Big Business and Torche at the First Unitarian Church

Welp, that was loud. Big Business, Torche and Helms Alee dropped a metric ton of sludge rock on Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church Tues., July 19. For all the muddled low end, though, each band brought a different aspect to the style, resulting in a show that never got tiresome and certainly kept the crowd up in arms (Relatively speaking; outside of Big Business, people didn’t really move around all that much).

Washington’s Helms Alee opted to kick off the show by being the loudest band. It was loud when guitarist Ben Verellen (ex-These Arms are Snakes) plugged in. When drummer Hozoji Margullis started tearing through her kit in a tribal/metal fit, it got louder. But when bassist Dana James finally brought the low end, that’s when my molecules starting rearranging. Helms Alee is a power trio for sure, and no one element could truly take precedence over the rest, but James’ bass sure did kick my ass.

Helms Alee got a good reaction from the crowd; Torche got a great one, and it became clear which band the audience was most excited to see. But to be honest, it was a little awkward transitioning from Helms Alee’s co-ed tech sludge to Torche’s brand of metal, which somehow manages to be both more drone- and more power metal-oriented at the same time. It took my ears a second or two to adjust all the 4/4 going on, but it wasn’t long before I was on board with “the hits” from Meanderthal and last year's most excellent Songs For Singles, just like everyone else.

Despite a slight reduction in crowd size following Torche’s set, headliner Big Business still played the best overall. They were funny (“Let’s harvest our body heat for energy!”), they were rocking and top of that, drummer Coady Willis sported a sweet headset mic/drumming gloves combo. Helms Alee and Torche didn’t interact much with the crowd, but Big Business bassist/vocalist Jared Warren was all about sharing mic duties with the fans, occasionally dipping into the crowd to spread the rock around. The group played a solid set that drew from all three albums, as well as their new self-released effort, Quadruple Single.

While the sound in the Church basement was a bit muddled, that actually suited the musical style, allowing the dissonance the three bands favor to be cultivated even further. Clearly, everyone in attendance was satisfied, and the merch tables were flooded after the show ended. It was loud, but a good kind of loud.

Vinyl Vednesday 2/9/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Paul McCartney’s Ram (1971) on black, Torche’s Meanderthal Demos ten-inch (2009) on black, and The White Stripes’ “Conquest” single (2007) on clear red.

Place of Purchse: McCartney came from a recent Siren Records run. Torche was delivered to by my door step via No Idea’s wonderful mailorder system. White Stripes came from my other lover, Repo Records in Philadelphia.

Thoughts: I like The Beatles a whole lot. I like that I can put on any of their albums and get a string of well-crafted pop songs. Getting through the members’ solo records, meanwhile, has been a stumble. I’m at a point where I think I own all of the essential George Harrison and John Lennon albums, but up until now I’ve stayed away from Paul McCartney. I always planned on getting Band on the Run at some point, but generally speaking, I haven’t really liked any of his post-Beatles songs. How could he top John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band or All Things Must Pass?

CUT TO A MANAYUNK SOCIAL GATHERING. I’m slaying some wine with Sam Fran Scavuzzo and Pat Rush (of Pat Rush Band Fame). We’re talking about records, as nerds are wont to do, and I casually said something to the effect of “I do not enjoy the works of Paul McCartney post-1970.” I can’t remember if I mentioned “The Girl is Mine” from Thriller as an exception or not. Anyhoozle, Rush looked me straight in the soul and told me to check out Ram. He told me it wasn’t as great as other records in the Beatles universe, but that it would be a pleasant listen. He was right. Ram consists of a bunch of silly love songs, but it flows nicely and the arrangements manage to be epic and slight at the same time. This is how I wish more twee bands sounded.

So… any recommendations for a Ringo Starr record?

I fell for Torche pretty hard in 2010. Songs For Singles dominated my ears, and I quickly tore through their discograpy. This year, I’m filling in the margins, starting with Meanderthal Demos. I love all of the group’s full-lengths (Right now the self-titled is my favorite), but I was surprised by how much I prefer these demos to Meanderthal proper. The tunes here aren’t too differently, just slightly fuzzier ‘n’ grainier, which suits Torche’s knack for penning metal tunes that blend sludge, alternative, and acid rock. I really, really need to see this band live.

