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| by todd hunter (todd) | |
 | Vlad, Chris, and Harman (left to right)
Photo by: Todd Hunter |
Shipwreck somehow sounds different every time, at every venue; even better than the set June 4 at The Iron Post in Urbana was the set June 24 at Friends & Co. in Charleston. Shipwreck played for fifty minutes at the little blue-collar bar, with a waist-high stage that seemed shoved into one corner. Drummer Chris Waage was hidden behind guitarist Harman Jordan the whole time. A fluffy bunny sat inert behind bassist Vlad Brilliant throughout, its eyes at such an angle as to appear not there.
First was "Alias," an unrecorded song with a new, less abrupt ending. "Buckle" and "Island of the City" followed and drew hearty applause, especially for the early crowd. "Cavern" and "Sawbones" came across as instrumentals, save one audible line: "I can only hear you when you're screaming."
"Sawbones" went straight into "Sleeping in the Saddle," which was not as smooth as at The Iron Post but nevertheless effective. Amid a ghostly delivery, guitarist John Owen focused off to his far left and acted wearied and disgusted at the thought of "what they'll do." Then on "Orphan," he cocked his head and looked like the devil making a sales pitch. Next to last was "Atlantic," a song that had debuted untitled at The Iron Post. With John hugging the high frets and Harman singing, "I was happy," this was the wild card. "Telegram" closed out the set like an awesome air conditioner cycling on and off.
Elsinore, the pride of the Charleston scene, then headlined.
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| by kyle gorman | |
The following interview first ran in the June 30 issue of Buzz and reappears courtesy of Buzz music editor Kyle Gorman.
Kyle: There are a lot of "watery" themes in your music. What's the origin of that?
Harman: Part of it is just the sound we go for, it's kind of like a spaced-out underwater thing. I like shoegazer stuff, and I always thought of shoegazer stuff as like being inside an aquarium, reverberating sound. I think it may be accidental, all the water references.
Kyle: But where did the name "Shipwreck" come from?
John: When we were ready to do shows, we just thought of a random name. We just liked the sound of it in terms of imagery.
Harman: I was also at the time reading a book called So Long, See You Tomorrow ... There was a shipwreck reference in there, just like "Everyone's life is like a shipwreck."
Kyle: You also have a lot of Western sounds.
John: [Speaking to Harman] You finger-pick.
Harman: I think my interests are a lot of older country music, like Gram Parsons and the country-rock stuff like the Byrds. I lived in Tennessee for a while and did the bluegrass thing.
Kyle: Did you play bluegrass?
Harman: Not really; I learned the songs, and I learned that "1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2" banjo finger-plucking style and I kind of adapted that to guitar for a while. I like elements like that and I like the themes in country songs. Older country songs seem to often be a little bit deranged.
Kyle: Any particularly deranged one?
Harman: There's that song called "Pretty Polly." It's basically about this guy who marries this woman and takes her out on his horse and then just kills her for no apparent reason.
John: I always thought my stuff sounds a little more nursery-rhyme-ish.
Harman: I try to get beyond the normal rhythms of the finger-plucking stuff and just warp it to the point where I don't even know what rhythm I'm following.
Kyle: You guys are labeled as "psychobilly" on MySpace, but you've got the "subaquatic astropunk" label as well? Any other bands in those genres?
Harman: The subaquatic astropunk thing was originally tongue-in-cheek.
John: Originally we put "alt-country" in there, and that's the one that stuck for some reason.
Kyle: You really can't escape that one.
Harman: Someone told us, "You don't sound like the other astropunk bands I've heard." I was like, "That's a term?" People come up with really interesting things that we sound like. In Akron, Ohio, this guy said we sounded like the Chameleons. We played in Charleston, and the guy who runs that place said we sounded like a mix of Bauhaus and the Talking Heads.
The OpeningBands.com Band of the Month social event this time was a barbecue and kickball game with Shipwreck at Chief Schmauger Park in Urbana.
 | Kyle flees first baseman John.
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 | Larry fingers another poor watermelon.
