Sound as LanguageMarch 22nd, 2010
Self-Evident are back for their third album and Endings sees the band adding a little more rock to the equation. The mathy angularity of bands like Faraquet and Q And Not U is still there but toned down ever so slightly. Frankly, things seem a bit more beefed up than ever before. Bands like Hum and Kerosene 454 come to mind rather quickly upon first listens. And if it is even possible the band seems tighter and more pronounced in their playing here. Endings feels streamlined…perhaps this is a more calculated and realized version of Self- Evident than we have seen before. The album delivers on the promise of the band’s past endeavors while gaining confidence for the future. Self-Evident is a band slowly growing into something special.
The Skinny (UK)
Listening to Endings is like taking a trip back in time of about ten years, back to when bands like the Dismemberment Plan and At the Drive-In were crafting music that was vibrant, utterly confounding, and laden with irony. Self-Evident haven’t quite achieved the same great level of angular songwriting finesse that those Fugazi-informed outfits did, but on the strengths of Nonlocality’s juddering rhythms and sparklingly light interlude, or the densely packed riffery of Everything All at Once, there’s still plenty here to get your ears around. Even when at their most aggressive, as on Before the Beginning, they still maintain their contorted sense of tunefulness with an off-kilter rhythmic pulse that would likely spell the death of a lesser band, but here seems to fit in place almost perfectly. Though perhaps too discordant for some to grasp, it wields unpredictability as a potent tool. [David Bowes]
Reglar Wiglar
SELF-EVIDENT
Endings (DPG)
This trio from the Mini Apple have persevered for over a decade, releasing a smattering of records that employ a precise mathy set of arrangements and a sound that hovers somewhere between Don Caballero and the great Fugazmund, even recalling the Minutemen at times in its vocal stylings. What should be evident is that Self-Evident have shown no signs of let up or slow down in their long career, unless Endings means something in that regard, which one would certainly hope not—Joey T. Germ
Independent Clauses
March 7, 2010
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there’s indie and there’s independent. Indie is a culture; independent is a status (you are signed or independent). Both have only tangential relevance to indie-rock, which is a particular type of rock. Lazy journalists use it as a catch-all, but when they say “the new big thing in indie-rock,” they really mean the “the new big thing in indie culture.” And that could be (and has been!) anything from scarves to bandannas to high-hat dance beats to optimism to cynicism and on and on.
But there really is an indie-rock sound. It’s characterized by a rock’n'roll set up, with at least some drums, a guitar and a bass. Chords are used in unusual ways, rhythms and melodies are experimented with, and songwriting structures are composed in non-traditional ways. There’s intensity, but it doesn’t make a habit of the lightning tempos of punk, the brutal intensity of metal, or the macho posturing of rock’n'roll. There are quiet sections, but it doesn’t turn into the cute moods of twee, the forlorn sounds of folk, or the giddy shine of indie-pop. It’s middle of the road, if the road was on someone else’s map that you couldn’t see. It’s emotionally tempered rock’n'roll with thought. There’s artistic ideals fused into it.
The reason I spend the time to explain my definition of indie-rock is because Self-evident plays indie-rock. If a person came up to me and asked me what indie-rock was, I’d point them to Endings as a beginning. Then I’d give them the history lesson. But on a time crunch, Self-evident’s songs would work.
That’s not to say that Endings is generic or wishy washy. On the contrary, the musical vision of the three men in Self-evident is laser-guided. They cull most of their aggression from the vocalist, who hollers as if he were in a punk band, while they pull their melodies from the incredibly tight interplay between the bass and guitar work. The two musicians weave rhythms and melodies together in a fascinating and mesmerizing way, often resulting in beautiful harmonies that take the ear off-guard. The power comes from the drummer, who pounds away as if he were in a straight-up rock band. And the parts, which don’t seem on paper to blend well, mix gloriously. This can only be the result of hours and hours of practice and songwriting.
And when “The Future” comes over the speakers, I’m immensely glad that the band took the time to be precise. The song is the epitome of the last paragraph; the tight rhythms and harmonies scattered throughout the piece demand to be carefully listened to. There are sections that thunder with a dissonant intensity, but it gives way to a peaceful, lullaby-esque melody to close out the piece. It’s simply astounding. It’s like if the Appleseed Cast wasn’t prone to distorted freak-outs, or if Unwed Sailor had lyrics, or if MeWithoutYou had gone all indie-rock instead of all post-hardcore.
“Everything All at Once” has a similarly powerful and beautiful sway. This one’s pretty section overpowers the intense section. It gives in to the ominous “Temporary, Confused,” whose use of background vocals and insistent drumming make it another standout. The glitching “At Last” threw me for a loop for a second until I understood what was going on; it’s one of the most complex and heaviest of the bunch, but it also features one of the quietest sections on the album.
This is not an album that you slap on in the background of your life. This is music to be appreciated. Endings is an album of eleven tunes with nothing left up to chance. Every turn is meticulously planned and plotted, and the result is a brilliant album that holds attention melodically, rhythmically, and mood-wise for almost forty minutes (longer, if you repeat songs – as you should). This is a stand-out release in every sense of the word, and I hope that people will release that and lavish the praise this album so rightly deserves. I mean, who else in the world is going to write a song as ambitious as “Apprentices,” and then make it sound easy? No one. Get this album now.
Snob's Music
Do you remember a time when the term "Emo" wasn't a four-letter word? The term was associated with bands that made artistically aware punk rock with emotional underpinnings. That was before the term was stretched to include a wide range of not-quite-punk, not-quite-pop bands like Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance. Bands like Jawbox and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead who once fit in this category, are now distanced by fans and critics and given the new label "post-rock".
Minnesota trio Self-Evident remember that time. They are trying desperately to recreate it on their forthcoming sophomore albumEndings (out November 17th).
The album captures the band as they build on the traditions of those now post-rock bands. Angular, minimalist arrangements show that the band holds their predecessors in high esteem. The art rock clatter of tracks like "Before the Beginning" and "The Future" show a band that listened to more Fugazi than AFI.
Unfortunately, where Fugazi pulled in the listener, Self-Evident repels them. Much of that stems from the overwrought vocal delivery. While making an effort to emulate Ian MacKaye, lead singer Conrad Mach tens to go a little overboard in his enthusiasm. More restraint, as demonstrated on "Nonlocality", would go a long way in helping the listener cut through to the message.
While their cause and effort are undeniably noble, Self-Evident fall just a little short with the execution on Endings.
Best tracks: "Nonlocality", "The Future"
|
