viamar
Songs You Should Be Listening To
Similar MOGs' Top Songs This Week
Posts
This saturday marks the final show of a band whose music, throughout their entire existence, redefined and set the standard for Texas and especially Dallas indie acts to follow. Ethan Durelle, the band who my last post was dedicated to, is set to wrap up their act and finalize their breakup at 7:00 in Waco, TX this Saturday. To all of those who never were blessed enough to see them preform live, I am truly sorry, you missed something unforgettable.
Having only released 2 full length cds over the period of time they were together (both of which are available for download on iTunes), not many had an opportunity to hear them, mostly due to the size of their record label. In spite of this, however, Ethan Durelle made a name for themselves within the Texas indie scene. Fusing together elements of post hardcore, melodic, and indie music they formed a very recognizable sound that no one has been able to reproduce, semi reminiscent of At the Drive In. Singer Evan Lecker is extremely consistent in both recordings and live giving their music a definitive edge. At points purposefully unpolished vocals ring out on each of their recordings with the depth of emotion that very few bands can achieve in a concert much less on a recording. Guitarist Chris Mann achieves a maintainence of tone and note for note reconstructs every song perfectly live from their recordings while adding elements of both noise and presence that seemed before hand destined to become stadium pleasers. Both drummer Jeff Weathers and bassist Theo McLemor keep the beats held down and moving with a powerful edge.
If you are around or plan to be around the Waco area please come check them out at Common Grounds Coffee shop. If you're not in the area but are interested in hearing their music they can found on myspace at www.myspace.com/ethandurelle or on youtube just search for Ethan Durelle.
The soft repetition of electric guitar riffs rises slowly over the crowd. Every drunk and sober person in the room suddenly comes to a hush. They're not quite sure why, but this song has something hidden in its simplicity that is far more important than petty conversation. The singers face contorts slightly as he draws in a steep breath waiting an eternity to begin revealing the inner thoughts of his mind. Through a cloud of smoke his voice cuts like a knife, "I woke up way too early again, the sound of 300 car horns in brain..."
As the people standing awestruck begin to siphon through the emotion laden lyrics, they suddenly realize that they all have felt everything that he is talking about. "It's the simple things in life you keep forgetting when you're thinking about how hard life is, you're getting old, you're getting gray, and in between the color and the age you won't remember anyway... anyway."
This scene has been repeated at every show Ethan Durelle has played at. In some cases, though rarely, some have even broken down to that song known as Two Sunrises.
Though Ethan Durelle is not new in the Dallas area indie scene they are hardly as appreciated as they deserve. Threading together at times complexity with the simplicity of a single guitar riff, they create musical sound-scapes that evoke more passion and emotion than your average band. This sets them apart from almost every other band in the Dallas area.
At all points beautiful and mysterious the listener struggles to completely ingest all that singer Evan Lecker lays on their ear-drums. At times five or six listens to the cd versions of the songs are necessary to completely understand all that is being sonically conveyed.
Though there is no question that the indie scene will soon fall apart and or be swallowed alive by the corporate monster, there is hope. Bands such as The New Frontiers, Meryll, and Ethan Durelle are holding high the torch of freedom, complexity, and creativity in music. I would encourage everyone to buy Ethan Durelle's latest album, "Talks to the Dark" on iTunes.
"Wow," my friend mutters as we turn down the final lingering sounds of the Mars Volta's 6th album, "That completely sucked." Sadly, I'm forced to agree. Though there are some very catchy movements to this piece, at no point in any song does the Volta recapture the feel of their earlier albums. The reason for this seems to lie in the fact that the lyrics and their delivery are both lacking. While Cedric Bixlar Zavala's vocals are one of the main attractions to most Mars Volta Albums, it seems like there's a void looming in this album from which there is no vocal deliverance.
This leaves much to be desired by the more experienced listeners. Though many of those who have reviewed this album have hailed it as the first great follow-up to their Deloused in the Comatorium, I find it difficult to find anything bearing slight resemblance to Deloused. Sporadic solos and odd timed musical interludes do still exist in this offering, but all in all to those who have been fans since the Tremulant EP, it seems as though most of this ground has already been covered and is almost a waste.
As far as I have found, the Mars volta have gone downhill from Deloused not revived a sleeping giant.
My Digital Music Collection
My Trusted MOGs (3)
MOG Meter
Comments
the reviews i've read about this are all so mixed. i'm guessing i'd feel similar to how you felt about it being a letdown. i wish they'd be as good as the deloused days but they seem to be soo far from that now.
What many people seem to forget about The Mars Volta is that they are a band built on the conception of reinvention and innovation, so while you may not like the salsa funk of Bedlam in Goliath or the jazzy underlayings of Amputechture, what you have to realize is they are trying to make sure no one album ever sounds the same.
Cedric has said himself that he hopes people don't like all of their work, which is only evidence of the fact that they are doing strictly what they feel and not what "Is going to return them to De-Loused".
It's still Volta at the core, maybe in new clothes, but to say the album itself sucks depreciates the immense amount of experience and skill they've developed musically.
Sorry, that 'review' was terrible. You're expecting something that's not possible (deloused part II) so of course you're going to be let down.