used to hearing from such wholesome, acoustic instruments, or it it’s from a shortness in the room or reverb sound. There’s definitely a one-at-a-time, living room sound to the record, and in my opinion, a voice like Khuri’s doesn’t sit well in your living room. Khuri’s voice comes from someplace else – he challenges you with songs like “Good Enough” and “Eventually”, slipping out of the cracks in the sidewalk where your emotions made you too afraid to look, or behind the cupboard doors, holding back all of those haunting memories you should have forgiven or gotten over.

Kingsley Flood – “A Little Too Old”

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I recommend that you give both “Devil’s Arms” and “Eventually” a dedicated listen-through just to appropriately savor the fantastic vocals in the background. In addition, all of the master musicians in Kingsley Flood deliver a laundry list of high-powered, instrumental rave-ups in songs like the fast-paced “When I Grow Up” and “Roll of the Dice” that are also worthy of repeated listenings.

Kingsley Flood – “When I Grow Up”

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Kingsley Flood has already played several dates outside of the area this year, including D.C. and Philly.  Their show at home in Boston to commemorate this release is slated for April 3rd at The Middle East Upstairs, so grab your friends, grab a ride to The Middle East, grab a spot in line at the merch table, and grab your copy of Kingsley Flood’s Dust Windows.

Kingsley Flood CD Release with Cassavettes, Grownup Noise, and Spouse Saturday 4/3 @ Middle East Upstairs

Kingsley Flood’s “Roll of the Dice” was selected as PGB Track of the Week #39 in March 2010

Purchase Dust Windows at cdbaby.com

Kingsley Flood

Spoon - photo by Tim Bugbee

Spoon’s upward trajectory has been pretty impressive to watch, with their course self-righted after the disastrous foray into the major label feeding frenzy that bit into and spit out A Series of Sneaks, via the mouth of Elektra.  Of course, that’s old news, being released over a dozen years ago, and on the accumulated strengths of the last three records they have steadily marched into the rarefied strata of performing on Saturday Night Live and selling out large theaters – the night before saw them play a sold-out Radio City Music Hall!  This is a band whose strengths lie in their tight songwriting styles and a keen eye for a strong lyrical turn of phrase, as well as leader Britt Daniel’s looks. The teen-aged girls to the left of me made no bones about their carnal desires regarding Britt, shouting out a request (or was that a threat?) that certainly wouldn’t get printed in any family papers.  Likewise, the crowd seemed to have a good amount of women who might have been those girls’ mothers, hanging out in the back of room and dancing to the music.  Spoon: a band that can bridge generations easily.

Spoon - Photo by Tim Bugbee

Spoon’s new record, Transference, has been out for a couple of months and has been their fastest selling record to date, hitting #4 on the Billboard charts upon the first week of its release.  Unsurprisingly, the set didn’t shy away from the newer material (seven songs in total and half of the first ten songs), and the crowd up front was certainly familiar with it, one younger gentlemen behind me was particular enthused about singing the lyrics along with Britt.  Although they didn’t play my favorite of the record (”The Mystery Zone”), the songs they did play displayed the sort of songcraft that Britt’s mapped out so well, with each band member bringing a distinct and separate component to the mix. “Nobody Gets Me But You” perhaps shows a glimpse into what Britt’s been listening to lately, a nod to the dry static beats of the late ’80s new wave vanguards such as Romeo Void or Gary Numan.

Personally, I could have done with a bit more of the early works, when they had more bite and a rockist approach, but tonight the only taste we got of that was “Metal School.”  I don’t expect them to tread water and revisit past glories, but nothing at all was played from my favorite record, 2001’s Girls Can Tell. To be fair, “Me and the Bean” was on the encore set list, but due to the venue’s double duty as late night disco, the curfew came hard and fast at 10PM and Britt made note of this restriction and regretfully shut the show down a bit prematurely.  Spoon’s songwriting talents are clearly top-notch, but while they are fine performers, they failed to light the fuse of the capacity crowd, which was more akin to watching a tennis match, with polite applause between points.

Deerhunter - Photo by Tim Bugbee

This was my third time seeing Deerhunter, and the first for me without a third guitar in the lineup.  It didn’t matter, as they had as full a sound as ever, with even more of a late 80s post-punk drive than I’d previously noticed…seems like they’ve jettisoned some of the Cocteau Twins and Slowdive mannerisms for more of a Killing Joke or Public Image Limited approach, with bass player Josh Fauver in particular setting a hard-driving tone.  The motorik rhythms of opener “Wash Off”coiled into an ultra-tight version of “Nothing Ever Happened” and they even debuted two as of yet unreleased songs in “Fountain Stairs” (with Josh singing) and “Revival” (not sure if this had guitarist Lockett Pundt singing on it or not, but he definitely sang one song).  Towards the end, lead singer Bradford Cox was actively calling for someone named Rob (maybe Rob Pope of Spoon?), but as Rob never materialized, the contingency plan was to launch into “Operation,” an equally fuzzed out and hook-laden song as they’ve got.  Deerhunter continue to grow as a band, and I’m looking forward to their next step.  Glad that Bradford’s statement at ATP/NY last year about the band’s hiatus seems to be a short-lived one.

All photos by Tim Bugbee. For more of Tim’s work, check out www.tinnitus-photography.com

For a complete photo gallery of this show, click here!

Spoon

Deerhunter

Strange Boys

Progressive rock bands always receive far too much stick than they really should.  Yeah, they are the easy targets – the geek who whiled away afternoons diligently practicing their craft while the metal bands chased girls and smoked pot out in the woods.  Perhaps because of their musical proficiency, this collective jealousy has slowly calcified into outright disdain and dislike.  I’ve got more than my generous helping of primitive rock records in my collection, and I cannot deny that the 70s punks had good measure to rally around a new musical form, but on the other hand I cannot argue against the merits of King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator, and Yes.  When you’ve a band which can meld together a massively complex musical vision without losing the primal urge to rock, well you’ve got a winner by all accounts I can come up with.

