i hate the sound of guitars » e

Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, 22 Jan 2011

guitarlover — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:05:26 +0000

The legendary Ed’s Basement shows were before my time as a New Englander, but I suspect their vibe was perfectly nailed based on my experience with house shows, loosely curated open mike nights, and underground clubs and art spaces. Last Saturday evening at TT’s felt like a Sunday afternoon or Tuesday night at one of those venues where I never knew what would happen next: a poetry reading, maybe a hardcore band (well: in DC, not at this show, actually), a chapter from someone’s novel, and at some point, probably, the band you’d come out to see. The random happenings wouldn’t always be “good” from an objective perspective, or anyway certainly not technically proficient. But they’d almost always be marked by a degree of artistic purity that’s much rarer when remuneration is a factor. And sometimes they’d be uncannily resonant (I’m still trying to puzzle out why the poem about the guy buying nothing but Vaseline inspired such powerful déjà vu — er, déjà entendu, I guess), genuinely surprising (an electric blues guitar player that I liked?!), or really fun (Bob and Guy, a duo with a very Ed’s-ish flavor, distinguished by the extraordinary fragility of Guy’s vocal delivery). (Sometimes even the performers can get surprised: when The Buckets (I think) announced their last song, violinist Carrie Bradley yelped “what!?” and protested repeatedly that the tune “wasn’t on the list” they’d rehearsed. Then she delivered a blistering performance that almost made me think her shock was staged, although she insisted later that it wasn’t.)

Ed’s Redeeming Qualities themselves played two sets, the first short and a little shaky, the second longer and a little miraculous. A couple of decades and and a transgender experience notwithstanding, it felt a lot like the other Ed’s shows I’ve seen. The songs, obviously, are the same — their odd mix of warmth, humor, out and out creepiness, and elevating the banal through close observation is intact and, I’d argue, timeless. But their presence and performance were also remarkably congruent with my memories: gruff Neno, tossing out wry asides between, even during, songs; Dani (once Dan)’s slightly but endearingly wobbly tenor (um, meso soprano?) and remarkably anchoring ukulele; Carrie’s precise enunciation, odd but impeccable timing, and face-splitting grin — they were all there.

The crowd for the old-person-friendly 6pm show was dense, rapturously enthusiastic from what I could see, and provided some of the most on-key audience singing I’ve ever heard.

Epoxies – My New World

guitarlover — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:32:11 +0000

Yes, it’s time for another dispatch from the retro-future of The Epoxies. The title track is a brooding apocalypse-celebrating number on which virtually all the instruments drip with distortion; the touchstone here is the spooky intersection of new wave, punk, and goth — a bit like Killing Joke, but it reminds me even more of something I can’t quite put my finger on. (I finally figured it out! 45 Grave) “Here in the Dark” cheeses it up dead-on faux-Holly-Knight stylee (you might not know Knight’s name, but her military metaphor love songs were all over the 80’s airwaves: Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” and “Invincible,” and Patty Smythe’s “The Warrior” among them). “Crystal Clear” is a track from an alternate-universe Blondie album recorded in between Plastic Letters and Parallel Lines. Plenty of careers have been built on copping some Debbie Harry ‘tude, but by extending the sincerity of their flattery to include I-swear-that’s-Clem-Burke drum fills, The Epoxies transcend the merely derivative. “Products” cranks up both the jitter-factor and the social consciousness; it ought to sit cheek-by-jowl on a mix with the Buzzcocks’ “Credit” from last year’s underrated Flat-Pack Philosophy, and it’s a strong contender for my 2007 year’s best songs list. “Tragedy” is a speedy cover of The Wipers’ tune that amply demonstrates that The Epoxies can rock even without synthesizers. It’s fun and all, but I actually rather have another original in its place, which is saying something.
My primary criticism of this EP is that I wish there were more of it — you can play it twice in the space of half an hour and have time left over.

Eisenhower Field Day – Let’s Not Tell Lies

guitarlover — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:49:18 +0000

Indie-rock trio Eisenhower Field Day dish up textbook-perfect indie rock on this LP (a 2003 EP is appended to the current release). Guitarist/lead vocalist Noah Butler has a slightly yelpy tenor to which bassist Holly Butler’s harmonies provide welcome sweetening. They play with conviction and the songs are are full of interesting dynamic and textural shifts. The album is self-recorded and it shows a bit; the instruments don’t always sound like they’re part of the same sonic space — the bass sounds like it was probably recorded direct, and the drums seem a bit remote. But several of the songs are good enough that I can happily overlook the limitations of the recording. Let’s Not Tell Lies doesn’t break much new ground, but the more I listen to this, the more I like it, especially “National Sunday Law,” and “The Backs of My Arms.”