As I write, we find The Buddyrevelles racing towards the finishing line, which marks the completion of their ambitious Trilogy of the EPs, a three-year journey spread across three interconnected releases that will shortly culminate in The Conviction. Ahead of that final chapter comes “Anything For Abbey,” a first glimpse of the final piece, a taster, a tester of the musical waters, and a vision of the shape of things to come. Boy, those are some interesting shapes.
Right from the start, you realize that this is a song that thrives on intricate instrumental interplay. Mathy rhythms lock guitars and bass together in beguiling, not-quite-off-kilter, but certainly unexpected patterns. The drums might seem understated until closer listening reveals just how playful, ornate, and quietly complex they really are. This is the power of the three-piece band, everyone on their game, each instrument contributing, all creative juices flowing freely, and no room for irrelevancies or overplay.
What drives the song, however, is its sense of momentum and sonic torque, rather than obvious velocity. Starting in a relatively light, intricate place, they gradually, almost imperceptibly, increase the sonic weight. The climb is incremental and subtle, the band carefully pressing the accelerator harder without ever overrevving the engine. Ironically, for all its strange patterns and time signature, this is a smooth ride.
Even at its densest and most sonically picturesque, even when they embrace musical moments recalling Wilco at their most adventurous, (who in turn have always tipped their hat to Radiohead’s eclectics) there is a sense of space… or perhaps not space exactly, but room for everything to breathe, for every texture, rhythm, and melodic fragment to be fully on display.
Complex music doesn’t have to be overwhelming…that’s the message here.
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