Coursing Through The Wires #22-B

Second of three ... growing toward the crescendo ...

Long Blondes, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Five Four -- Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC -- 7 June 2007

Five Four -- Five pleasant kids just starting out and mining a "dark Gogos" vein (i.e. 80s synth pop with minor key excursions).  The vocals could use more oomph, and the "shimmer/sparkle" keyboard effect could use a rest. There's some real promise here, but the sound needs to mature a little.  Perhaps they need an introduction to The Melvins -- Five Four has a low end to their music but need to learn how to develop bass rumblings that liquefy the bones and harden the blood vessels (because exoskeletons are the best survival strategy -- just ask the cockroaches):

• The Melvins, Night Goat (Amphetamine Reptile 7", 1992)

(My rip somehow got corrupted in the MP3 conversion, but Lamestain, a fine cornucopia of the PacNW scene, comes to the rescue.)

Nicole Atkins & The Sea -- soon to receive a premium placement at a Starbucks near you, if there's any justice left in this world (and assuming Sir Paul hasn't contracted for all the cash register real estate for too long).  The best reference point is late 70s album rock (think Linda Rondstadt before she went all "Nelson Riddle Orchestra," or "It's A Heartache"-era Bonnie Tyler), updated for today's standards with funky flourishes like a xylophone solo in one song.  Enjoyable, edgy, and clearly poised to knock out over-produced country divas in the "adult alternative" marketplace.

The Long Blondes -- Kate was all smiles tonight and the band let it rip throughout the set.  It's hard to remember how depressing the lyrics get (all forms of relationship damage) when they're welded to that post-punk dance groove.  I recognized one new song ("Guilt"?) but otherwise the set stuck to the LP (just released stateside on Beggars), much like last summer's show in Philadelphia.  From watching the reactions of Reenie (the bass player), I got the feeling that the band is really close to busting out a ton of new songs ... and yet they still started with "Lust In The Movies"  and hit "Separated By Motorways" in the encore. Overall, though, the show was definitely worth a trip into one of the seedier neighborhoods I've hit in a while (i.e. scarier than the old 9:30 Club a decade ago, and nowhere near a Metro station).