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| by nathan schwalm (mythox007) / nik allen (bluerecluse) | |
1. Cavern
2. Island of the City
3. Orphan
4. Sawbones
5. Coyote
6. Double Six
7. Buckle
8. Souvenir
9. Telegram
10. Coma
Review #1 - Nik Allen
One should not a review an album on an empty stomach. In fact, one should not make their first album review on an empty stomach. I find myself scrambling for some cream cheese and a piece of bread as I wait for the peaceful trail of piano on "Coma" to give way to the head swaying drums of "Cavern" and the repetition of Shipwreck's album, Origin. It may be the hunger pangs, but I find myself remotely paranoid and disturbed by the endearing vocalist's ode in the first thirty seconds. The words ache of plagued sincerity, describing the passing of a former love, but seem to leak that equal amount of creepiness visible in Johnny Cash's "Delia's Gone" or Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." I'm perturbed, and almost simultaneously entranced.
It is easy for the singer to draw comparisons to a bastard child of Talking Heads' David Byrne and Joy Division's Ian Curtis, but his place in the band proves to be more than just a channeling of the postpunk movement; the lyrics do not bathe themselves so much in darkness as to leave me, well...emo. A sense of humor is more than visible in some portions (The use of "verily"; "cheap-ass blush wine") as well as brilliant usage of imagery (The entirety of the song "Buckle"), but a few songs leave one wondering why the background vocals are louder than the lead singer. All of what I love about the vocals are present in the foreground, and it only seems that the morose oohs and ahhs deter from the solidarity of this.
Origin gives a multitude of fans of different genres the opportunity to enjoy the music of Shipwreck for its place as a sonic melding pot. On "Orphan", a downpaced flurry of electronic beats leads into an almost ambient driving force, where it immediately hits a wall of fluttering guitar and funk. Yes, funk, that delightful little muse enlivens this record at moments when one least expects it. With such a heavy attribution of space rock and the ghost of Parliament Funkadelic, it seems difficult to call this an ambient record. While some songs like "Sawbones" and "Double Six" leave one with a wary feeling of sleepiness, it isn't too hard to find a nearby track that wakes the individual from their sedation. One of my favorite tracks, "Coyote", starts with a gorgeously dark pop melody and a sense of urgency from the chugging guitar clicks. What delights me most about the track is the slight interspersing of slide guitar and faint piano giving life to the dirge-like background vocals. Likewise, on "Souvenir" and "Telegram", two of the latter tracks on the album, the conflict between torpor and vigor seems to make for the largest degree of creativity in the record. Heavy and mildly distorted guitars take the place of their spacy predecessors, the drummer seems damn near ecstatic to be playing in double time, and the music has just turned into a fire-breathing space mutant; swiggity. We are immediately saved from this menace as the last track, "Coma", returns the tone to the band's common ground, a constant heave between a pacified melody and a vicious desire to break loose. Gripping my bagel, I long to see if this victory will ever come to a head, and let the CD
revolve yet again. (Favorite Tracks: Buckle, Coyote, Orphan)
Review #2 - Nathan Schwalm
For a band that I have been acquainted with in the past year, this new showcase of songs overshadows their previous album big time. The recording displays a nice dreamy tone with a tight rhythm section and experimental tangents that keep each song original and fun to listen with good headphones. The multi-layers of individual instruments and well done mixing fit the tone without overshadowing the intentions of being too polished or overproduced.
Rarely for the past several months have I found a new album that grabs my attention from the first listen and beyond my craving for more repeated listens. A solid example of this is the tune "Island of the City" with its mystic mist of swirling minor keys with fuzz guitar and haunting vocals for the catchy "la la la" portion. The tune contains a really tight funk passage during the solo as well. "Orphan" contains bizarre lyrics with good double lead guitar licks and hypnotizing beats worth listening to. "Double Six" stands out with a mellow acoustic sound with lyrics vaguely associated with being drunk. A song closest to their previous album is "Buckle" with a Beck-like trippy funk with plenty of fuzzy distortions. The tune "Telegram" sounds like a long lost Wire tune from their great 154 era. The closing number "Coma" contains awesome back-up chanting with fuzz guitar and yet some solid piano work near the end of the tune.
