tense forms reviews // All Reviews

Delusions of Adequacy

Mon, 29 Sep 2003 09:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: simple but intense, easily bounding from delicate and lulling to powerful and crunching... The Autumn-Waking have devised another way to inject originality into the two-piece band dynamic. Recommended.

The Autumn-Waking
The Loudest Birthday Ever EP
Tense Forms

File Under: Aggressive shoegazer rock
RIYL: Milemarker, PJ Harvey

It seems that there’s been quite the collection of two-piece bands around the music circuit lately, covering everything from punk and blues to fractured dance music. However, The Autumn-Waking’s The Loudest Birthday Everadds a new twist to the two-piece band dynamic by giving the good old-fashioned garage-rock sound a shoegazer bent. Now in all honesty, The Autumn-Waking does cheat a bit, as this EP sees guest vocalist/organist S. Renee Bertsch joining drummer Allison Stanley and vocalist/guitarist Joshua Dumas for five tracks that turn out surprisingly lush, considering the somewhat sparse musical arrangements involved (Bertsch, it seems, was merely a part of the recording process, and is not actually a regular member of the band).

The main basis of every song here is easily the drumming, which breaks out of the typical ‘minimalist drumming in a two-piece band’ mold, courtesy of Stanley’s inspired playing (which is obviously influenced at least slightly by her past experience with the experimental/free-form jazz project the SILVER measure). Bertsch’s contributions to this EP are major, as her strong vocals are present in every track, and even the minimal, underlying organ pieces in these tracks add immesurable depth to the songs. Still, though, there’s no seling Dumas short, either, as the guitar playing on The Loudest Birthday Ever is simple but intense, easily bounding from delicate and lulling to powerful and crunching, while his vocals drag along from near whispers to Bob Mould reminiscient guttoral moans.

The disc opens with the organ/guitar-fronted, stomp-then-sprawl experience that is “To the Wall and Over,” which is punctuated by some depely spacy guitars. Bertsch’s vocals on this track are to die for - especially when they’re intermingled with Dumas’ primative groans. “Copyright” opens with an awesome combination of organ and female vocals that sounds like a dark, twisted form of church music. Delicate guitars and quite drums build up behind the open until the levee breaks, leaving a trail of crunching guitars and aggressive male/female vocals in its wake.

“Under the Maude Moon” showcases the band’s diversity and musicianship a bit more, as another very nice, soft opening leads to a crazy jazz breakdown that clears out to a stark set-up of echoing guitar to back some incredibly vulnerable-sounding Bertsch vocals. An almost flowery-sounding musical bed backs up a mid-track spoken word soundbyte piece here, though the track does eventually build itself back up to a strong garage-rock pinnacle, complete with just a touch of the shoegazer vibe thrown in. The song’s closing comes when Dumas and Bertsch share a pretty little male/female vocal round that gets a slight bit aggressive. Somewhere around the middle of “Simulating the Haystack,” there’s a sweet instrumental break that builds up into a set of powerful, stop-and-go, quiet to loud rhythmic swells that grind together into a frenzied ending.

“What People Worry About” is The Loudest Birthday Ever‘s epic track, with the first few moments seemingly revolving around the vocal interplay between Bertsch and Dumas. The vocals compliment each other remarkably, as Dumas tends to moan quietly when Bertsch sings strongly, though as soon as his voice turns to yelling and groaning, she pulls her vocals back to a controlled whisper - the effect is has over the song is really something to be heard. The track’s breakdown is possibly the nicest on the disc, and after it breaks into another jazzy freak-out, a picked guitarline floats out behind another set of soundbytes. By the time the track returns to the original ‘chorus’ set-up, the form has been mangled, and what comes out is a thick noise redux.

Considering the simplistic nature of The Autumn-Waking’s musical set-up and compositions, there really is a lot going on during The Loudest Birthday Ever. Stark without being annoyingly sparse, The Autumn-Waking have devised another way to inject originality into the two-piece band dynamic. Recommended.

Gary, 9/29/03

Tablet

Tue, 11 Nov 2003 03:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: By far, this group's music works best when powerful siren-like vocals transcend the grinding melodies.

the autumn-waking
the loudest birthday ever
Tense Forms
•••••6••••

Once the challenging origami-like packaging of the autumn-waking’s the loudest birthday ever has been conquered, what remains is five songs that tackle some combination of art punk and shoegaze, with varied success. The EP fires off with a driving song reminiscent of Sky Cries Mary, complete with haunting female vocals and trance-inducing repetitive lyrics. From there, however, the energy is lost. The songs become more and more instrumental, and the female vocals disappear almost completely and are replaced by unconvincing male voices and sampled spoken pieces. By far, this group’s music works best when powerful siren-like vocals transcend the grinding melodies. If the singing on the first two tracks is performed by guest S. Renée Bertsch, then permanent autumn-waking members Allison Stanley and Joshua Dumas should consider bringing her into the group full-time. - Catherine P. Lewis

Chicago Sun-Times

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Ami Saraiya... has turned from her earlier group's swampy funk toward a much more enigmatic and hard to pin down sound, which is alternately sultry and alluring and heartbreakingly sad throughout the impressive 'Cryptomnesia' album.

The local indie news is good
March 24, 2006

BY JIM DeROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC

Time once again to dip into the always overflowing bins of D.I.Y. or ultra-indie releases by local bands. Here are some of the most noteworthy from recent months.

