The Whimbrels
The Whimbrels
Dromedary Records
Remember the no-wave scene of New York City in the 1970s and 1980s? Yes? No? Glenn Brance. . . La Monte Young. . . DNA. . . The scene inspired the likes of Sonic Youth, Jim Thirwell and Lydia Lunch and made room for some bold and abrasive statements.
Meet The Whimbrels, a band with a line-up so rich in the roots of avant garde and no wave that supergroup does not do it justice. Introductions are in order:
Matt Hunter is the bassist and vocalist for The Whimbrels. He has been a part of a laundry list of bands including work with King Missile, J. Mascis and the Fog, Silver Jews, SAVAK, and more.
Libby Fab, drummer, was a founding member of the noise duo Paranoid Critical Revolution and technical director of Glenn Branca’s Symphony 13: Hallucination City.
Luke Schwartz also performed with Glenn Branca. Besides a multitude of group projects, he also is sought after for his film music.
Guitarist and vocalist, Arad Evans also worked with Glenn Branca from the 1980s until his death a few years ago. His work and inspiration has been featured on a massive list of bands through the decades.
Norman Westberg was the main guitarist for band Swans for 35 years.
Drummer Steve DiBenedetto is more known for his work as a fine art painter, but his musical endeavers include collaboration with Dave Rick (Bongwater, King Missile, You La Tango, and Pantom Tollbooth) and Kim Rancourt (When People Were Shorter and Lived By The Water).
With such a deeply rich history in the world of 20th and 21st century music, what does their debut sound like?
On “She Is The Leader,” you have a sense of the bastardization and reintegration of modern pop that points to classic ‘60s pop. “Monarch” is a little divergent in its meandering to free floating alternative rock mantra that kind of converts to what feels like Love and Rockets playing krautrock.
“That’s How It Was” is a quick romp of guitar noir the only way that New York City pulp would have it. It bleeds into the spaced out surf rock of “Scream For Me.” The song is a joyride fueled by intricate time signatures.
The longest song on the roster is the finale and a return to form back to stranger times and fueling inspiration from Branca. You can really feel these legends coming together to make something bigger than a singular moment. It’s a song that will be studied for time to come.
Overall, I expected something louder and more dissonant. What surprised me is how much structure is involved, especially when they pull from pop construction.
Their debut peppers in dynamics and complications to make it intriguing for those looking for a subtle challenge. It’s fascinating discovering what these musicians come up with together and how they look at abstract expressionism with pop sensibilities. It’s almost whimsical at times.
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