Local Listen: New Canyons

For anyone who's talked to this music obsessive recently, you'll know that shoegaze holds a high place on the heap of my favorite genres. For the uninitiated, that was the brand of rock coming out of Great Britain in the late '80s to early '90s, whose trademarks were a sound drenched in dreamy atmosphere and sweetly melodic vocals. This was always accompanied by a haze-meets-noise guitar blend created with pedal effects (the label was attached to those groups by contemporary critics due to their staring downward during performances).

That offshoot brand of (arguably) psychadelic rock had a moderate resurgance in the early 2010s with bands from the U.S. and elsewhere trying their hand, and Chicago duo New Canyons proved to be a unique addition to the newgaze trend. Adam Stilson and Andrew Marrah (of another incredible Chicago shoegaze band, Airiel) combine the style's simultaneously relaxing and jarring sounds with the glaring synths of new wave and upfront attitude of post-punk, while soaring vocals and piercing keyboard runs reach above the fog.

Though their latest single is a 2019 cover of Nirvana's "Drain You," three tracks from their 2013 album "Everyone is Dark" best captures these elements. "VEX/Apex" serves as a a comprehensive intro sample, "Ghost & Water" plays around with an off-kilter rhythm and whispered vocals, and the title track hits the finale sweet spot, complete with a steady tempo to match the heartfelt singing.

If you want traditional shoegaze, listen to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive for a lesson in the basics. Then, check out this modern hybridized version for a glimpse of how well it can play with others.

KROM's many emotions burst on new LP and at local show.

For someone who's amassed a cascade of well-earned praise, pianist Adam Kromelow isn't against coming back to his local roots. Kromelow, a Wilmette native whose excellent Genesis Piano Project this blog has tracked in the past, brought his reformed jazz trio, KROM, to the Sherman Avenue Theater in Evanston on October 5th.

The group's first album as the Adam Kromelow Trio, "Youngblood," was critically acclaimed by jazz magazines and news outlets alike, and scaled college radio charts. Now, their "second-and-a-half album," (counting an E.P.) as Kromelow says, and first as KROM, is out. KROM added freshly Julliard-graduated bassist Dave Baron, temporarily replacing Raviv Markovitz. With drummer Jason Burger keeping the rhythm in inventive ways, the three showed that they can explore experimental territory while keeping a solid footing in jazz.

The quirky themes of the night's selections matched the music. "Savior Complex," the album's opener, started the show in a traditional vein. Bass and piano intertwined smoothly before hard, rhythmic piano called on the drums and bass to join the stomping. Most other selections showed off the band's mix of chops and inventiveness.

"I Choose You" is not a love song, but a tribute to a Pokemon video game. The interchanging jittery and flowing passages emulated the feeling of battling as a particular character. "High Flying Thoughts" had Baron bow a ribbon of bass tones, complimented by tinkling piano. The bass's harmonics provided a skillful yet light  finale. Kromelow included a personal reference by playing "Bushido," which refers to a karate technique he learned as a youngster, and which influenced his musical vocabulary, as he realized as a student at Manhattan School of Music. The piece started with an instrumental flurry, then settled into a measured but propulsive  interplay between the members. Bass drew the musical boundaries with fifths and octaves, and the immersive number ended with a spirited finish.

KROM keeps a sense of humor close to its more serious contemplations, though, as closing track "Monster Bite" showed. The "craziest song on the album," per Kromelow, it's about -get this- how he almost choked on a hamburger. A bit silly, yes, but that's OK. It was easy to imagine the scene: a placid start, then a jolt. Next came a rampage of drums, piano and free-flowing bass. Finally, back to calm, and a tense build again, with a prompt ending. Kromelow and his band know how to change the feel and emotion of the music on a dime, and as they find new and creative ways to display their individual and collective talents, KROM is set to bring a unique standard to the jazz scene.

www.adamkromelow.com

Check out videos of the band jamming in the studio:

Holy Sons: searching for truth

Upon hearing any Holy Sons track, the listener may come to one of two conclusions. First, that the gruff-yet-expressive-voiced narrator of these tracks is a deranged hermit creating strangely magnetic songs from some underground dungeon. Or second, that the narrator is only slightly antisocial, and maybe a little crazy, but only because he's somehow uncovered a deep mystery about life. Either way, he sends his observations out to the world for those who care to find him.

It's probably best to make a clean break between these two, because Holy Sons is Portland-based multi-instrumentalist Emil Amos, home recording over the past two decades - and one gets the feeling that only he truly knows where his imagination has wondered over the years. Amos is slightly better known as the drummer in experimental metal band Om, the dark post-rock Grails, and most recently, the second half of multi-genre tweakers Lilacs and Champagne. As Holy Sons, he sings, plays guitar, and creates collages from what sound like the bottom of the odd-hour TV barrel: dialogue from forgotten '70s action flicks, televangelist sermons, and fuzzy-toned show themes.

His songs always seem to impart a lesson, as Amos boils up a cauldron of self-doubt, hard-won truths, and eventual revelations in his lyrics, all set to a twisted dark folk-psych that ropes you in for closer inspection, even if a general cloud of dread looms above. His album and song titles certainly imply this approach: Criminals Return; Survivalist Tales; Decline of  The West, "Detached in Ways" and "
Mind's Eye." It's a push and pull, a game that tests how much you really want to know about the person behind the mic.

Amos, now living in New York City, has managed to remain prolific, experimenting with many musical forms, from middle eastern-tinged guitar licks to breezy but ominous jazzy interludes. He's been releasing compilations of forgotten and found tracks over the years along with a handful of proper albums, each leaning on the side of either murkiness or clarity. The first half of a '90s and '00s roundup record, Lost Decade II, and a new album are slated for release soon. Those who know of Holy Sons via word-of-mouth and rabbit-hole internet hunts are ready for more odd pleasure.



www.holysons.com

www.holysons.bandcamp.com

https://soundcloud.com/holy-sons