…

The key attraction in the back-porch folk-jazz-county combo Radiant Darling is former Pelvic Delta singer Ami Saraiya, who has turned from her earlier group’s swampy funk toward a much more enigmatic and hard to pin down sound, which is alternately sultry and alluring and heartbreakingly sad throughout the impressive “Cryptomnesia” album. The group is currently a trio with Saraiya, Ben Gray on drums and Casey Meehan on guitar, though it is often joined by Marck Fick on accordion and Marc Piane on upright bass. While it doesn’t have any shows listed on its Web site (www.radiantdarling.com) at the moment, I’m eager to catch this band onstage.

…

Aiding & Abetting

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: This album sounds completely alive.

The Notes and Scratches uh-oh (Tense Forms)
Raucous, glorious stuff. The melodies are sterling, and the arrangements about as messy as can be. Kinda like Nick Lowe producing a later OMD album…though probably a bit busier than even that. This album sounds completely alive.

Aiding & Abetting

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: It's indescribably delicious.

Radiant Darling
Cryptomnesia
(Tense Forms)

Further proof that Chicago is the center of the musical universe, Radiant Darling blazes forth with an album that’s one part gothic Americana (y’know, Trailer Bride), one part gypsy jazz (they even do a Django Reinhardt piece), one part art rock and, well, lots of other things thrown in.

It all makes for an invigorating blend that is impossible to turn off. These songs spin spells that can’t be broken. Radiant Darling has created an alternate universe that is exceedingly enticing. I might, indeed, want to live here all the time, if I wasn’t scared out of my mind at the prospect of doing so.

The minimalist production really helps here, leaving plenty of space between the mostly acoustic instruments and raucous percussion. I could be wrong, but it sounds like much of the music was recorded in one take. I hear a little bleedover between some of the instruments. If that’s merely a studio trick (or unintended result) I’m just that much more impressed.

It’s old. It’s new. It’s indescribably delicious. And I just can’t say enough.

Contact:
www: http://www.tenseforms.com

Kane County Chronicle

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: as innovative as its title

By ERIC SCHELKOPF
eschelkopf@kcchronicle.com

Radiant Darling’s first full–length album, “Cryptomnesia,” is as innovative as its title – the CD weaves jazz with Americana music, trip–hop and eastern Indian influences.

After being a member of Chicago band Pelvic Delta for almost three years, singer Ami Saraiya decided she wanted to try something different.

“I really liked a lot of the stuff I did with Pelvic Delta,” Saraiya said. “It was a lot more R&B style and funk–groove. But I’ve been listening to more western–style music, like Johnny Cash. I just wanted to do more songwriting. In Pelvic Delta, I was writing lyrics and my own melodies, but I wasn’t really forming the songs as much.”

Radiant Darling will perform Tuesday at Uncommon Ground Coffeehouse and Cafe, 3800 N. Clark St., Chicago.

The show starts at 8 p.m.

The band first started to come together in 2002, when Saraiya began collaborating with guitarist and programmer Scott Blackburn.

“It was great working with him because he’s filled with just a lot of stories and ideas,” Saraiya said.

The album’s title fits in with their concept behind the CD.

“Cryptomnesia is the appearance and consciousness of memory images which are not recognized as such but which appear as original creations,” Saraiya said. “We were listening to a lot of the songs we wrote and thought, ‘Wow, that sounds like something we’ve heard before, but not exactly. A lot of music that is created is based on something that you’ve heard before. We listen to things and it influences us and we recreate it, maybe with a little bit of our own twist.”

Her voice has drawn many comparisons to legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, which she takes as a compliment.

“It is always a big compliment, because she is an amazing singer,” Saraiya said. “I think it’s a lot in what she brings in her voice, the intensity she brings in her voice.”

Radiant Darling hopes to take its music through the Midwest this year, along with possibly performing in Georgia and Nashville this fall.

The band continues to hone its sound.

“We might be adding an accordion player,” Saraiya said. “I’ve recently fallen in love with the accordion. Right now, we’re doing a much more stripped down version of the band. Sometimes it’s just guitar and drums and voice, Ben Gray on drums and me. And sometimes we will add a bass player. It’s been fun playing around with the sparseness of the sound.”

LEO Beat

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 14:03:00 -0600

Excerpt: …instead of sending this 13-song effort straight into the musical trash bin, these knickknacks add a youthful exuberance that only comes when bands take chances.

Uh-Oh
The Notes and Scratches
(Tense Forms)
kitchen sink pop
When all else fails, throw everything and the kitchen sink at the listener.
It’s a neat trick, and it works.
In addition to actual instruments, a yelp, a beer can, a saw and “junk” — no elaboration — show up on Uh-Oh, the jubilant full-length by Notes and Scratches. Yet instead of sending this 13-song effort straight into the musical trash bin, these knickknacks add a youthful exuberance that only comes when bands take chances.
“The Hours” introduces Uh-Oh with the sweet, spare notes of a glockenspiel. It switches to breakneck joyous pop-punk, back to glockenspiel and once more back to punk before coming to a satisfactory halt.
You barely have time to breathe before “In the Shadow Cast” infects your ear with aplomb. “The River Girl” skips along at a pace comparable to old Irish folk songs, while “Lines Reveal” is half song, half experimental, ambient needling, nicking and, yes, scratching.
Joshua Dumas’s raspy, pained voice is front and center on each tune except “In the Morning,” an instrumental ideal for listening when you’re cruising down River Road at light speed. “In the Evening” should close the next Michael Mann film. —Mat Herron

Almost Cool

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:11:00 -0600

Excerpt: Ami Saraiya of Radiant Darling has one of those voices that gives you a bit of pause when you first hear it because it seems that so few vocalists truly have that special something that can turn heads on their own.

