The month of May has come, and, while this means nothing for the various working stiffs in Iowa City, it does signal one of my favorite times of the year: the exodus of most of the undergrads and the summer slowdown. Everyone’s more relaxed, restaurants don’t have lines and I get free reign of Brothers … if I wanted that. Although the slowdown applies to many realms of day-to-day life, it does not apply to nightlife in Iowa City. May is the start of a very busy, very promising concert season. While there is much to look forward to in the second half of the month, the first half isn’t chopped liver.
Further Reductions w. Beau Wanzer, Grave Posture | Gabe’s | May 8 | 10 p.m. | Free, 19+
Since high speed internet connections have become the norm, great music that was once relegated to the footnotes of history and the bargain bins of record stores has found a platform that affords greater exposure. This has allowed for many artists to get their proper due—even if it is a little too late—and has also been a source of inspiration for future musicians. The latter part of this statement is applicable to Further Reductions. The Brooklyn-based duo of Shawn Devin and Katie Rose mine the re-found music archives of the web to create their modern hypnotic dance music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smBpaNwRWAE
Devin and Rose pull heavily from the French-Belgian punk movement of coldwave. Although it was passed over during its time due to the prominence of post-punk and new wave, coldwave is defined by its heavy use of simplistic keyboards and drum machines as well as its cool, detached vocal style. Further Reductions do not deviate from this template. Both Devin and Rose icily deliver their lyrics over staccato drum machine rhythms and futuristic keyboards, recalling bands like Absolute Body Control and Linear Movement as well as the Liquid Sky soundtrack. If you like local synth duo Goldendust, you’ll like Further Reductions a whole lot.
The Laureates w. Colin Gilmore, Julie Klee | Yacht Club | May 10 | $5, 19+
In the summer of 2011, I got a promo CD from a band called The Laureates. There weren’t too many details outside of a fairly regular origin story. Being the listener that I am, I skipped over the promo materials and listened to the record. The first thing that I noticed in listening was the quality. The musicianship is very precise. The guitars are jangly and noisy and held up by a solid rhythm section. The harmonies are sharp and come in on time. And, the songwriting itself is pretty good. While all of these things are positive, a lot of modern indie pop bands—ones not indebted to the legend of Kurt Cobain—do this. What makes The Laureates stand out from the pack?
http://youtu.be/lUYeF7DVxgo
The difference is in the pace. Their ballads are slow but never too slow. Their pop songs are fast but not too fast. They found the balance and made crisp songs that are fully entertaining. Although they’ve only been playing as a band since 2007, The Laureates’ sound suggests they’ve been playing together longer than that because they know how far they can push themselves without it seeming unnatural. It’s similar to a skill possessed by The Ponys, another Chicago pop band that has a sonic attack—and finesse—similar to The Laureates. Much like the pop bands around Iowa City, The Laureates are worth checking out.
Vietnam | The Mill | May 13 | $10 Advance, $12 Day of Show; 19+
2013 signals the re-formation of Vietnam—no, not the country—the six piece led by Brooklyn-based songwriter Michael Gerner. For the past six years, Vietnam didn’t exist. Following the release of their self-titled album in 2007, Gerner disbanded Vietnam and packed up shop for Los Angeles. There, he made experimental music and film soundtracks with analog synthesizers. While I’m sure that music is good, it’s better that he is making rock music again as Vietnam.
Vietnam has a sound that is firmly anchored in blues, rock and Americana. It shares more than a passing resemblance to the band The War on Drugs due to the fact that both are influenced by Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. Vietnam’s new album an
A.merican D.ream shows Gerner shifting and adding upon these influences. There is still the dark lyricism, social awareness and moodiness that mark its previous albums, but the addition of a synthesizer and a violin brings a deeper darkness to the overall sound, making the seediness of Gerner’s world much more tangible. In the end, an A.merican D.ream shows that although this might be a new Vietnam with a couple of new tricks, the old Vietnam is still around and strong as ever.
A.C. Hawley runs The Chrysanthemum Sound System on KRUI 89.7 FM. It airs on Thursday nights from 10:00 p.m. to the Witching Hour.