Throughout the album is the original sound of atmospheric rock along with elements of surf, trip-hop, alternative pop, and haunting experimentations. The only bickering is my dying need for more songs to hear beyond the ten tunes compiled on the album. Well done for a recording that is enjoyable while relaxing or tripping out.
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| by chris earnhart (Pocket) | |
Local hip-hop act The Agenda has a new plan for their genre, and from the brief time I was able to sit and talk with them, I was able to see that they are dead serious about implementing it. Gathered together by Akdamo (formerly Prince Akeem with Public Enemy) due to their battle rap skills, Logik, Rod Mac, Ro Knew, and Law, are a self-proclaimed "Voltron" of hip-hop, combining each of their unique elements to form a whole new monster, greater than the sum of their parts.
What is the Agenda? If you look it up, it means "a program of things to be done." I could tell you what their program is, but Akdamo put it best when he said:
"In hip-hop, we recognize that everything is moving towards materialism. People shaking their asses, and telling us about the cars they got. And a lot of these cats are renting this stuff. They aren't really living like that. The majority of us in the group have children. The Agenda is a group that's really trying to be responsible for what we say and yet be able to talk to the streets, talk to the college students, talk to the thugs, talk to the educated people, talk to the politicians. The Agenda is something that has to been done, something that can compete with everything that's out there, but then take it to the next level."
The band agrees that they want to see a change in hip-hop. They do not want people doing what the group has already done or what they will do, but Rod Mac noted that the ones really hearing the music are today's youth. He said, "They hear about guns, drugs, sex, and that's the future." Does this mean that the music is all roses and butterflies? Not at all. Ro Knew added that he feels like the guns, drugs, and sex are out there, saying, "So we're going to talk about it, but it's not all there is." In other words, today's youth has a choice. And that's how the band views their music. Akdamo said that people have to be accountable for their actions. "You choose that gun, you shoot, then you're gonna go to the penitentiary and get killed," he said. So, in large part, The Agenda is about educating people of the consequences of actions.
In fact, they have spoken at grade schools and high schools about the life of a rapper. When I asked if they had material to talk to students about, Akdamo answered, "Yeah, that's why we're The Agenda: something that has to be done." A lot of kids see the life as glamorous and The Agenda tells them about the difficult path one must take in perfecting his/her craft, in leaving behind one's friends and family when on tour, and they talk about how it isn't a quick fix to one's problems. Nor is it the only one. Akdamo said, "Kids see [music] as their only avenue. Sports, music, that's their avenue." Once again, the agenda is to provide a choice.
The band is off to a good start, having been nominated for PGU's Best Hip-Hop Act in C-U 2004, with songs ready to be requested on air. So make sure you call and request "Shaking it Hard" on 105.5 or "That's the Jam" on 107.1. They are currently working on an album with tracks featuring local talent such as Upanotch Records and Melodic Scribes and more well-known acts like Ice Cube, Chuck D, Flava Flav, and Da Brat. They are also planning a regional tour to spread the word, but have even bigger plans. Akdamo let me in on the secret, "Local, regional, yeah. Then the world, then the universe. We'll be out there with Star Wars and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We'll be turning them on to the hip-hop and they'll say, ‘The Agenda? Yeah, we heard of you guys.'"
Meanwhile, in a galaxy far away, they would like to see the Midwest getting more attention. Ro Knew noted that there is really no hip-hop focused open mike in C-U. He said, "There's gonna be youngsters coming up, and we have no way to know about them, because they have no place to showcase their skills." I hope Ro Knew's wish is granted, because we have people here, The Agenda included, who could blow MTV out of the water.
Having listened to their demo and the snatch tracks off their website, I can say that The Agenda is indeed something different. Their ability is above that of mainstream rap, and their message is even better. They try to have music that educates, but continues to entertain with good flow and by being "danceable." From battles to politics to the streets to the clubs, The Agenda is, as Akdamo said, "like a gumbo" of hip-hop. Make sure to check them out at www.agenda4life.com.
Oh, yeah, and one last thing. I asked the guys what superheroes they would be (as always), and Ro Knew had an answer that I think summed it up just right. "You know, 99% of the time, I'm Clark Kent. But when I get up on that stage, I am Superman."
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