Radiant Darling
Cryptomnesia
(Tense Forms)

Ami Saraiya of Radiant Darling has one of those voices that gives you a bit of pause when you first hear it because it seems that so few vocalists truly have that special something that can turn heads on their own. Musically, the group plows their way through everything from eastern-tinged atmospheric chamber pop to jazz and even a dash of Americana, but it’s those vocals that truly take it up and over to the next level, making good songs great ones and interesting ones outstanding.

Originally only a duo of Saraiya and Scott Blackburn (guitars and programming), the group expanded to a foursome (as well as other guest appearances from some friends) for Cryptomnesia and now includes multi-instrumentalist Casey Meehan and violinist Savoir Faire. The disc opens with the soft swagger of “The Outcome,” and Saraiya belts out a country inspired track backed by brushed drums, subtle bass and acoustic guitar. After the slightly more atmospheric “Familiar,” the group really hits their stride with the vibrant “Marmalade,” which clicks along with speedy percussive work and horns that give it a soulfull southwestern flavor.

“The Otherside” finds the group touching on acid jazz as traditional instrumentation and vocals gives way to moments of shimmering atmospherics and filtered vocals. The track veers back and forth between almost old time scat jazz and electronic-touched psychedelic stuff fairly deftly, adding another nice layer to the album. They even drop a twisted circus organ freakout with the bizarre “For Mary,” as Saraiya sings and howls over instrumentation that sounds like a close cousin to what Tom Waits gruffs over.

Not all of the experiments from the group click on all cylinders, and while “Versadh” starts out with some great eastern Indian-inspired instrumentation and backing vocals, the song never quite pulls together all the different elements. The group is quite good at what they do, and while some of the programming and processing sounds good and adds to songs, sometimes it does sound somewhat out-of-place given the already developed songs. The subtle effects on a track like “Tears” (where elements sometimes start going in reverse) add much more to the release than more obvious vocal filters and other odd inclusions. The gist of Cryptomnesia is that in nine minutes and just under forty minutes you get a couple torch songs, a couple foot stompers, and several genre-benders that all showcase a great little band with a unique and outstanding female singer.

rating: 7/10
Aaron Coleman
2006-01-26 21:11:12

Cokemachineglow.com

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Because of their epic, mythic elements and Saraiya's conscious tapping of various historical genres at once, her songs radiate with the energy of some treasured long-lost thing rediscovered.

Radiant Darling
Cryptomnesia
(Tense Forms; 2005)

Rating: 75%
Combined Rating: 72%

Upon first hearing it, the name Radiant Darling summoned various unwelcome images into my mind. What would a band with this name sound like, I wondered, first imagining a fierce black-lipped punk-goddess. I saw her on a dingy stage, glaring into a crowd of aggressively pierced faces, donning a ripped t-shirt with the words “Radiant My Ass” plastered in hot pink across the front. Then, I thought, no; that’s too counter-culture for 2006. Radiant Darling are likely a foursome of attractive white males from the suburban mid-west. Their pants are too short and they sing Simon & Garfunkel covers and sigh convincingly tortured sighs between numbers. Crowds can’t help but sigh along — these boys are just that charming. Okay, okay. I know I sound a little cynical. But in an age where bands seek relentlessly to out-clever one another with the most ironic punchline-turned-moniker, Radiant Darling seemed a little straight. How happy I was to learn that the band named themselves after a woodstove. That’s the kind of quaint I can deal with.

In the end, of course, Radiant Darling don’t sound like either of the bands I had in mind — they’re much better, and much more surprising. They hail from Chicago, and are: Ami Saraiya (vocals), Ben Gray (percussion), Savoir Faire (violin) and Casey Meehan (guitar). Saraiya first put the band together in 2002 when she met her initial collaborator, guitarist and programmer Scott Blackburn. Radiant Darling was formed in the wake of her departure from funk/R&B band Pelvic Delta in 2001 when her songwriting began to lead her in different directions. In which directions, you ask? Saraiya says her head was full of a “mishmosh of Johnny Cash, Indian folk tunes, Radiohead, old country lullabies, Billie Holiday, Bjork, and bad ‘80s pop” and was about ready to explode. Well, explode it did, and Cryptomnesia is what was born.

If you took Billie Holiday, added a little Lhasa, some Bjork, and a smattering of Tom Waits (just to taste), you’d have a vague idea of what Ami Saraiya’s voice sounds like. It’s full-bodied and playful, edgy and lithe; it roars and growls, belts and thrashes, and, every so often, purrs. It settles on no particular mood for more than a few seconds, continually rousing the ears with its contortionist capabilities.

If I were to choose one adjective to describe Cryptomnesia it would be haunting. And that’s just after listening to it. Delve into the lyrics and you get into some downright uncanny territory. Saraiya isn’t interested in telling the same old story. Because of their epic, mythic elements and Saraiya’s conscious tapping of various historical genres (rag-time, jazz, blues, country, Indian folk) at once, her songs radiate with the energy of some treasured long-lost thing rediscovered. Upon first listen, you get the feeling you’ve heard these songs before — not in their present incarnations, sure, but they resonate somewhere. The exceptional thing is that while they sound familiar, they sound entirely new. Because this resonance seems so simultaneous and unforced, it’s interesting that Saraiya’s more than aware of it. The album’s title, Cryptomnesia, is, by definition, “the appearance in consciousness of memory images which are not recognized as such but which appear as original creations.” She says Radiant Darling chose this name for the album because their idea of music creation is that we re-create what we’ve heard and been influenced by (while, if we’re lucky, putting our own spin on it.)

