CD REVIEW: Oregon Band Hits It Out of the Park with Debut
>From the town that gave birth to such notables as Nu Shooz,
Dandy Warhols and Everclear, Portland, Oregon is making waves
again with the newly revised element57, its astounding DIY ethic
and its penchant for snagging national accolades for itself.
The band's impressive way of doing business and getting itself
in the national spotlight means you'll undoubtedly be seeing
something of it well beyond Oregon's borders.
Once called 4th Plane Jaiant, element57 has relaunched
themselves under a new name and a brand new sound that is
powerful, sleek, gigantic and yet thoroughly filled with hooks.
Gone are the slightly jam band vibes of 4th Plane Jaiant. With
the new album, "Radiate," element57 has reinvented itself in a
poppy yet intelligent, arty manner, creating a sound that is
highly distinctive, even difficult to describe.
At the center of the new sound is a giant wall of fuzzy guitar,
like some rumbling colossus that comes out of a guitar amp. It's
slightly surreal and even a little alien, but always massive and
thoroughly setting the band apart from just about everything out
there.
Picture the harder edges of Bush, Stone Temple Pilots or
Audioslave, with the linear, single-minded, fuzzy lines of
Morphine (without that band's dreary, psychotropic blues
elements, however). Bits of funk or straight ahead rock are
given this blurry, hazy treatment, while the songwriting is
poppy yet sophisticated, in a style not too dissimilar to Peter
Gabriel's "So" period or The Police's "Synchronicity" era.
Singer Chris Galyon even sometimes sounds like Gabriel or Bush's
Gavin Rossdale, emotive the whole time and mysteriously blending
in (almost too well) with the fuzzy wall of guitar.
The album opens with "Woke Up Late," with a driving, grinding
kind of disjointed funk, as Galyon's melodies soar above the
roar of their signature sound.
"All Remaining Pieces" has a pleading, plaintive quality in a
more straight ahead rock vein, where Gabriel's "so" aesthetic
really comes into light.
"Speak So Loud" has a slower grind, is slightly dreamy with that
enormous guitar sound lumbering in a pleasant way. "Swept Away"
has a poppy quality, a little like Semisonic with much bigger
balls. On "Too Close, the fuzziness gets a little mellow and
quiet for this somewhat somber tune, and the album closes with
the memorable "Freedom," which brings on Bush just a bit.
"Radiate" is a nifty debut for a new band built from an old one,
showcasing a truly unique and innovative sound. With a mere six
songs, it'll be more than a little interesting to see where
element57 goes next.
Band members are: Galyon (guitar, vocals); Jason Wilbur (Wind
synthesizer, saxophone); Andy Kallenberger (bass) Jim Sanders
(keys); and Joe Gardner (drums). Find more at www.element57.net.