Interviews from The Lilypad 6/21/13

The show at the Lilypad on June 21 was a great night, and Found Sound succeeded in getting an interview with each band. The videos are in the order that the groups performed: Jules Vincent, Closer Than We Appear, Kevin King, Burglary Years, and Saintseneca. Special thanks to Justin Healy who volunteered to be my camera man, and Owen Bolas for letting me borrow his equipment and editing the interviews into videos.

- Ryan Noss

Track Review: "It's Not So Bad"

Artist: Closer Than We Appear

Release Date: May 30, 2013

Label: Independent

Note: This review is part of a series of single reviews by Ryan coming out this week leading up to a show on Friday June 21 at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA, which will feature performances by all the bands reviewed.

Closer Than We Appear are a younger  band out of Scituate, MA. Recently, they dropped two tracks on their bandcamp, including a song called “It’s Not So Bad.” The song’s sound falls somewhere on the spectrum between Death Cab for Cutie and The Dismemberment Plan, employing both a solid range of dynamics and a few different moods, all presented through a lens of tortured optimism. The title serves as the focal point of the chorus, which is repeated incessantly as if the singer is trying to convince himself of the fact. The lead guitar tone employed is gorgeous and well placed in the mix. Subtle changes presented by the guitarist keep a long song fresh, switching to a more distorted sound at the end to increase intensity. My biggest complaint is the lack of a strong bass. Its clear the bassist is a good player, and a more intricate line given a larger role in the mix could take a song like this to another level. It could probably be shorter, but the intoxicating sound lends itself to a longer form, so it’s a hard criticism to make. Overall, it’s a great track, and I definitely look forward to hearing more Closer Than We Appear in the future.

- Ryan Noss

Show Review: Dads

Energy was the word of the night at Cambridge’s Elk Lodge Saturday. There were two men on “stage” (which was really just a cleared out area of the floor), John Bradley and Scott Scharinger, the respective drummer and guitarist of punk/emo outfit Dads. For being a two piece band, they bring a lot of sound. Scharinger’s multi amp setup and guitar manipulation would have one thinking the band had at least two guitarists and a bassist had they not been able to see the performance. He manages to fill huge spaces with his one instrument; chugging away at massive, foundation shaking chords, head whipping about, his Replacements shirt drenched in sweat. All the while Bradley ruthlessly batters the drum kit into a well controlled cacophony. Both members sing, but Bradley does the majority and his vocal performance was quite consistent. The vocals were at times difficult to hear due to the sheer volume of the guitar, but his shout-singing style came across well and only added to the liveliness. Bradley’s ability keep his voice going strong throughout the set was remarkable, never backing down or petering out.

The audience was equally, if not more, frenzied than the band; jumping, moshing, and crowd surfing galore. At one point between songs Bradley said to the audience “You guys are sick,” and it was hard to tell if he meant it or if he was just poking fun. It seemed everyone in the room was having a great time. It wasn’t all high-octane partying though. Dads’ songs also hit points with tone-downed drums and beautiful spacey guitar lines, giving the show some quieter more romantic moments. Overall it was a very energetic, communal, and strangely intimate show that was downright blast to be at. They have a great vivacity live that their recordings, unfortunately, fail to capture. I would certainly recommend seeing these guy’s in the flesh to anyone.

After the show we got the chance to do a quick interview Dads:


Here’s a bit of footage we caught from the set:

You can check out some great photo’s from the show (like the one above) taken by the folks at Future Breed here.

And here is Dads’ bandcamp page.

-Liam Beaudoin