The theme of re-creation is not only infused in the sound of Cryptomnesia, but is the subject of many of the songs. “Familiar” and “By Jove” are based on a myth that the band developed which they say is derived from many other myths they’ve heard. A god and a goddess, whose passion for one another is so great that they destroy each other and, as a by-product, create the sun, happen upon one another in a bar millenia later. When their re-incarnated versions meet, something is stirred, but their memories remain murky. “Familiar,” the female take, is a smoky, latin-esque incantation. The protagonist starts out unsure that she recognizes the former god — “you seem familiar” — but the song builds into a climax of passionate certainty; Saraiya shows her vocal chops when she sings “you know I didn’t mean what I said when I cursed you out into the black black night.” “By Jove,” the yang to “Familiar’s” yin, shows the god in a much wearier state. He’s mystified by why the girl at the end of the bar is starting at him: “Don’t she see that I’m a washed up old rag / I lost my power.” Saraiya’s Waits-like growl on the lyrics “I never wanted to be such a predictable son of a bitch” is even more compelling when you know that she’s impersonating a former god.

Crytomnesia‘s remaining tracks are each as various in their subject matter as their sound. “Versadh” fuses trip-hop with a Gujarati sample while Saraiya layers a colourful and hypnotic (and seemingly more personal) narrative above it. “For Mary” and “The Otherside” both embody circus themes and are appropriately perplexing. Saraiya writes lyrics for “Tears,” the Django Reinhardt/Stephan Grappelli classic, and takes it down unexpectedly dark track. “The Outcome” is likely the most easy-listening track on the album, but even it manages to subvert its simple-love-song sound with its cryptic repeated message: “The outcome is almost here.”

I’m not a New-Ageist, neither am I overtly spiritual. I don’t get my tarot cards read, and the times I’ve had that forced on me, I haven’t really paid attention to what was revealed. I don’t carry crystals around in my pockets, nor does the scent of nag champa help me unwind. Reincarnation is a nice idea, but I’ve never put too much consideration into what I might re-emerge as. How does this relate to the discussion of this album? While Radiant Darling might, all aspects of their thing considered, seem a little “out there,” Cryptomnesia casts a spell. Sure, it might be a fitful and hallucinogenic one, but it’s got a charge all the same.

Kate Steele
January 26, 2006

75 or Less

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Ami Saraiya has a torch singer quality reminiscent of both Billie Holliday... Saraiya's voice really does grab the imagination

Radiant Darling - Cryptomnesia (Tense Forms Records) [audio] [upcoming shows]

It’s difficult not to compare Radiant Darling to The Arcade Fire, Bjork, or even Squirrel Nut zippers. There are two reasons for this: Ami Saraiya has a torch singer quality reminiscent of both Billie Holliday (in sound and attitude) and Nico (attitude only); and the music is mostly rickety, ethereal, Old World and acoustic. While there’s nothing incredibly new on this CD, the exotic South Asian trip-hop beats and Indian chanting on “Versadh” are a nice touch, and Saraiya’s voice really does grab the imagination. - karen m.

Em P Me

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Rough and raspy, it retains an elegance found in only the rarest of occasions, as illustrated perfecty amongst the opening lines of 'Seriously'... the strongest point of the album is the collaborative vibe emanating from every moment.

Seriously, the hours flew by
January 5th, 2006 by Mike

Located in Chicago, Tense Forms is a collection of like-minded musicians, artists, conceptualists and friends that have banded together not in an attempt to make each other famous through virtue of size, but rather to feed off each other’s creative energy, elevating their collective output to unimaginable levels. They are the most organized, on the ball, doing-it-for-all-the-right-reasons group of people I’ve ever been in contact with. The newest project of theirs to cross my desk is the most recent disc from the Notes and Scratches, entitled Uh-Oh.

Listening to an album for the first time at work is always a dangerous proposition. Distractions come, flutter in your face while the phone rings and that pain in your back from uncomfortable office furniture reminds you that the neon-esque glow of the the flourescent lighting is exacerbating your caffeine-withdrawal headache. The next thing you know, you’re on the 10th of 11 songs and remember three words. Such was the scenario I envisioned when I fired up my work iTunes library to sit down for the first time with the new Notes and Scratches album. Moments into “The Hours” and that scenario was deemed impossible by the powers that be. Putting me off-guard with what sounds like a bowed saw, the intro fluttered into the distance behind a crushing and perhaps deadly wall of pounding percussion, squeeze box, slide guitar, piano, electric guitar, and bass. The musical backdrop seems better suited for a Tennessee recording studio than a musty club in the corner of Chicago, but offers the perfect canvas for Joshua Dumas’ patented* 10-cigarette croon. Rough and raspy, it retains an elegance found in only the rarest of occasions, as illustrated perfecty amongst the opening lines of “Seriously” (a duet with the wonderfully voiced Anika Balaconis). The album drives through track after track, letting up only a couple times (though perfectly placed to fight back any fatigue that may fall upon untrained ears) with the introspective tale found in “the Clockmaker’s Daughter” and the brass-laden instrumental “in the Evening.”

Moving beyond that of bands such as The Gunshy and Lucero (who the Notes and Scratches will no doubt draw comparisons to), the strongest point of the album is the collaborative vibe emanating from every moment. A musical metaphor to what brought them together in the first place, Uh-Oh is swimming in friendship, collaboration, creativity and the arts. The CD comes packaged in a beautiful gatefold chipboard package, hand screened with illustrations that create their own entry points from which listeners can enter the album from.

