Over the last few years, Orchestral Rock has received increasing attention in the Indie universe. It’s well deserved. Perhaps more than any other genre, the appreciation of Orchestral Rock is driven by concert attendance. The turning point for us was seeing two Orchestral Rock bands on the same day, when San Fermin and The Family Crest performed at a festival in Monterey, California.
An opportunity to attend a performance in this genre may be headed your way. Happy Abandon is touring. The current list of tour stops is at the bottom of this post. Happy Abandon is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, so West Coast visits aren’t the norm. They are promoting their debut album, “Facepaint,” which was released on Schoolkids Records. The members of the band are Peter Vance (lead vocals, guitars, banjo, percussion), Jake Waits (percussion, backing vocals), Justin Ellis (synth, bass, mandolin, woodwinds, backing vocals), and (at times) Alex Thompson (piano, keyboards, harmonium, synth, backing vocals).
Our favorite songs from the “Facepaint” album are "Severed Seams" and “Heavy Lines.” Both songs are dynamic in structure and varied in instrumental support. “Severed Seams” begins gently, with the guitars more closely aligned with Post Rock than with Orchestral Rock. It’s the second half or “Severed Seams” that includes the instrumental texturing, complexity and variety that characterize the genre. In talking about "Severed Seams," Peter Vance explained:
"[It] marks the transition between my older roots of folky, acoustic, singer-songwriter music into the more dynamic, ambient, and cinematic sound that is found in the songs that I write for Happy Abandon. The song fell into a period of my life where I found myself floating about aimlessly. The song itself talks of discomfort in the domestic lifestyle that comes from being a young adult, and transitioning into new and unexplored facets of life. Sometimes this wanderlust requires disconnecting from the comforts you relied on. It has always felt like the best representation of what Happy Abandon is all about; intimate and thoughtful, yet dramatic and intense."
"Severed Seams"
In contrast, there is nothing gentle about the intro of “Heavy Lines.” The track begins with percussion rolling and then guitars blazing. The strings are prominent at times, such as the segment beginning at 1:48 and during the lead-in for the well-executed crescendo at 4:16.
“Heavy Lines”
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyAbandon
Website: http://www.happyabandonmusic.com/
In support of the new album, Happy Abandon will be on tour from September to November, hitting stages in Denver, Portland, Los Angeles, and Austin, among others. The band has a penchant for heavy production and multi-layered harmonies to “portray musically what the lyrics are trying to convey,” says Vance. “We want to put on a show. If you just want to listen to the album, you can do that at home. But when you come and pay for a ticket we want to give you an experiential show.”
TOUR DATES:
9/21: Denver, CO – Syntax Physic Opera
9/27: Vancouver, BC – The Belmont Bar
9/28: Seattle, WA – Vermillion
10/2: Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
10/7: Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Café
10/11: Phoenix, AZ – The Los Leaf
10/13: Austin, TX – Hole In The Wall
10/17: Birmingham, AL – The Nick
10/20: Bryson City, NC – Nantahala Brewing Company
11/11: Richmond, VA – Gallery5
9/19 (Tuesday)- Manhattan, KS - Church of Swole
9/22 (Friday) - Grand Junction, CO - Baron's
9/22 (Friday) - Grand Junction, CO - Baron's
No comments:
Post a Comment