|
There’s a quintet that bubbled very quietly to the surface here in Austin, fecklessly catching the gaze of media and passers-by. Melding music’s finer points with human tendency and memory, their sound mildly manifests in an almost opulent mess of selectively twangy baroque that politely bows to its grand new wave — yet still indie — roots. Mellifluous in the same way that the best vinyl sounds after you’ve been away for too long, the Great Nostalgic’s debut album is much, much more than it seems.
Primary to the band’s heart and momentum is Abram Shook, who spent due time with other musical endeavors that include The Laughing, before transplanting his Boston roots to the southwest. His fixation with memory, ruminating on, and ultimately purging it, is bewitching. The album is an exercise in remembering what listening to music felt like, what it used to mean, and what it should mean again. Abdicating an evening to an album because it’s all you have, that and time to navigate through memories that aren’t yours but still strike somewhere deep is the journey — at least one portion of it. Nearly each action linked to the process of plucking from your record collection and getting comfortable is meaningful, and the Great Nostalgic suffuses its sound with that intention.
Not at all cloying, but sweet and nostalgic in ways that nudge you to remember who you were when you were younger, “County Line” navigates through a landscape and the tragedy of expectations unfulfilled that shares meaning for its author with listeners who’ve no real place, but can still connect on a human level. Because some sentiments are universal, regardless of our chagrin. Kittenish and wide-eyed “Young Lovers” brims with plucky guitars and tip-top drums that escort the tune along its poppy way, easily keeping listeners’ attention with well-placed bass lines and an overall almost sunny feel.
Although no members of the band are on the record, they work off of the malleable bedrock of Shook’s design and inhabit their places well, breathing a different kind of life into the live performances. Their particular taste of new wave culls the genre’s deepest roots for the most artful ways to convey their brooding, yet still bright, musing habits, weaving in elements of The Velvet Underground alongside (really, really early) Duran Duran and even crumbs of The Beatles. Shook’s affinity for things sepia toned memories and illustration bolsters the feeling of watching memories in reverse.
Website:
Myspace