Not only has the band created what easily would have been on my Top 10 List of 2005 had I actually brought it home from the office and spent more time with it, but they have also adapted to the ever changing processes behind marketing and selling their music, offering high-quality DRM-free digital downloads from the Tense Forms website alongside the traditional CD with it’s beyond traditional packaging. When will the larger labels of the world learn?

The album retained its grasp on my attention as it made its way promisingly through track after track, drowning out the dull Monday office-scape and opening itself invitingly to me.

= If not, it should be.

Dusted

Wed, 04 Jan 2006 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Anthems with a capital A. Riffs non-stop, incredibly liberating to hear and which will pull your fist into the air. They show up on the second half of 'Sonic Who' and they pulled me in for sure.

the Treatment
Rich Man Dreams 7”
(Tense Forms)

Chicagoland loud boy brood band whose weaknesses – namely an overtly emotional and somewhat generic outpouring of emotion on “Doublespeak” (as there really is no drama in yelling “what you said/what you did” over and over) – are largely compensated for by significant anthemic elements. Anthems with a capital A. Riffs non-stop, incredibly liberating to hear and which will pull your fist into the air. They show up on the second half of “Sonic Who” and they pulled me in for sure. Silkscreened sleeve is nice, and when you buy this single you can unlock access to these songs and two more at the band’s website. But still. Anthems. Heroics. These are cherishable concepts. Good enough.
(www.tenseforms.com)

The Perm & The Skullet

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:13:00 -0600

Excerpt: This is a must have. These tracks have been on constant rotation here and I highly recommend checking these guys out.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The Notes and Scratches

Thanks to Chris from Gorrilla vs. Bear for the heads up on The Notes and Scratches. I checked out the tracks provided and with my love for Waits and Gunshy my ears perked up upon hearing Joshua Dumas voice. This is a must have. These tracks have been on constant rotation here and I highly recommend checking these guys out. Also check out their live performance on Chicago’s WLUW. The band’s bio can be found here, their website here, and you can purchase Uh-Oh! here.

posted by M. at 10:13 AM

Toledo City Paper

Thu, 01 Jul 2004 13:25:00 -0600

Excerpt: 'Via Coercion' is a beautiful instrumental track, mixing the clarinet and sax with a fuzz guitar in the beginning, and breaking into a kinda polka-swing. Not an easy listen, but worth the effort.

New Circles
CDs

Casey Meehan “Violet”: The instrumentation on “Violet” is primarily piano, guitar, clarinet, baritone sax and drums. It makes for an interesting sound, almost a Klezmer sound. These guys aren’t shy either, as is evidenced throughout. “Via Coercion” is a beautiful instrumental track, mixing the clarinet and sax with a fuzz guitar in the beginning, and breaking into a kinda polka-swing. Not an easy listen, but worth the effort.
(www.caseymeehan.com)

Newcity Chicago

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 11:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: [One of] 2005's Top 5 Local Albums

Top 5 of Everything 2005
Newcity taps the best of the year

2005’s Top 5 Local Albums
New Black, “Time Attack” (Thick Records)
J+J+J, “They Hump While We Go Nuts” (Johann’s Face)
The Notes and Scratches, “uh-oh” (Tense Forms)
The Dials, “Flex Time” (Latest Flame)
Pelican, “Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw” (Hydrahead Records)

Splendid E-zine

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 03:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: excellent, and moreover quite original

Casey Meehan
Violet
Tense Forms

Format Reviewed: CD

A word to the wise for all of you aspiring musicians out there: make sure that Windows Media Player isn’t telling lies about you.

If the unsuspecting record reviewer, for instance, inserts Casey Meehan’s excellent album Violet into his computer’s DVD-ROM drive and launches said program, the album information that WMP accesses (from whatever magical source) will assign the disc to the world’s most pariahfied genre, Easy Listening. Recoiling in horror, said reviewer might quickly move this (once again, excellent, and moreover quite original) album to the bottom of his reviewing pile.

The reviewer in question was saved from just this course of action by another of Windows Media Player’s features, Auto-Play (Brett, for the love of God, download a better player app — Ed.). Before he could eject the disc, the rock ‘n klezmer strains of excellent opener “The Marigny” were wafting through his headphones, and the edgy guitar slab underpinning all of the cool-as-hell baritone sax, clarinet and vocals was more than enough to assure him that the mistake was in the database.

From the seedier side of New Orleans, Meehan goes immediately to church. It seems, at least for the length of the second track, that Mr. Meehan is a member in good standing of the First Baptist Church of The Blessed Tom Waits, as he and Ms. Sarah Renee Bertsch inform us of their intention to “hunt my redemption with a shovel and a chain” over a swampy mishmash of revival furor and imprecations.

At about this point, you might find yourself ready to send off an angry e-mail to Mr. Gates, demanding that he remedy his company’s mischaracterization of an impressive young artist (Note to self: Must explain to Brett how online music databases work. — Ed.). And no one would blame you, especially after enjoying the transcendent, fuzzed-out bliss of “Wounds”, with its tom-heavy chorus intro and complicated, proggy bridge. Or the Primo Levi-referencing ruminations of “Who Will Be Saved”. Or the keyboard-led raveup of “Do Right”. But then, as you listen to the murder fantasy of “Every Star That Shines” (which would make an excellent compare-and-contrast study with Radiohead’s similarly Dixieland-referencing “Life In A Glass House”), you’ll realize that you have better things to do, like listen to the album again. And again.

