Never Say Goodbye - T0W3RS and Lilac Shadows Send Off a Friend (Local 506, 6/28/13)

A couple of weeks back, two of the better local bands, T0W3RS and Lilac Shadows, preformed a farewell show for (and with) one of their 3 shared members, Karen Blanco.  Karen has tickled the keys for both bands for a couple of years now, in a more psychedelic, atmospheric way for Lilac and a jumpier, more experimental way for T0W3RS (as befitting each of those bands' styles).  Her presence will be missed, but she's off to Europe and points beyond.

It was a great send-off.  Zack Mexico came from way out in Kill Devil Hills to open up.  It was only my second time seeing them, and i loved the first.  I was trying to think of a way to define their sound before the show, and the best I could come up with was... well... weird.  I know, very creative.  They have a song called "Weird Reef".  They're sorta surfy, sorta jammy, sorta indie, but they're not really any of the above.  So I asked singer John Saturley how HE would define their sound, and he replied "Weird."  Guess I pegged it.  Surf music can get boring.  Jam bands are definitely boring.  But when Zack Mexico get into a long, droney, surfy jam that goes on and on, you don't want it to stop.  Definitely NOT boring.

Zack Mexico...

As for T0W3RS and Lilac Shadows, I've written about them plenty in the past here, so I'll let a few photos do the talking.  Suffice it to say Lilac is moving in a more straight-ahead rock direction, while T0W3RS is moving perhaps in a more electronic, dancey direction.  Good moves for both... for truly sucky is the band that stands still (I think it was Confucius that said that).  But I hope Derek keeps the twangy edge going... that edge in contrast with the various influences he pulls from are one of the things that makes T0W3RS such a great band.

Lilac Shadows...

T0W3RS....

Good luck, Karen!  I'm sure you'll pop up moonlighting in a techno/cabaret/shoegaze act in Prague (or perhaps wrangling goats in Hamburg).

Lilac Shadows - A Shallow Madness EP (DiggUp Tapes)

Okay, for starters at least, I have to compare Lilac Shadows' A Shallow Madness EP to T0W3RS recent release, If All We Have Is Time. There are just too many commonalities. The bands share 3 members (Sam Logan, Derek Torres, Karen Blanco; the other Shadows are Zack Oden and Nathan Price). Derek produced this one, and Sam produced T0W3RS' record. When you add the number of letters of "Shadows" and the numbers in Lincoln's birthdate, you mysteriously get... well, okay, maybe it stops there, but you get the point. There's some overlap. Nevertheless, they ARE two distinct bands, and sounds.

Based on these two releases, T0W3RS frontman Torres is John, and Lilac frontman Logan is George (don't go gettin' swelled heads, guys). Whereas ...Time was gritty, a little bluesy, and full of pain, heartbreak and redemption, A Shallow Madness is much more ethereal and contemplative. Not to psychoanalyze in a record review, but I'd venture a guess that Logan has had less tumult and heartbreak in his life, but more concerned with meditations about mysteries of consciousness, the universe, and the nature of reality. Okay, I'll put away my Jung.

But seriously, this EP deals with the realms of the mind much more than the heart or the nuts-and-bolts of living. It takes a trip into the subconscious, and the soundscape matches. When this space wrote up their release show a few weeks back, they were compared to '80s-'90s British pop and 'gaze. As you listen to A Shallow Madness more, you also hear further back in time. Bowie, Pink Floyd, all in a current indie context. Part of it, I guess, is the slightly Brit-sounding vocals. Still think there's a little VU in there, too.

The EP is basically 4 songs, though each is separated by an atmospheric intro which segues the EP together in a flowing manner, not unlike a dream. The title song sings of a madness that is indeed shallow, even  pleasant. Lotus, anyone? You're lulled in by a galloping, jangly beat and swirling guitars and synth. But from the first words, you're forced to doubt reality ("When you open up your eyes / do you see what isn't there?"), and wonder whether it's a healthy place to be or not ("and the sun that runs behind you eyes / is floating only for darker times"). What Dreams keeps us going in this sleep-like state (or are we awake?). It's a lullaby of sorts, but one that doesn't exactly reassure you. As in the first song, images of insecurity and seeking out comfort in darkness (figurative and literal) recur. The dark fairy tale feel is slower at the start, a simple echoing guitar line backed by quiet/chaotic noise. But it eventually opens up to rock out in segments. As the band's bio describes them, this song is, also, "Bright. Dark. Quiet. Loud."

