Playing to us from the Garden State, New Brunswick band Communipaw formed through an impromptu 2007 performance between front man Brian Bond and drummer Keith Carne, later pulling together as a full band with the induction of guitarist Brain Kelly and bassist Dave Esterman. Hailing from previous projects such as Know Think, Lonely Acrobat, and solo work by Bond, Communipaw pools their collective creative experiences to form a sound that is as eclectic and new as it is familiar. Indie rock know how fuses with simple folksiness and alt-country to equal a finished product that is polished, melodic, and well composed.
After releasing their acoustic-based EP Moving Till The Morning in 2008, the band went back to the studio with plans for a follow-up EP, in which they got more than they bargained as a quick recording became a year long effort, creating their debut full-length. Through eight different studios came eleven new songs, all included in their self-titled album, which was released roughly a month ago.
Communipaw is an interesting album that some may overlook in their first listen because of its soothing and seemingly simple structure. But with a second, and what will inevitably turn into a third and even fourth listen, music lovers will find a seamlessly implemented blend of styles.
While the first track, with its slow, melodic, and Pedro the Lion-esque layout doesn’t stand out too much, Communipaw kicks it up with the perfectly performed Indie Rock/Alt-Country guitar blend delivered in track two, ‘Take Over’, who’s tight relationship between it’s drum and guitar tracks and twangy vibe reminds us Matt Pryor’s solo album Confidence Man. “Black Tambourine” plays along the lines of Pryor again, this time with an element of Surf Rock and twangy guitar added to the mix.
Variation from the country element that seems to be omnipresent in this album, be it in the vocals or instruments, comes from “I Admit”, which takes on a more 70’s psychedelic-folk sound. The rolling guitar parts and cymbal heavy percussion give a kaleidoscopic sense to this song, creating a contrast that somehow sticks with the continuity of the rest of Communipaw, an uneasy feat that definitely deserves recognition.
In the same vein of experimentation come songs like “2:23” and “Balzhauf”, which both offer a bluesy element in their guitar tracks, and slow down considerably from the indie/alt-country hybrid the band offers throughout the rest of the album. “Canada” gives the illusion of sitting down for a live performance, starting with a side conversation between the musicians and ending with the clinking of silverware and applause after it’s bright, folksy, clap filled three minutes are over.
“Keep Your Eyes On Me” is an inquisitive love song about finding out where you stand, and we imagine fans of Matt Hires and Nada Surf will take a shine to it as it opens with the lines “You ask how many songs have you/put me in by now? / Well here’s one more do you feel special?/ Because you should know that there were more before you came along”
An instrumental number with the same spirit as something from Explosions in the Sky feeds into “Heaven, Who You”, a ballad of longing whose acoustic beginning builds steadily through it’s backing vocals and into a full band collaboration. We do get one track of acoustic, aided only by and an indistinguishable organ-y/accordion accompaniment, in the song “I Don’t Want To Die”, who’s echoing vocals have an honest, organic feel to them, like it was something recorded by Bond at home in a tiled bathroom.
Our album comes to an end with a tinkling, minimalist shoe-gaze track that relies mostly on its instrumentals, uttering just a few lines of lyrics. Once again, Communipaw manages to offer a deviation from the style of indie/alt-country that comes standard in most of their songs without losing the sound that is truly their own, and we think that skill alone marks this debut as one worth taking note of.
Communipaw is available along with the bands EP Moving Til The Morning via Communipawmusic.com.
Visit Communipaw Online at:
Communipawmusic.com
Myspace
Beartrap PR