Perhaps, for the most metal-addicted among us, Meehan and company’s complex, multifaceted, tracks (like the funky Rhodes piano-and clarinet intro to the instrumental “Via Deception”) are indistinguishable from Barry Manilow, Air Supply, John Tesh, Kenny G and all of the other (what’s the word?…oh, yes) shit that makes Easy Listening such a black hole on your radio dial. Then again, maybe the person who created Violet‘s database record has a tin ear. Whatever the reason, hopefully Meehan and his band’s skillz will overcome their misclassification and ensure that this album gets the receptive ears, and the glowing reviews, it deserves.

— Brett McCallon

the Brainwashed Brain

Sun, 05 Oct 2003 10:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Every once in a while, an artist comes along who sounds born into a sound... Andy Wagner has that quality, like there's nothing else in this world he could be doing because it just wouldn't fit.

Andy Wagner, “Horse Year”
Tense Forms

Every once in a while, an artist comes along who sounds born into a sound, like while in the womb his parents played him classic records that he just absorbed into his psyche. Andy Wagner has that quality, like there’s nothing else in this world he could be doing because it just wouldn’t fit. This multi-instrumentalist uses guitar, keyboard, bass, and accordion to construct pop songs that defy the typical trappings to derive at something more. His breathy, Dylan-esque voice talks of death, human relationships, beginnings and ends, and all over a bed of western influences and tossed with rockabilly and country rock. The result belies the DIY formula he adheres to, as Horse Year has the feel of a solid group of players that have been polishing their skills in bars for five years, playing for crowds wading in sawdust and peanut shells. For the most part, though, Wagner wore all the hats himself, including the engineering and production work, with a scant few guests. While they add some much needed flavor, including the stable drumming of Mark Benson, this is Wagner’s show, and rightfully so. Narrative and introspective, he has the presence of a soul who will be writing and recording for a long time. “Weak in the Knees” and “Something’s Watching” speak of the inevitable day many of us spend most of our lives trying to pretend will never come, with the latter infusing just enough scare tactics. The ambling waltz and saloon piano of “Nothing to Defend” and “When I Leave” with its shuffle and faded accordion are definite highlights, but this album belongs to “What You Used to Be,” all echoed guitar and steady rhythm over laments of the past. Wagner is also a member of the Delta Still, and also works in Chicago area theatre, but this well-crafted debut shows he has the ability to overshadow it all like the dark side of the moon with his own work. - Rob Devlin

Splendid E-zine

Tue, 09 Dec 2003 04:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: If fallen angels need a spokesman, Andy Wagner is the man they'd seek out to speak their piece.... it's his voice, haunted, though not without a melancholy smile, that makes the songs so compelling.

Andy Wagner
Horse Year
Self-Released

Format Reviewed: CD

If fallen angels need a spokesman, Andy Wagner is the man they’d seek out to speak their piece. Repentant, tragically stubborn, aspiring to rise above the dark alleys and the nightmares of memory — these are the themes of the beautifully morose Horse Year. Here, Wagner conjures the spirits of the Old West in his steel guitar and sparse arrangements — but it’s his voice, haunted, though not without a melancholy smile, that makes the songs so compelling.

The album plays like a funeral mass, each track an ethereally-charged dirge that draws us in. “Weak in the Knees” churns to life amid a settling fog, regretful, accompanied by a church organ send-off. “Don’t worry ‘bout me / You can still carry on / ‘Cause I’ll be dead when you’re gone,” Wagner opines, though you might imagine this as the message of a man looking back from the next world. “Nothing to Defend” juxtaposes soaring guitar riffs and whiskey bar piano, the shadow of a gunfighter who’s fallen a step slow, riding headlong into the rain in search of the next sunset. These images lend an undeniable weight and immediacy to the album, but it’s the spectacularly bone-chilling, otherworldly reverberation of the pedal steel that stays with me every time I hear it. It’s there in the ending wash on the otherwise-amiable cowboy ballad “This World Can Be So Cruel”, and it’s revisited on the album’s final number, “One Key”. Here it resonates beside a wind chime lullaby as we drift along the river Styx, nestled beneath the stars and blissfully at peace with the horrors and the beauty of the world.

If I were more romantic or less sane, I’d say that I get the feeling Wagner writes his songs for the dead — for the ghosts who haunt his studio, who follow him home, drawn in by what must be his emotional whirlpool. He honors the Old West and all it stands for, the wide open spaces and spirits of the land, the loneliness of the open prairie and the choking grip of Manifest Destiny as it creeps westward, blotting out the big sky. We the living, safe in our houses and offices and cars, are the incidental audience, the ones lucky enough to hear what Wagner strums out in the dead of night.

— Justin Kownacki

Delusions of Adequacy

Tue, 16 Dec 2003 04:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Andy Wagner... knows how to set a mood and carry it through.... it seems as though he knows exactly what he's after in terms of sounds and production, and that kind of confidence is what makes a good debut work.

Andy Wagner
Horse Year
Tenseforms

File Under: Alt-country
RIYL: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jay Farrar, David Olney

Sure Andy Wagner can be more than a little sulky on Horse Year, his eight-song debut release, but he knows how to set a mood and carry it through. Wagner mixes a lonesome, high-plains western sound with inward-gazing moping in a familiar pattern. His voice is at turns rusty and reedy, and he plays most of the instruments on the album, primarily a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, to create a dusty, hazy atmosphere (Mark Benson of Lying in States adds some drums).