Bloodworth picks it up, a really driving number that's a bit of an '80s throwback. It relies more on bass and drum, with guitar being mostly used for droning background and touches. Spiteful lyrics liken someone to a fallen star "comin' down through the clouds", their lies, and fires, burning. This one's mostly just "Dark. Loud." Rise wakes us up: "Rise up slowly, lift your eyes from the warnings / nightmares and longings, they won't find you in the morning". It's the first time the EP gets a little uplifting. But at the same time, it still longs for the subconscious: "It's simpler in dreams / as simple as nothing, only breathing gracefully". You know, back to being Jung, I'm sure there's a lot intended here about the power of dreams, as dark and scary as they can be, to heal. As the song, and EP, come to a close, neat little organ blurbs (steel drums?) pop in and out, giving us a little blips of contentment without the scary undertones.

Musically, A Shallow Madness soars. You just aren't sure where (or if) you're going to land.  And, thankfully, there's not a Ringo number on it (or on All We Have Is Time).  No Octopus' Garden, no (shudder) Act Naturally. Okay. Enough Jung. Enough Beatles. Just get the EP and go see Lilac Shadows next time they play... including Friday, May 4th at Kings, at the Vote AGAINST Amendment One Party, with Cassis Orange, and First Person Plural.  They also play Friday, May 11th, at the Cave.

T0W3RS - If All We Have Is Time (DiggUp Tapes)

T0W3RS began as a solo project of Derek Torres (ex-Soft Company, etc.).  I was intrigued early on.  Before seeing them play some months ago, I checked 'em out online, and it surprised me that their recent EP prominently featured a cover from another local band, Summertime (by Lonnie Walker).  Kind of a gutsy (foolish?) move by an upstart local.  But I had been wearing out my copy of These Times, Old Times, Lonnie Walker's debut, so I'm curious: "What are these guys going to do with it?  And more to the point, why?"

My answer was immediate.  They were paying respects to fellow travellers, yet somehow simultaneously breaking totally new ground.  See, Lonnie Walker is a pretty rootsy, twangy band.  While still exerting a little twang, T0W3RS turned the song completely on end... into an electronic, slow-dance apparition of its former self.  Then there was another song, OUR5!, an Animal Collective-inspired rave-up released in support of the Occupy movement.  It had nary a string in earshot, but plenty of rolling keys, beeps, and a steady kick drum.  Okay.  I was interested.

Now, after giving their debut full-length, If All We Have Is Time, a few listens... well, let's just say I'm still interested.

...Time starts with the slow plucking of electric guitar and Torres' plaintive wail on Swim In, bemoaning an obviously dysfunctional relationship ("Your love's like a drain or a hole in boat / I should be swimmin'").  It's a brief, dark intro, which somehow jumps seemlessly into the upbeat pop bliss of eee!  This song realizes the meld of geetar & electronic hinted at by the earlier EP.  It's driven by jaunty acoustic strumming, echo-y electric, and knocking drumsticks.  But there's so much more clatter, warped static-y noises, and vocal cleverness that it goes way beyond relying on a pop hook.  And, really, how can you NOT love a song called eee!?

Over & Ov'r then detours us towards a darker, slower side of T0W3RS.  It's an unexpected, albeit welcome, development; one which sets the tone for the album.  The mournful waltz is punctuated mid-song by the swell of nightmarish organ that calls to mind some tripped out, mid-70s, midnight movie.  It's a bluesy, shadowy number with lyrics full of bite and spite ("Oh, you've got me tonight / that's when I act like I gave a fuck about you / and your kind...").  Next is Scout/, which begins with simple, sustained piano keys, but is buoyed when the gentle electric beat kicks in.  We get the feeling Torres is lifting out of a fog., a feeling accentuated by segueing into the (slightly) more up-tempo The Cardinal/The Finch, which continues the sparse piano and drums before sweet lilting vocals begin to pull us back into the sunlight.  

Before going much further, I should mention Torres' voice.  It's a great voice, but not in a typical way.  More in the way that Robert Pollard's voice is great... just the way he uses it.  A similar range to Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), and perhaps in the way it's mixed, explaining some of the Animal Collective comparisons.  But there's a vocal cleverness in the way he uses lyrics and sounds; from wordplay like "so keep what you make-k-K/your capital" ("you're capital"?), to simple breaths and croaks at just the right times.  It's one of the highlights of the band.  And although most of the album's vocals are Derek's, the addition of female vocals to the band really adds something to the sound, and the live show. 

Another highlight of T0W3RS is that the songs are always moving. By that I mean something is always going on, at every turn of every song.  Beyond the main song structures, under the surface, in the background, are surprising little tweaks and touches.  It's easy to throw a bunch of sounds together and call yourself "experimental".  Making it all flow together is the tricky part, a trick T0W3RS has mastered.  Even the quiet, slow songs, or parts of songs, are never boring.  Again, this is something captured well by the full band.  Multiple, varied instrumentation and voices come and go to great, restless effect, making for a very fun live show.

