Music

Two crucial points of discussion with this EP: 1) the corrosive effect that Mall-Emo slickness has had on the reputation of otherwise earnest statements of teen angst, or those compositions that invoke that style of expression; 2) a counterpoint in the aesthetic of a particular lo-fi recording style in practice locally or, the John Sears Sound.

1) At some point, post Sunny Day Real Estate and the Dischord Records proto-emo that preceded it, youthful introspection with aggrandized emotional catharses un-tempered by a deep pool of life-experience or expectations began to be seen as a commoditizable part of youth culture.

2) The John Sears Sound is typified by a 4-track(?) approach to recording, favoring the capture of on-tape rawness over balanced condenser mic fidelity.

1) The commoditation of this music increased the asset pool available to its practitioners; palettes were smoothed past refinement to gloss; the removal from the inspiration triggers increased; contracts were signed; string parts were composed; haircuts were fashioned; sight was lost of the fun of youth.

2) As much as the particular equipment utilized for the capture of this rawness, the John Sears Sound has, as a distinct thread running through its resume, a decision (deliberate or otherwise) to record those bands that count among their top three associations ‘fun:’ House parties; floor shows; endless turkey puns; French bistro inspired silliness.

1) The pearly-white of Mall-Emo, with its automobile-sponsored headline tours, Guitar Magazine featurettes and TRL appeal became inexorably disconnected from the untested, youthful and simple (NOT a derisive term) source of it’s inception, leading to the inevitable dismissal of such expressions (regardless of the actual age of the composers) as ‘so emo.’

2) Is it any coincidence that all of these releases were put out on CDR (if that) and contain the hallmarks of artifact self-assembly? Each is DIY beyond any questions of authenticity.

The Tenspeeds self-titled EP is one of those records whose lo-fi pop sound turns back the physical clock to the time of zines/mail-order catalogs and the mental/cardiovascular clock to the playful optimism of the first week of summer break. Considering the band is on indefinite hiatus with guitar/vocalist Brad (ex-Rosa, the band which drummer Kirke also hailed from) relocated to Bloomington, we suggest you start your summer off with this ACES recording as a substitute.

MP3: The Tenspeeds – Build it with Bricks

The Tenspeeds EP is available at Sound Exchange, or via mail-order from passionateyouththing records. Catch recorder and Tenspeeds guitarist John Sears in what is claimed to be the final performance of his latest band, Le Thargic, tonight at Notsuoh with Cop Warmth and Chief Death Rage.

One thing we greatly enjoy about Houston (indeed, perhaps the 3rd strongest barrier between us and collective homeownership in Buffalo, Pittsburgh or Milwaukee) is the imbrededly tight group of personalities that populate the various acts (living or defunct) who stand before us, play before us and make the darkening hours of the day worth the time toiling indoors. Take the new Jana Hunter record (what, you thought we were going to go a week without mentioning her? Yr silly) It has many local kids on it, like this one guy who is in Fatal Flying Guilloteens, which has a member that used to be in this band Blueprint with a dude whose now in Spain Colored Orange, which has a beard-o that was once in The Kimonos, who also once had a guy who is now in Le Thargic, which has a buerretist that recorded the Turkeys’ record, which has a guy that used to be in God’s Temple of Family Deliverance, which has a surfer-cut who was in Dethro Skull with a guy who is in Inoculist who is the same dude who also chipped in on Jana’s record and cue the animated sunrise and lion and Elton John singing The Circle of Life’ and all that.

There are about a million ways we could have done that circuit, and we freely admit that, aside from scene points, one of the reasons The Skyline Network is even around is to weave a narrative into these connections and expose those so inclined to the wicked rich and healthy community of music here in the city’s heart. But, equally so, we write what we do to try and find the other stories like this – the other circles and cores and uncoordinated collective actions that doubtlessly exist elsewhere in our local calling zone; to break the lock on those chests and add their narratives to the larger story of the 713/281/832.

We’ve been suspecting for a while now that the Generic Tribe is part of one of those other circles that we’ve been gunning for. Turns out, they are, and their new record, The Dressmaker, the Drone and the Yellow, is pretty much the smoking gun. But who else dwells in their patch of savannah? They are more than a little coy in responding:

Yes we do work with a lot of artist…we are a tribe. Mostly local musicians that are our friends. That is part of the mystery of the generic tribe. we are not ones to put any names on our cd’s…Friends come by and add their parts and there is the magic to it.

Mystery, about the tribe, about the membership, about who contributes, is a fairly overt theme in our correspondence with them. And while it’s nearly impossible to not recognize Sabra Laval’s pipes and cadence, the rest of the talent (key word) and their other projects (by extension) remain in occultation. Some will say “that’s chill – I like the idea of the mystery and not knowing who’s involved,” while others will likely lean more towards “woah, total dick move – I want to check some of these other people out!”

We’re in the ‘check the other people out category.’

On Dressmaker, as it would be in any healthy flop-housish music scene, is all over the place, genre/stylistically. Except it’s not a scene, it’s a record; it’s not a compilation culled from the catalog of a dozen bands in a scene, it’s a compilation of the talents of a scene organized around a core of a few regular performers. We dig that idea, and pass major props on to all involved, even though we wish we had a bit of a clue more about who they were. So, with that out of the way, onto the record itself.

We freely admit that our introduction to the Generic Tribe was through a few songs on their MySpace, tracks like ‘Momma Come Quick’ and ‘Hold onto a Tuesday’ (both on the Dressmaker) which gave us a certain impression and pre-conception of the band as easy-going gulf fishermen with a jug of the psychedelic. This even tended to hold up with the somewhat abridged version of their set at the Westheimer Street Festival we were able to take in. So we were always a little perplexed when reviews of their earlier CDs kept comparing them to Eminem (this is their seventh, btw. SEVENTH!). And we still are, frankly.

More than Marshall Mathers, you’ll hear Jewish Brooklyn party rap, dark electro, French-vocaled twee-tronica, guitar pop that’s more Lennon than McCartney, My Life with The Friday Classic #’s and New Power Generation solo project fodder… and once you’ve heard those tracks, you’ll still have twenty more songs to consider. Seriously. This album has three more dunks than a Michael Jordan jersey, and nearly each one is completely unrelatable to what immediately preceded it. In fact, please do not take the fairly obvious descriptions we employed earlier in this paragraph to mean these compositions are obvious apeings. To the contrary, we are paid by the word and simply don’t sell enough ads to even to begin to describe things as they should be were this even a 10 minute ep. It is an understatement to note that this is not a record that will help you sustain a mood, unless that mood is ADD.

But yet, like a compilation skillfully culled regionally rather than thematically, it works. There are tracks you will skip, and tracks you will loop; and they won’t be the same for everyone, and they won’t even always be the same ones for you. One thing is pretty consistent, though – you aren’t likely to listen to it just once. Indeed, we’re of the impression that, with enough repeats, you will, in-fact, begin to find the common threads throughout it. And that you will find, on that fabric, that there is a narrative for that scene (the one we wanted to help write). And that the Generic Tribe win; they get both their mystery, and their narrative and (bonus) they get to do it themselves, at home, in their studio, on their own terms and in their own way of communicating. And we’ve gotta say, that’s pretty whipass. Recommended.

Get your hands on a copy of The Dressmaker, the Drone and the Yellow at the CD’s release party tonight at Walter’s on Washington, and get a little further into the mystery as they perform live and potentially live up to their reputation of having other artists on stage with them. Also on the bill are Novice, Confusatron and Hearts of Animals.