“Weak in the Knees” begins the album strongly, at once tough and gentle in tone. It’s the kind of song that earns the cliché “edgy.” Like Elliott Smith, Wagner likes to write waltzes with stiff, heavy percussion to create a martial feeling. There’s something naked and raw about that sound that makes it ideal for a little emotional melodrama, at which Wagner excels, and he repeats variations on it on the next track, “Nothing to Defend,” and later on the album.

High drama carries this record, and Wagner is most successful with it on songs like “Something’s Watching,” with its minor chords and whistling undertone of accordion. “What You Used to Be” is another moody piece, carried along by heavily muted and distorted lead electric guitar, Daniel Lanois-style, with a lyric that bemoans a lover lost to another man.

After that, though, Wagner seems to run out of gas. “Two Minutes” is a lazily paced instrumental interlude. And by the last couple of songs—“When I Leave” and “One Key”—Wagner has lost most of his momentum as moodiness finally overcomes melody. Those two plod along in a way that if I were in a more charitable mood I might compare to Leonard Cohen, but these don’t have the lyrical interest that helps to keep Cohen’s songs engaging. However, the wind chimes that hauntingly enter in at the end of “One Key” really are a nice, original touch, especially as they are the last sounds you hear on the album.

Andy Wagner has hammered out a pretty well defined place for himself in the world of contemporary singer-songwriter music. At least it seems as though he knows exactly what he’s after in terms of sounds and production, and that kind of confidence is what makes a good debut work.

George, 12/16/03

fakejazz.com

Fri, 16 Jan 2004 10:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: Andy Wagner's Horse Year is one of those albums that you can't get out of your head. It takes this insistent hold upon your ear and then haunts you long after you've put on something else.

Andy Wagner - Horse Year
(Tense Forms)

10/12 (Buy this new)

Andy Wagner’s Horse Year is one of those albums that you can’t get out of your head. It takes this insistent hold upon your ear and then haunts you long after you’ve put on something else. Wagner follows in the line of Uncle Tupelo, using a healthy mix of country-influenced rock, but he has more of a western element and an edginess, which may be from his strange but affecting vocals or from his use of accordion.

Although Wagner gets help on drums from Mark Benson of Lying in States and Matt Lindblom of Early Day Miners plays electric guitar on one track, Wagner plays everything else; guitar, bass, accordion, vocals and keyboards. He also recorded and produced this as well as wrote all the songs.

I have everyone here at my office humming the first track, “Weak in the Knees.” It has this maniacal tune that is so catchy, it’s almost impossible not to learn. There was some fear that the rest of the album would pale in comparison, but that proved unfounded. The next track, “Nothing to Defend,” has this flare worthy of Calexico, only with different ghosts. I could list all the aspects of each song I found stirring, but wouldn’t you rather hear it yourself?

r. renzoni
2004 jan 16

the Brainwashed Brain

Mon, 13 Oct 2003 09:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: a lot of moxy and sensual vocal prowess... the songs are punishing in places and delicate in others: whatever it takes to get the message out right.

Casey Meehan, “Violet”
Tense Forms

The air is thick, muggy, and full of nervous chatter. The congregation finds their seats with the help of ushers dressed in black suits, polite in their assistance and insistence that the growing crowd find their seats. The tent is makeshift at best, made from old bed sheets and a few cracks in the seams are visible to those who look above. No one is sure what to expect. They’ve heard the tales of this new minister and his new gospel, but they are apprehensive, perhaps even a little frightened at the prospect. Then, suddenly, the lights dim, and the stage explodes with horns, guitar, bass, and heavy percussion. As the lights restore the minister sings, no, howls the sermon with a boogie that is just shy of satanic, and the congregation can’t help but rise to their feet and join in with the minimal choir that accompanies him. Casey Meehan is that minister, and his songs aren’t the old or new testament, but they are lessons for the weak nonetheless. He sings of being baptised, of being born again, and with titles like “Who Will Be Saved?” and “Do Right” his mission is clear. He may not be of a formal religion, but he is here to shepherd the meek through the valley, and he will do so with a bit of Dixie, a bit of Storyville, New Orleans, and a lot of moxy and sensual vocal prowess reminiscent of Mark Sandman and Greg Dulli. These songs are the lessons of a man who has been through it all, who sees the masks we all put on and who wants to shatter them, hurling a reality with the force of a fastball; and like any good evangelist he has sinned as much as those he tries to save. His band, the Delta Still, are a tight, fierce ensemble, and the songs are punishing in places and delicate in others: whatever it takes to get the message out right. The instrumentals are massive, and through it all Meehan carries the weight with ease, sexing the microphone for all its worth. For his first record, Meehan is shooting out of the gate, heading down the track at full speed. Catch him if you can. - Rob Devlin

Shepherd Express

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: The mood is heavy with remorse, melancholy and ennui. New Orleans songwriter and singer Casey Meehan has recorded an album startling in its originality at a time when originality has largely run dry.

Casey Meehan
Violet (Tense Forms)
The mood is heavy with remorse, melancholy and ennui. New Orleans songwriter and singer Casey Meehan has recorded an album startling in its originality at a time when originality has largely run dry. Much of the music has the snaky meter of a rock rhythm section led by baritone sax and clarinet—an unusual lineup that occasionally suggests Morphine. The unconventionally orchestrated music also features violin and trumpet on twisty, shifting melodies that conjure up klezmer (“Every Star That Shines”), dreamy film soundtracks (“Via Deception”), the Doors (“Do Right”) and Leonard Cohen (“Amateur Drunks”).
—Dave Luhrssen

Newcity Chicago

Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:43:00 -0600

Excerpt: It's not hard to imagine these desperation tunes as a soundtrack for a heartbroken and down-on-his-luck rogue slogging through the dingy city streets at 4am.

