Tag: Avers

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the drummer of West Grove, PA-based rock Dr. Dog, a member of the Adrian Belew (of King Crimson fame)’s backing band and a co-leader of the Philadelphia, PA-based band Lithuania, Eric Slick’s soon-to-be released solo debut Palisades finds Slick stepping out from behind the drum kit and being a full-time frontman of a backing band featuring Andy Molholt of Speedy Ortiz and Laser Background, Ricardo Lagomasino of Lithuania and Capillary Action and Alexandra Spalding of Avers.

As the story goes, in 2014 Slick decided to leave his native Philadelphia for the first time and relocated to Asheville, NC where he practiced meditation and Jungian dream therapy as a form of reinvention and to write his own original material, which would later be inspired by these periods of intense mediation. Interestingly, Slick found some inspiration in the works of renowned writer/actor Spalding Gray — especially his 1992 book Impossible Vacation, which details the impossibility of searching for and finding Zen. “I know it’s the funny trope: indie rock dude goes to the woods and makes an outsider record,” Slick says in press notes. “But it was a time of deep introspection and a fruitful period of my life. I wrote someone around 50 songs in 2014.” And as a result, the material on the album isn’t a typical indie rock, rock or pop album that focus on heartbreak or love; rather, it thematically focuses on mediation, death, self-help, dream therapy, tarot and mysticism. But at points, the material focuses on both personal events of his life and the random, unexpected thoughts that come up while mediating — in particular, the album title track “Palisades” is about New York’s Palisades Parkway; however, Slick doesn’t really know why or how it came about.

At the end of 2014, Slick returned to Philadelphia to record Palisades at Mt. Eerie’s Phil Elverun’s The Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA — but the songs were stored away for a period time before Slick finished them with the assistance of Neighbors‘ Jose Diaz Rohena, who produced it, along with Ape School and Kurt Vile‘s Michael Johnson, Lithuania’s Dom Angelella and Ricardo Lagomarsino and Ryan Neitznick and Molly Burch‘s Dailey Toliver.

Palisades‘ latest single “You Became The Light” is a jangling and discordant track featuring enormous, buzzing power chords, thundering and propulsive drumming, a dreamy melody and an anthemic hook — and interestingly enough, the song sounds as though it draws from 90s grunge and alt rock while possessing a free-flowing improvised feel.
Slick plans to take his solo act on the road in 2017, and it includes a May 20, 2017 stop at Sunnyvale. Check out the tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates
Apr 19 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry*
Apr 20 – Raleigh, NC – Kings*
Apr 23 – Orlando, FL – The Social*
Apr 25 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
Apr 26 – Birmingham, AL – Syndicate Lounge*
Apr 27 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa*
Apr 28 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall*
Apr 30 – Austin, TX – Empire Control Room*
May 01 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues*
May 02 – Little Rock, AZ – Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack*
May 03 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt*
May 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Sunnyvale

* – w/ Sinkane

 
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Avers Returns with an Anthemic, Garage Rock New Single Paired with Mischievous Yet Ironic Visuals

Omega/Whatever’s latest single “Vampire” much like the album’s previous single is deeply indebted to 90s alt rock –in particular, I’m reminded of Vs. and Vitalogy-era Pearl Jam but with a wry sense of humor, as the song’s narrator is desperately pleaded for an easy-going, less stressful life to a propulsive, anthemic hook that pairs ethereal synths with twangy and crunchy guitars fed through effects pedals.

The recently released video follows the adventures of a motorcycle helmet wearing, jorts wearing protagonist, who brings a goofy amount of joy to all that crosses his path; but the video manages to evoke a bitter irony at its core — the sort of easy-going life the narrator is pleading for may not be possible; and in fact, the joy that the protagonist brings to everyone, has him passing out exhausted and alone.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of four singer/songwriters Adrian Olsen, Alexandra Spalding, James Mason and JL Hodges, along with multi-instrumentalist Charlie Glenn, the Richmond, VA-based quintet Avers first caught national attention with the release of their 2014 debut effort, Empty Light, an effort that had them opening for Foo Fighters and J.  Roddy Walston and The Business, along with an appearance at last year’s SXSW that was praised by a number of major outlets including Esquire and The Daily Beast. Building upon the buzz they’ve received, the Virginia-based quintet’s anticipated sophomore effort Omega/Whatever was written,  recorded and self-produced at their unofficial headquarters Montrose Recording — and the album, which is slated for a July 29, 2016 release through Egghunt Records reportedly focuses on struggling through life in the modern world; in fact, the material covers divorce, how technology influences our lives, changing societal norms, corrupt politicians and more. And interestingly enough, the material also manages to continue the creative process that the band established for the sessions that comprised their debut effort — each songwriter brought in sketches and ideas with the entire group then pitching in to flesh out the idea into a song and quickly recording the material that same day, whenever possible. As you can hear on the album’s 90s alt rock-channeling single “Insects,” the result is a song that feels at times hushed and improvised and rousingly anthemic wall of sound-channeling song that captures a sense of powerlessness over the things you can’t control — while saying “Well, that’s life sometimes. Get on with it.”