Scenery
"Blowing the Clambake /
Soundtrack to Disguise the Lemon" CD
Mayhaps Records
Genre: indie rock
Wichita, KS
Dec 27, 2008 |
From Wichita, Kansas came Scenery, and into Wichita, Kansas
they disappeared. Fortunately, they left
behind two albums, and these have finally
been issued on this hefty disc courtesy of the charming Mayhaps label.
This impressive release collects the
recording sessions for Blowing the Clambake and Soundtrack
to Disguise the Lemon, documenting the full history of an obscure
band that kicks quite a bit of ass.
Blowing the Clambake was recorded in 2003 and revels in
epic, Radiohead-inspired indie rock. These
songs have an Arcade Fire-esque grandiosity to them,
weaving propulsive guitar shimmers into warmly melodic songs. The
sheer masses of sound occasionally seem
disorganized in all their multi-leveled
texture, but the overall effect is remarkably engaging. "You Have a
Face for a T.V. Commercial" draws you in by way of its glorious
enthusiasm, leading the way for highlights like chiming "First One,
First Two" and momentous "See/Saw Through the Window." Raw, epic indie
rock is the name of the game, and while it is slightly rough around
the edges, this is remarkably complex and multifaceted stuff
in the end. The
incorporation of keyboards and strings into the equation, meanwhile,
makes for a nice touch.
Recorded a year later, Soundtrack to Disguise the Lemon has
been mastered at a lower volume than Blowing the Clambake. All
quibbles aside, it takes the Scenery sound even further. This
time sandwiching their main songs between brief, atmospheric
interludes, the band has instilled in their music a heightened
compositional complexity. "Magic Shoes" exudes a mid-nineties indie
rock vibe paired with a more contemporary keyboard glare, while "Happy
Socks" is a hazy experience replete with a couple
of monster guitar solos. Soundtrack to Disguise is less
immediate than the band's first outing, but it somehow feels like a
logical progression for the band. The increased angularity of their
compositions brings to mind work by Hurl, Taking Pictures,
and A Minor Forest. Still, there is something significantly
modern to their work, despite it already being five years old.
When you put two albums onto one disc, you're faced with two
possibilities. Either you end up with good value, or you've produced a
disc that goes on way too long and annoys the shit out of everyone.
Fortunately, Scenery's first and last record can be slotted under the
former case, not in the same sense as a discounted K-Tel compilation,
but rather as an impressive selection of songs that illuminates the
progression of a short-lived but worthwhile local act.
N.B. If this double-album doesn't quench your musical
thirst, three out of Scenery's four members have carried on
as Paper Airplanes, a considerably
higher-profile affair that might be worth a
look.
scenery's
myspace
82%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 15 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |
