Spring Issue 2007

On Fire New Bands

May 20th 2007____by TOX
It’s been an amazing 2 years of music and I’ve felt compelled to write about it. Many new sounds are emerging and it’s a very exciting time. Every genre is experimenting and crossing the lines, rehashing and reinventing. It’s good to hear finally. Some of it, of course, started in 2000 and 2001. We are just starting to see the tip of the iceberg for 2000’s. Here are some of the most notable.

Autolux
I caught these guys on wkexp, Seattle in 2005 doing a live show on the air. They produced a sound I had never quite heard before. There music displayed such drama, such power I became memorized. They create a dreamy soundscape with their chaos and controlled delivery of mixed tempo beats and other worldly sounds. Eugene chimes in with his understated voice like a surfer upon a fluctuating tide of sometimes powerful drums and guitar. Soaring up and down the dramatic wave. Drummer Carla probably is one of the best drummers I’ve ever heard from the standpoint of touch and sensitivity. She delivers some bone crushing power and has the sensitivity to take it way down and mix the beat into so many combinations within a song. Wow, what an impressive album - Autolux -Future Perfect. They are poised to release their new album this summer - possibly June or Fall. I’m very interested what direction they will take. Judging by their first album, I think it’s going to be out of the box. If you get the opportunity, check them out live. While they are not over the top performers, to hear them live will blow you away.

Interpol
A long time favorite of mine. I’ve liked them since they first came out. Now it seems they have become a measuring stick for many current bands. Sorry, boneheaded critics, not many sound like them, yet they compare so many bands with them. Their sound stems from a Goth-brit band sound the likes of Joy Division, The Cure and many other underground 80’s bands. Though they share similarities, they are more upbeat than their predecessors and uniquely NY. They share more with the whole New York sound than any 80’s band. Bands like The walkmen, The Strokes and Marcys Playground. Their big guitar driven riffs with backbeat makes them an impressive listen. Top that with the sad sac/ droning and sometimes upbeat/pulsing voice of Paul Banks and you have some beautiful goth-romantic tension. This band may take a while to get accustom to but they will be your favorite in a heartbeat. They will be releasing an album on Fall 10th and are currently touring. Check them out. The new song "The Heinrich Maneuver" is on iTunes now. I am a bit disappointed in their Chicago stop. They booked into a small venue and the tickets never went on sale. They were all sold to companies , radio stations and scalpers. Now I know why Pearl Jam made such a fuss over Ticket Masters practices. Bloodsuckers!

Editors
Though they've been compared to Interpol and Joy Division they come through with an innocent early 80’s U2 sound. The guitar in many of editors songs are reminiscent of the 80's bands Flock of Seagulls or Big Country. Don't be confused by the comparison. They are truly a unique band. Their first release - The Back Room released in 2003 is truly brilliant and has garnered them a broad European fan base. When we discovered them on the internet in late 2004, we helped as well as many others, to get them overseas (from Birmingham, England) to play at Lollapalooza and Metro Chicago. We saw the potential in this band early on. The singer Tom Smith has a deep rich voice not unlike the lead singer of Dead Can Dance which has been a long time fav of mine. The band as a whole has driving sound which verges on a gritty pop sound with repetitive lyrics that get burnt into your brain like "you don't need this disease" in Bullets and "people are fragile things" in Munich. These are two of their popular songs but I think they excel in their slow, long and understated songs like "Open your arms" and "Fall". They have a way with enticing you into a trance with the repetitive lyrics and music that swells into crescendos above the walls of sound. In concert they show their age with their sometimes awkward stage presence. But they are pretty tight and enjoyable. They received a lot of notoriety here in Chicago last year and stepped up to the events and came out shining. Editors have taken off like a rocket and I hope the release of this new album is not a product of the record company trying to make money off these lads. I hope they keep their heads about them and keep producing the good work.

De Rosa
Pull up your boot straps kids, you're about to go for a ride. This band thrashes your heart out. They smack of an early Pixies with a charming SCOTTISH accent. Mike Meyers would definitely sit down for Haggis with these lads. As well as being outstanding story tellers they weave lusty melodies and lyrics that will break your heart. Im not sure if they are trying to clobber me with lyrics or heart exhilarating raw saw blade songs. Regardless, they truly set the bar for a new bands to new heights. They are a must listen. The band is currently working on the follow up to "Mend". I cant imagine they would come out with anything shy of brilliance. Watch out for the Scottish invasion.

Aberdeen City
Though I am not sure if they will produce an album this year, I sure hope it’s soon. Here’s an alternative band that has a powerful ability to bring out emotions in their audience. They really know how to take a slow simple melody and build the excitement into utter uphoria. It seems that their sound stems a bit from Radiohead. Which you can hear more Radiohead influences on their first album (We Learned By Watching, 2003) than on (The Freezing Atlantic, 2005). The resent effort establishes them as a unique entity for this decade. One of the best new sounds from a band I’ve heard since 2000. They are hands down a hall of famer for me. Outstanding!!! Let’s see what they do next. I have high hopes for this band of hard knocks guys from Boston, Chicago and Canada.

The Pixies
Have they been just riding the wave of mutilation, slaughtering each city they enter or are they going to have time to record a new album? Personally I’m excited that they have reunited. I don’t hold hope that they will do anything ground breaking this time around. They changed the scope of music for the 80’s and early 90’s with their garage band alternative /punk like style. Most bands tend to rehash what they did earlier on in their careers when they reunite. I haven’t heard anything new yet but from what Kim and Frank have been saying it seems like it will be a pick up of the old Pixies. Let’s wait and see.