Local music is often a treat to listen to because it can be so different from almost everything you hear on the radio. While commercial radio stations have to stay within the confines of the mainstream to appease the almighty dollar, local bands can actually spread their wings and play something that sounds unique. Sometimes it sounds like a monkey somehow got the keys to a recording studio, but other times you get good music that you won’t hear elsewhere.
This week the Free Press reviews two short CDs by Maine bands that fall into the latter category: Portland-based Harpswell Sound and UMO-based Now Transmission.
Harpswell Sound – Port
If you put country music and folk rock in a blender, Harpswell Sound is the smooth frappe that you would pour out. The Portland band is definitely a unique one, with a breed of flowing music that they’ve been playing live for less than a year. Despite their lack of experience, they recently created a melodic five-song CD called “Port.”
“Port” opens with the bass drum driven song “Too Many Times,” which gives a proper introduction to the band’s style, with its twangy southern guitar and steady rhythm. The songs on the CD all lack a certain complexity — no multi-layered solos, no daring improvisation – but Harpswell Sound makes up for this with music that emphasizes musicianship. It sounds good, melodic and tight, rather than impressive.
The vocals are a bit unsteady, in a Dylan-esque way. While this approach has worked in folk music before, long steady tones would never hurt a song in place of wavering rustic ones.
But on this album the vocals take a backseat to the musicians’ other skills, showcased in the instrumental “The Birds & The Fish.” This expressive song floats along over the confines of its oppressive rhythm. The sounds of seagulls in the background conjure up images of the Maine coast, the location of the band’s namesake.
“Port” sounds professional and practiced, which is more than you can say for many independent local debuts. Where a lot of bands mimic a bunch of musical conventions and fail, Harpswell Sound creates something unique, and does so admirably.
Now Transmission – “Enjoy the Pause”
Hard rock is a genre that has so saturated the local music scene that it is figuratively drowning it. It seems that anyone who picks up a guitar or bangs drums turns to hard rock, much to the dismay of people with ears. Because of this, it’s easy to write off all amateur rock bands as, well, very amateur rock bands. It takes something very different to catch a listener’s ear with hard rock.
Now Transmission’s CD “Enjoy the Pause” is something different. The University of Maine at Orono students who make up the band have two things that a lot of young bands are sadly missing: those old friends “rhythm” and “melody.”
Instead of an earsplitting tableau of grungy guitar and psychotic screaming, Now Transmission’s short album begins with the song “Nothing.” Melodic guitar and vocals lead into a soft song, broken intermittently by sparse but well placed distortion guitar. The track displays something that even some mainstream bands don’t have: talent.
When the music gets hard, they play classic guitar-based garage band music: simple, loud and driving. But sometimes the guitar is just too much. In “Tennessee’s Gone,” the guitar is used in a way that abandons musicianship for something an audience can headbang to.
That’s really the biggest flaw of this album. At times the band tries to be so intense in their sound they cover up their vocal talent with strained volume and hide their musical talent with power chords. At some of the hard spots on this release I found myself wishing they would play more music like they started the CD with.
Now Transmission knows how to play harder songs right. There’s no melodramatic and unnecessary screaming, they play their instruments decently, and they avoid the hardcore clich?s that mire a lot of young bands.
With hard songs that do the genre right like “Getting There” and more melody than a long-haired hardcore band can shake their guitars at, Now Transmission needs to iron out a few bumps and they’re on their way to becoming one of Maine’s more notable rock bands.
Jake Christie can be contacted at [email protected]