Casey Meehan and the Delta Still, The Vatican Unit
(Music » Rock/Pop)

If Mark Eitzel had more of a Yiddish and Tin Pan Alley heart, he could well be Casey Meehan. A New Orleans songwriter who has teamed up with members of Lying in States and The Autumn Waking, he creates very somber moods at times. It’s not hard to imagine these desperation tunes as a soundtrack for a heartbroken and down-on-his-luck rogue slogging through the dingy city streets at 4am. During other moments, he uses sax, clarinet and Rhodes piano to produce a rollicking party gone out of bounds. Attendees of the soiree try in vain to keep one another on two feet, while glasses are raised in a celebration to anything an inebriated mind can conjure. Before long, some stumble home in each other’s arms. Others, glassy eyed, go it alone; in their heads they hear the sounds of klezmer still swilling within a tonic of cinematic pop, and they crack a crooked smile before passing out cold.

Tony Barnett

Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia
Chicago-Bucktown
(773)227-4433

QCTimes.com

Wed, 03 Nov 2004 22:47:00 -0600

Excerpt: Meehan could contentedly continue making the soulful, southern tunes that mash moody lounge operatives with building block nodules of Big Easy jazz, but wants to do more than the standard. More than the routine.

Band leader looks to grow
By Sean Moeller

At age 26, Chicago musician Casey Meehan could be like most people his age in the direction he takes his aspirations.

He could hope for greater workplace success, maybe moving into a higher income bracket from the one that came with the first few post-graduate years. He could be looking to settle down a bit, to start making house payments in lieu of renting and to cut back the amount of times he drinks too much in a single weekend.

But really, he just wants more string players for his band. He’d like oboes, flutes, more brass and more options to give shape to the gigantic and adventuresome pieces of music the Windy City implant has been working up in his head over the last four years since his move from New Orleans.

“I’m looking to put an orchestra together in the next couple years,” he said. “My band right now (trumpet, baritone sax, two guitars, bass, piano, drums and occasional violins) is getting, basically, too big to function. It’s hard playing shows and getting everyone into a car. I’ve got these other big scores that I’d like to perform, but I’m taking my time with it.

“I’m not expecting to play out with it that much. I’d like to put out a record with it I guess. Sometimes it makes me jealous of people who just have the trio.”

Meehan could contentedly continue making the soulful, southern tunes that mash moody lounge operatives with building block nodules of Big Easy jazz, but wants to do more than the standard. More than the routine. It’s the reason he got out of New Orleans, where he lived for four years after moving there from his boyhood home in Denver, when he finished high school.

The opportunities for the dreamer in him and the resources to bring those dreams a heartbeat couldn’t be found there. He had friends in Chicago so he packed up and came north.

“I hung out down there for a while. I might move back down there someday. But Chicago has a lot of good bands and musicians and there’s a better chance to get seen. I took the plunge,” Meehan said. “And The Reader (a weekly Chicago entertainment paper) has free classified ads for musicians. It makes finding trumpet players a lot easier. It’ll be good if I can hack the weather. I think New Orleans warmed my blood permanently. But it makes it real easy to stay inside and work.”

The band, which combines the complicated delta texture of the late Squirrel Nut Zippers with a greater call to the darker phrasings of a classic bluesman and a folk storyteller, has had a difficult time finding the right billings around its city as it doesn’t fit right in with a dead-on rock crowd or a softer and gentler indie crowd. It’s that round peg trying to fit into the square hole.

Meehan recognizes his group’s abnormal fence-sitting between audiences and genres, but there’s nothing much he can do about what comes to him in the songs he primarily sketches in the piano practice rooms at the Chicago Public Library near his apartment.

“A friend of mine said that the job of the artist is just to get the hell out of the way. If something is coming through, you don’t want to twist it in any way. I just try to clear my head as much as possible and keep writing,” he said. “(New Orleans) really made itself most prevalent when I moved to Chicago. I guess I just fell in love with the instrumentation down there. It’s funny because when I lived down there, I was writing about my visits to Chicago.”

Sean Moeller can be contacted at

(563) 383-2288 or smoeller@qctimes.com.

Splendid E-zine

Tue, 25 Nov 2003 16:00:00 -0600

Excerpt: the band scribbles outside the lines while keeping their songs intact. "Under the Maude Moon" drops a battery of jazz drumming and some eerie disembodied voices to great effect, building to a fiery guitar-driven climax.

The Autumn-Waking
The Loudest Birthday Ever EP
Tense Forms

Format Reviewed: CD

The rise of record labels-as-art-collectives is a largely positive development, in my opinion. Throw a bunch of musicians, writers, designers and various creative people together in a room and you’re almost guaranteed to get something interesting. That’s certainly the case with The Autumn-Waking, a product of Chicago’s close-knit Tense Forms family. Like Rainer Maria after four years at RISD, they take a basic emo template and shovel on the art damage with glorious abandon. I’d call this experimental, but I don’t want to scare anyone; on The Loudest Birthday Ever EP, the band scribbles outside the lines while keeping their songs intact. “Under the Maude Moon” drops a battery of jazz drumming and some eerie disembodied voices to great effect, building to a fiery guitar-driven climax. On “To the Wall and Over”, Allison Stanley’s voice dukes it out with Renee Bertsch’s organ for center stage, eventually settling into an uneasy truce. It’s a nice start from a band I hope we’ll be hearing more from soon.
— Ben Hughes