March 11, 2009, 8pm
Circus
1227 N. High Street
(614) 421-2998
$7
Ages 18+, under 21 pays surcharge at door
Maserati
http://www.myspace.com/maseratirocks
et another of the Athens, GA, experimentalists, Maserati picked up where bands like Tortoise, Macha, and Labradford left off with complex, warmly textured instrumental music straying from the confines of rock to explore the ambient, jazz, and even modern classical traditions. The four piece of Coley Dennis (guitar), Steve Scarborough (bass), Phil Horan (drums), and Matt Cherry (guitar) began playing together in early 2001. After several months, they recorded and self-released 37:29:24, a moody blend of space rock expansiveness and scatter-bursts of Slint-like aggression. In 2002, they met again in producer Andy Baker’s studio Chase Park (where albums by Macha, the Mendoza Line, and Jucifer have been recorded) to record The Language of Cities, the band’s first label-backed album on the indie pop clearinghouse Kindercore. The eight-song album continues their exploration of emo-tinged instrumental rock best exemplified in the track “The Language,” a seven-minute plus opus of sustained cymbal build ups, churning guitar, and John McEntire-style fills.
Brainbow
http://www.myspace.com/brainbowband
Stoner wit is a rare find, but you know it when you see it. The band name Brainbow sounds like it comes from a dorm-room listening of Dark Side of the Moon, or the conversation during a long, tripped-out hike. . . you know, “the whole universe … Full Descriptionis, like, an atom in a giant’s fingernail, man,” moment.All jibes aside, there is an amazingly talented local band called Brainbow that may or may not have lived any of those events (though surely they heard “Dark Side” in a dorm room sometime. Didn’t everyone?). But judging by the sound of the band’s self-titled debut disc, full of acid-damaged, desert sun-scorched, instrumental guitar psychedelia, they’ve at least read very good accounts of events like those.Instrumental rock, for all its charms, is rarely anyone’s first pick for a live show, but Brainbow has made a case for it over the past couple of years, even garnering a sizable fan club in the process. Especially with those who like a little experimentation with their wine and cheese.The album opens with the long, slow strains of “The Cast,” which splits the difference between Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and jazz guitar guru Bill Frisell at his most loose and free. Toward the end of its eight-minute lifespan, it takes on the warm, swirling guitar miasma used to such a wonderful degree in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when shoe-gazers walked the Earth. Those of you bemoaning the lack of a revived My Bloody Valentine show no closer than Chicago should take “The Cast” for a spin.Such an expansive piece is pretty de rigueur for Brainbow, and indicative of the otherworldly mindset their live show induces.Instead of relying on that formula, the band explores a lot of nooks and crannies, occasionally stepping outside the expected prog rock conventions.“Trance Figure,” which picks up where “The Cast” leaves off, is a lot more driving and kinetic, embracing a noise-rock framework akin to a much livelier Jesus and Mary Chain b-side.“Feather Mountain” carries a great deal of weighty darkness amid its seven and a half minutes, and “Hex Remover” manages to tear it up unlike any other track on the album.Keep in mind, this is measuring Brainbow against Brainbow, and if you aren’t up for long, slow-moving guitar jams, even really interesting long, slow-moving guitar jams, this may not be your bag. Which is fine. That means more psychedelic guitar rock for the rest of us. - Rick Allen, The Other Paper
The Receiver
http://www.myspace.com/thereceiver
Brothers Casey and Jesse Cooper are capable illusionists. They want you to believe in the majesty of Decades, the debut album from their band, the Receiver. Their brand of indie chamber pop is airy, almost shapeless at times. Casey’s breathy tenor, not unlike David Gilmour’s, closely follows his melodies, floating along as an understated element in a baroque mix that includes his bass and keyboards, Jesse’s drumming, French horn from Lindsay Ciulla, and the many strings of Anthony Rogers. Fortunately, the music is quite pretty, an artful post-rock with a throwback indebtedness to the Alan Parsons Project. And it might be for the best that Casey’s lyrics aren’t at the fore. Although not amateurish, Cooper’s vague wanderings through his existential angst betray his youth. “In Tunnels” is a metaphor. “Waves” is a metaphor. “Goliath”, too, is probably a metaphor. I’m not sure which giant foe Casey/David is battling here, but Columbus, Ohio’s the Receiver deal primarily in broad, impressionistic sweeps, anyway. If you need delineations, hard angles, straightforward declarations, then this album isn’t made for you. But, if you can let go and float along with the Cooper brothers, their Decades is a lovely little escape. - Michael Keefe, Pop Matters