But back to the LP.  Each song sounds like a movement, progressing into the next.  After exiting the fog, we get to, appropriately, Big Sky (which, although they do cover Kate Bush live, is NOT the Bush song of that name).  Reverb-laden guitar and thumping drums make you almost see the distance and space.  The title cut then continues into the more optimistic bent, spare piano and strumming building to the realization that "If all we have is time, then we'd be allright".  Darla picks it back up, with a jumpy guitar line invoking Texas blues.  This most upbeat song on the album is followed by perhaps the simplest, quietest number, Logan.  While it may sound like the album is a bit of a roller coaster (and maybe it is), every hill and valley work together.  Darla and Logan, for instance, share a penchant for Deep Southern musical roots.  Logan is almost country, plucking it's way through Georgia, Austin, and back to Carolina, and "hoping for someone to soothe my heartache".  But then it's back on the coaster for the closer, the psychedelic (and again, a little Southern) rocker, The Seams, The Tangles & The Sum of My Brain.

T0W3RS is nothing if not diverse.  Influences are all over the place.  There's the afore-mentioned southern rock, blues, and electronic/experimental.  But I also hear a bit of 70's arena rock... can't really place it... Emerson, Lake, and Palmer?   But they rarely wear them on their sleeves.  There are just too many ingredients going into the pot to come out sounding like anything but, well T0W3RS.  Though this was recorded largely before the band took shape, props to the what has now become a great live band (Sam Logan, Karen Blanco, Jacki Lee Huntington, Zeke Krautwurst), and to the production by Logan.

T0W3RS play at Kings Barcade in Raleigh Friday, April 27th, to celebrate the release of If All We Have Is Time on DiggUp Tapes.  They're playing with Lonnie Walker (also great, see here), and Coastal Vision (who I haven't seen, but if the bill is any indicator...).  Plus, it's FREE!  You can put your money towards getting the LP.  It's worth it.

PS:  Derek's got a thing for math, numbers, punctuation, etc. (or should that be #s/punctuation/3TC?).  He and Robert Schneider, apparently.  Thus the band name and some of the song titles.  So no, not a bunch of typos above.

Lilac Shadows EP Release Show, w/ Jenny Besetzt & Airstrip (Kings, Raleigh, 3/31/12)

This was a show to celebrate the release of Lilac Shadows' Madness EP. But before they played, two other pretty good locals opened. I hadn't heard of Jenny Besetzt, and since they were playing first, I thought they were some wet-behind-the-ears kids. Plus, there was their stripped-down Facebook, and a Vimeo "teaser" with a couple of atmospheric song segments, and a bio merely stating that "Jenny Besetzt is about transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite."

Well, they quickly let you know that they're no novices. They're a very tight and dynamic band... atmospheric and jumpy at the same time. A lot of rapid-fire electric strumming along with breezy vocals and keyboards (and a great light show) made for an upbeat start to the night (and some great pictures). Apparently, they have been playing around some -- for about a year or so -- and are from over in Greensboro. Go see'em!

Jenny Besetzt...



Airstrip was up next, a relatively new band led by Matt Park (ex-Veelee). Veelee was a duo, and this band perhaps has a similar sound, but it's more fleshed out as one would expect. You can recognize Matt's songrwriting style from Veelee. It's dark, with an abrupt edge, and he at times sounds like Thurston Moore or Neil Young. Dual guitars, you'd expect, would be very trebly. But Airsrtip has a heavy sound for an "indie/guitar" band. There's much emphasis on rhythm, with bass and drums driving many of the songs. Even the guitar is played kinda low and thudding, although there are some surfy accents, and Tre Acklen (also of Gross Ghost) even makes use of an 12-string electric.

Airstrip describes their music as "Nightmare Pop".

Yeah. That fits.

Airstrip...


So after a dark middle set, the hosts of the party, Lilac Shadows, brought back the light show (literally and figuratively). The music moved back into similar territory as JB as well. This band shares at least 3 members w/ T0W3RS (Derek Torres, Sam Logan, Karen Blanco), and you'd expect some similarities, sound-wise. But whereas T0W3RS is more Derek's gig, this is Sam's. And where T0W3RS is more aggressive and staccato, Lilac Shadows is smooth and impressionistic. They play a kind of a soaring guitar pop with a synth/electronic edge. They can momentarily drift into droning, Velvet Underground-like instrumental mantras -- unafraid to stretch a song -- before reining it in to a galloping, rolling pop.

Lilac Shadows have a slight late '80s-early '90s British feel (as did JB). Railway Children, Woodentops... a little bit o' shoegaze, and a lot of quiet-loud-quiet. And again, great light show... made for great photos.

Lilac Shadows...





Here's a video of Lilac Shadows doing Fever Pitch.


Oh yeah, forgot. Dave Mueller (Heads on Sticks) DJ'd between bands, and was great. Nice use of 'Fess (not that Professor Longhair is ever out of place).