As a band who’s cresting a thirty year career, they have certainly had their share of membership shifts, with bassist Chris Squire being the lone mainstay throughout.  Due to absence of singer Jon Anderson, some fans may have wanted to downgrade Yes to Maybe, but newcomer Benoit David more than held his own against the massive expectations, and had I been blindfolded I doubt I’d have recognized that it was not Anderson singing (except during breaks between songs when David’s Quebecois accent was readily apparent.) The other deviation from the main core of Howe/Squire/White was on keyboards; instead of Rick Wakeman his son Oliver dutifully made use of the half-dozen or so keyboards that surrounded him. easily moving between bombastic organ blasts, deftly-fingered piano, squiggly synth bleats and plangent textures.

For me the clear strengths of the band lie in the intricate guitar work that Howe provides effortlessly, and the rock-bottom and totally distinctive bass style that Squire employs.  On signature songs like “Heart of the Sunrise” and “Roundabout,” he carries the melody line and allows Howe plenty of room for tight riffing (”South Side of the Sky”), spidery leads (”Siberian Khatru”), or whatever he wants.  Looking a bit like a crazed librarian from a long-lost Victorian branch, his long and delicate fingers had no problems summoning a variety of tones, and he used both pedal steel guitar as well as another electric planted in a waist-high stand to get different tones and textures as the lengthy songs often required. Aside from instrumental prowess, it also struck me that Howe and Squire could also lend some excellent vocal harmonies not unlike CSNY.

I’ve heard that some long-time fans lamented the appearance of a lot of familiar songs but as a neophyte to the Yes live show, I was more than happy with the selections that spanned their second record (”Astral Traveler”) to the prime-era radio hits (”I’ve Seen All Good People”) to some of the latter day work such as the Anderson-less material from Drama (”Tempus Fugit,” “Machine Messiah”) and of course their big MTV breakthrough “Owner of Lonely Heart.” …Well, I could definitely have lived without that one.  As the band wrapped up with arguably their best song “Starship Trooper” (it’s my favorite anyways, and Keith Levene copped to using this as direct inspiration for Public Image Limited’s “Poptones”) it also became clear that while Yes fans can and do indulge in any amount of air guitar/drums/bass/keyboards they want, it’s more of a tricky minefield to attempt any sort of sing-alongs to match the vocal range, a point brazenly driven home by the guy next to me, warbling off-key at the top of his lungs.

All photos by Tim Bugbee at Tinnitus Photography. For a complete photo gallery from this show, click here

YES

A three-way marriage.

That’s legal in Massachusetts, right?

Well, that’s exactly what you get out of The Indobox’s Adventure Rock:  a three-way marriage of electric, electronic, and acoustic as they switch at will from the passionately organic to the grindingly distorted and onward to the pleasantly & head-bobbing-ly danceable.

That also means there’s no way to single out any one instrumentalist or even vocalist.

Quinn Ferree’s natural drums give way periodically to drum-machine sounds that ramp up and down in the backdrop of tracks like “Reading,” and “Part II.”  Guitars provide stabbing rhythms and monolithic chords in the background while bright synth lines decorate a track. At other times, those same guitarists take the front seat, dial on the delay, and swim their way into your ears. The vocal styles and sounds also change throughout the record thanks to multiple singers, making for a further varied experience.

There’re rumors of a “jam” aspect to this band, and I intend to investigate this at their live show at Harper’s Ferry on February 6th. Not being a big jam-band fan (locked in a miasmic studio during the Disco Biscuits’ Señor Boombox sessions was not exactly my idea of a good time), I still find that it’s nice to pick up an album and not just hear the same song played at different tempos (if you’re lucky) by a band. It’s similarly very refreshing to digest a different atmosphere every time a track goes by.  Some bands just play the show onto the tape, but The Indobox really seem to shoot for a superhuman experience that gives fans something different to enjoy on their own speakers and headphones. Be prepared to go on a minor journey during the electro-arpeggiated interlude midway through “Part II,” and transverse to a guitar-rock stadium at the finale of “The Deep.” Give yourself time to listen through the entire record -you’ll be well rewarded as “Cinema For Children” infects your brain with catchy guitar-chirps and more great vocal textures & melodies on your way out into the world.

That all being said….

What this album has:

- Great melodies from guitars and keyboards (be they punchy, swirling, or spacy) to keep your ears following new hooks in between vocal lines

- Great vocal sounds and the occasional lyric that sticks out in an ephemeral, “This guys gets me!” kind of way

- Grooves, grooves, grooves

What this album needs:

More songs that meld everyone’s talents together.  Making these flips from one flavor to another, one vocalist to another, from guitar- to synth-driven, and from ambient to raw is very unique, but I’d like at least one or two tracks to turn me on my head and collide all elements of the record together. This would make a more cohesive tapestry of all of the group’s styles and sounds….  a little like that rug that really ties the room together.

Boston-based fans of such bands as Primal Scream, Stereolab, and South will find themselves pleased at some of our own boys doing such a bang-up job of providing something more honest and tangible than just another over-polished, emo/punk/alt/rock/hop/dance single-after-single.

Want to check out The Indobox for yourself? They’re playing Saturday, February 6th at Harpers Ferry in Allston. Tickets can be purchased here, or click here to take advantage of the ticket giveaway we’re featuring on our site!

Buy Adventure Rock on iTunes or CDbaby

The Indobox