“The Living Room Sessions,” the debut EP from Scranton indie/pop outfit No West, finds a band with remarkable potential as songwriters and performers, where heartfelt vocals meet layered guitars and sometimes complex drums.

Like many young bands, much of the material is inspired by love and feelings, but No West smartly avoids the trap of falling into worn-out emo clichés. Part of that is because of direct, plainly delivered vocals.

“A Tale of Him and Her” is a relatively epic, driving track, with some fancy drum work. “Snowy Roads and Midnight” has mainstream radio potential.

The best tracks, though, are the last two, “Hope To Sleep (White Car)” and “Scene Fitting Snowfall.” “Hope To Sleep” opens with squiggly synths and people talking in the background, setting up a feeling of disconnect. Its melding of quirky sounds with pop songwriting is reminiscent of The Southland, an underappreciated band out of Los Angeles. The drums are simple, the vocals are textured and the guitars are understated (more on that later). “Scene” builds from simple guitar, synths and simple, emotive vocals. The track may sound cinematic and complex, but it is more layered than it is complicated. It’s a tactic used successfully by bands like Coldplay and Snow Patrol, so No West is in good company here.

If there is anything negative to say about “The Living Room Sessions,” it is minor. Namely, the guitar work is at its best when it’s simple. When there are forays into fancy fretwork, it doesn’t fit the song; it can sound a bit like Joe Satriani sitting in with Thriving Ivory, and no one wants that. Also, the snare drum is cranked a little too tight in spots, which is fine on a 311 album, but not here.

All small kinks that will be worked out as the band progresses and works with a producer — “The Living Room Sessions” was self-produced.

As satisfying as these six tracks are, they can’t help but make you look forward to grander things for No West, already a band with a penchant for the epic.
 

I saw two shows locally last week that are well-deserving of mention. On Thursday, Reed Foehl, based in Colorado, played an impressive CD-release show at the River Street Jazz Café, and Holy Ghost Tent Revival on Saturday returned to The Bog, where the Greensboro, N.C., band has developed quite a following.

Foehl’s show was opened by Charles Havira, who was backed by Mike Miz on guitar and Cabinet’s Dylan Skursky and J.P. Biondo. The musicians meshed together beautifully, delivering clear-minded versions of Havira and Miz selections as well as a (Bob) Dylan tune or three. Foehl played what could be considered a low-key set, but his vocal abilities and songwriting prowess were on display, if you cared to pay attention. A few Neil Young covers sweetened the deal.

HGTR, which has played The Bog before and often shares shows with Scranton’s And The Moneynotes, brought a high-level of energy to its well-attended two-set show. Many in the crowd were repeat offenders, familiar with the music, which has elements of vaudeville, rock and ska, thanks to heavy use of trombone. It was the third time I’ve seen HGTR, and the band never fails to entertain.

This weekend should prove equally diverse and pleasing for local music fans, with Robes — from Wilkes-Barre and based in Philadelphia — playing shows at Café Metropolis, Corner Café and the Mayday Festival in Kirby Park, Bob Alunni and Nicole Erin Carey at The Bog on Saturday and a local Blues Review at the Jazz Café on Sunday. If none of those catch your interest, check out more shows here and here.

I like magazines. I subscribe to Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, ESPN the Magazine, Baseball Digest, Maxim and Esquire. I subscribed to Blender before it went belly-up and had a gift subscription to Paste, a great music magazine. I previously got Relix for free for a while, and for some reason I get Us Weekly, Car and Driver, TV Guide and Readers Digest, even though I never subscribed. I also get the Penn State and Saint Joesph’s alumni magazines.

The Internet is great. Hey, I’m using it right now to share this info. But you can’t underline or circle a word on the Internet. You can’t bring the Internet to your dad so he can read an article about Hank Aaron. Pitchfork is great, but there’s still something about a band being on the cover of Rolling Stone (despite that terrible song).

Like newspapers, magazines are hurting. There’s a lot of good work being done by magazines, whether it’s investigative political journalism, Sports Illustrated Tom Verducci’s blowing the cover off the steroids scandal a few years ago or a great Of Montreal profile in a recent issue of Paste. If these magazines go out of business, yes, my apartment will be a lot tidier, but it will be a travesty. Blogs and Web sites can only get you so far.

I’ve written for a small handful of magazines — a cover story for the Ursinus College alumni mag a few years ago and a recent contribution to Wonka Vision, a Philadelphia-based punk publication — so I guess I have a small vested interest in the future of magazines, besides my concern as a reader.

Paste, apparently, is in trouble. It is looking for contributions here and is offering a slew of free tracks and raffle prizes to sweeten the deal. Click through and check that out if a magazine like Paste speaks to you. And if you’re on the fence about renewing one of your subscriptions, or considering starting a new magazine subscription, now would be a good time to make those choices.
 

Here’s a totally subjective list of who I think are the best bands in the world right now. The only criteria I’m using are that the band still exists and releases albums.

In no particular order:

Wilco
Wilco is at the point now where it can do no wrong. After establishing itself as an alt-country act, it’s now something totally different, a new form of classic rock if you will. The best live show I’ve seen in the past five years was Wilco at the Tower Theatre near Philadelphia, and one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while is Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky.” Each band member is a musical genius — Nels Cline is a guitar wizard, Glenn Kotche is a composer as much as he is a drummer — but together there’s an alchemy that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

U2
A bad U2 song is unimaginable. Put aside whatever opinion you have of Bono hanging out with the pope and wearing eye makeup on the cover of Rolling Stone — this band is a genre in and of itself. Without U2, there’d be no Radiohead or Arcade Fire. Smart arena rock was hard to come by before U2.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
From what I’ve heard and read, an E Street Band show is a marathon, religious experience. Watching the band perform during the Super Bowl on TV gave me goosebumps. I can only imagine what it would be like in person. Bruce said “Dylan freed our minds, and Elvis freed our bodies.” Springsteen found a way to do both.

Radiohead
Simply put, Radiohead is the Pink Floyd of the 21st century.

Also deserving:
The Arcade Fire
Didn’t make my list because the band has only released two albums and an EP.

Rolling Stones
Didn’t make my list because they are starting to show their age as performers. As well they should!

Bob Dylan
Didn’t make my list because he raised the bar so high with albums like “Blonde on Blonde” that he can’t reach his peak again.

Coldplay
Didn’t make my list because there are a few flaws on “Viva La Vida.” The bands in my top four haven’t put out a dud song that I can think of.

 

About the Author

Education
Penn State University, University Park
Bachelors degree: Journalism, English minor
Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia
Masters of arts degree: Writing studies
Manchester University, Manchester, England
Communications

Selected Publications
The Weekender, LexisNexis Securities Litigation, ESPN.com, The Associated Press, Philadelphia Daily News, Philly Edge, Universitywire.com, The Daily Collegian

From
Pittston

Resides
Scranton

Archives

• June 2010
• April 2010
• December 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008