HITTING THE SPOT: The Eyesores. |
As I write this, Alec K. Redfearn and his Eyesores are trekking across western Europe, entertaining and amusing audiences with their picaresque, accordion-fired spelunks. Quietly, AKR and company have become one of Providence’s most notable exports and chief reps of the city’s avant-folk scene.
Of course, to call the band’s vibe avant-folk would be to do it a disservice. The Eyesores are one of those bands that render words inadequate, for they cover so much musical terrain within that they dodge all comparisons and pigeonholes. When they return from Europe this week, they’ll be hitting AS220 for a big CD release party. Somehow, amid all the touring, they managed to squeeze out The Blind Spot, their seventh studio album (by unofficial count) and (officially) their best. And while it’s difficult to quantify whether one Eyesores recording is “better” than the next, I enjoy the band’s work more with each successive recording. “Myra,” currently previewed on the band’s MySpace site, and other tunes such as “Queen of the Wires” are among their most fully realized pieces, besotted with the color and adventurousness that has made the Eyesores so damned intoxicating all these years.
Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores + Chris Monti Acoustic Band + Steve Jobe’s Sam Hill | Apr 29 | AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence | 401.831.9327
The hunt for rock
In the better-late-than-never reporting department, Providence’s answer to the Human League, aka TRIANGLE FOREST, won the WBRU Rock Hunt on April 14. The other finalsts included Arcadia Landing, Hello Mahalo, and Blizzard of ’78, TF synthed ’n’ rolled their way through a dance-tastic set. The stylish and striking threesome of Brendan, Ben, and Alexandra came out swinging with a fresh and feisty sound that played as much a part in their capturing the trophy as their performance.
“They were really energetic and had the entire crowd dancing,” says ’BRU PD Chris Novello. “Some of the other bands may have had more fans, but Triangle Forest seemed to win more people over. It makes a lot of sense in an age where the Killers are on pop radio and bands listening to Duran Duran are now becoming stars.” (Triangle Forest will play POP!, in the same building as Lupo’s at the side entrance, tonight [the 26th].)
Hello Mahalo, formerly holiday, is the first band to sign to BandStandLive’s record label. BandStandLive, billed as the largest music facility in New England, is a practice space/recording studio/all-ages live venue all in one space. Word has it that there’s a waiting list of bands vying for time, but it comes open pretty frequently so put your name in (www.bandstandlive.com). HM is currently in the studio working on their first full-length with Ray Jeffery (Liberty & Union Recording Studio, Dropkick Murphys tech). See what the fuss is all about when they open for Badfish at Lupo’s on Friday, April 27.
