here's the first album review I have had printed in the Tucson Weekly
this is the unedited version (printed version gets edited down for column space)
THE RESONARS "Nonetheless blue" (Get Hip)
What do you do if you've got songs, can play many instruments, but are
surrounded by apathetic layabouts? Well if you're Matt Rendon (of
Knockout Pills, Vultures, and even Marshmallow Overcoat occasionally)
you DIY to create your perfect band.
This is the Resonars third album and continues the Zombies, Byrds, and
Remains style he's been mining since it's inception. A Love Generation
artifact distilled in this age of hate. The perfect balance of
nostalgia and knowing that nostalgia is false. We were never as happy,
and the past was never as perfect as we remember it. Still we
romanticize it. This is no mere rehash however, as the album is strong
enough to stand on it's own for people who have never heard of those
bands, as well as surpassing some of the "classics" of that time for
fans of the genre. Songs like "Places You Have Been" and "Sinking Is
Slow" with their dark melancholy vibe stick with the listener long
after they're done.
Matt's voice while singing about something troubling still soothes,
and while telling you you can have "What Ever You Want" implies all
the tragic roads that can lead us down. The difference between the
backing vocals and the leads are pretty amazing as well since it's all
one man.
It's the album Charles Schmid listened to while cruising down Speedway
long into old age. It's the record the Dearly Beloved would have
recorded if not for that fateful last trip to LA. It's the hero of a
film noir knowing he's going down, and was instrumental in his own
demise.
In the end we are shown that the pain and loss are worth feeling for
they give proof that we are alive and that is always better than it's
opposite; if for nothing else than to be able to hear the next
Resonars album.
ENCORE!
5 years ago
