The Rogers, Arkansas quartet Formals consisting of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Ellington, drummer Shawn Newcombe, saxophonist Addison Bunch and producer Chris Moore play a hazy sort of psychedelic style rock that is really kind of hard to pin down. It has this sort of freeness to it that I liked, kind of like a jam band that’s on acid and just letting what comes out come out. It’s sort of a splatter-painting of sound; the kind that one can hear and see different elements at work as they come to it at different times. It’s a bit cerebral like that, but there is a loose cohesiveness to it also that keeps things from sounding like a messy mixture of a band just lost in the woods so to speak and going off in all different directions trying to find their way out.
Their debut record Dirtswimming sounds like it’s straight out of the ‘90s most of the time with its hammering drums and droning guitars bled through with just enough feedback to keep things nuanced enough from sounding like grunge but perhaps some sort of post-grunge spinoff. The opening track “perpetually coming down” is a long drowsy rock song with enough pop supremacy behind it (mostly due to the keyboards) that it sounds like one of those bands that MTV only played the video for between the hours of midnight and six a.m. It’s just a very melodic and likable tune, not too hard, not too soft. Next comes “saint joe” which keeps with the ‘90s beats and sounds a little like something from the Meat Puppets et. al., with its swimmingly grungy guitars that burst out those few interchangeable chords and drum fills that made men and women famous for decades. This seems to be a style they like to employ as they do it in an more up-tempo fashion later on “make peace.” But when they want they can really write some pretty exquisite semi-rock ballads that really stand out as pretty exceptional. I’m talking here about “black fiction” and “gumption” which I really found to be songs which were both well rounded and sounded almost like they could have been ripped from a record from several decades ago. It is also worth to note here how good the production is on all of these songs; the quality finesse of them is quite spot on. Needless to say I really enjoyed Dirtswimming both for its sense of nostalgia but also for its steadiness and its ability to stay focused on a sound without jumping around too much yet also not making each song sound like one is experiencing déjà vu. I look forward to hearing what Formals comes up with in the future.
Become A Fan
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Critique/insightWe are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.
Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook
Archives
May 2024
|