Speaking of getting hip to old acts, I didn’t really appreciate The White Stripes in their heyday. Icky Thump turned me around on them, though, and I eventually found myself delighting in the band’s sense of humor. I dig the album version of their cover of Corry Robbins’ “Conquest,” but the acoustic Mariachi version on this single is pretty great too. B-side “Cash Grab Complications On the Matter” complements the song well. The single also comes with a poster and trading card!

Vinyl Vednesday 11/10/2010

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. Today’s edition comes from music impresario and cultural juggernaut Paul Tsikitas. He runs a music blog of his own, called In the Wake of Poseidon. Tsikitas sent his big vinyl finds to pelonej1@gmail.com, and so can you! Be like Tsikitas! Write for me for freeeeeee.]

Records: Torche In Return 10 “ (2007) on multi-colored vinyl, Reigning Sound’s Too Much Guitar (2004) on classic black and Black Mountain Wilderness Heart (2010) on classic black

Place of Purchase: First Unitarian Church at concert, AKA Records in Philadelphia, PA and Jagjaguwar.com.

Thoughts: Thanks to Mr. Picasso Blue’s recent love of Baroness, I finally have figured out how to get the inspiration to choose what records from my collection to talk about. A former bandmate turned me on to a band called Torche. Upon listening, I knew this was the kind of band I needed in my life. The sludgy yet catchy Floridians were right up my alley. We went to a show of theirs and I saw that not only was this band into kicking raw ass, but they had an eye for artwork. Immediately purchased the In Return EP, which was released on multi-colored 10” vinyl. The record itself was beautiful. When the needle met the groove, a hissing guitar followed by bludgeoning passages came forth via “Warship.” The titular track comes in with a fury and ends in a swirling barrage of spaced out yet distorted guitars slowly giving way to instrumental closer “Bring Me Home.” It’s hard to believe these three tracks last only half of the total 20 minutes of music. Side two has equally theatric numbers, with the highlight being “Rule The Beat” with it’s catchy, yet brutal hooks.

Equally loud yet in a different vein, Reigning Sound turn the amps up for their brand of classic garage rock. Jack White and Julian Casablancas only wish they were as cool as Greg Cartwright, frontman of the garage rock trio. Bathed in shimmering reverb and ear-splitting sizzle, the garage rock assortment is truly a wonderful album to own. And it being such a brilliant throwback to ’60s garage, there seems no other medium suited for it other than vinyl. The pop and crackle of the needle adds a flavor to the searingly loud guitars on tracks like “I’ll Cry” or the ridiculously loud “We Repel Each Other.” Their melding of CBGB-style punk rock and Memphis country on “If You Can’t Give Me Everything” sounds straight out of the late ’70s garage revival. The succinct tracks lead this record into a fury, culminating on side one in the fantastic cover of Sam and Dave’s “You Got Me Hummin’.” The garage stomper is one of my favorite covers of all time taking the original’s Stax sound into strange yet comfortable territory. If anything can be gleaned from Too Much Guitar, it’s that Reigning Sound don’t sacrifice grit for polished updates of garage rock tropes. If you play it honest, you don’t have to change the sound.

Black Mountain is one of those other bands I love that sound as if they rocketed in from some other time period or dimension of what popular rock and roll could sound like. On their new album, Wilderness Heart, they tone down the epic scope of songs like “Tyrants” or “Heart of Snow” from their previous two records for clearer, yet still epic-sounding pop numbers. This is easily the coolest artwork yet from Black Mountain. That shark is going to eat my face any second, I know it. Much like Too Much Guitar this record sounds delightful on vinyl. The high end of Amber Webber’s harmonies on “The Hair Song” sound even more angelic as the ominous swirls of Jeremy Schmidt’s organs gurgle behind it. “Radiant Hearts” futurescape swirls and swells and is given even more of a crisp sound on this vinyl. The Black Sabbath infused “Let’s Spirit Ride” skyrockets over your speakers in all it’s biker glory. This is the kind of band that the revival of vinyl was started for. It is imperative for fans of the band and fans of vinyl alike to own all their albums on vinyl, a personal goal of mine (anyone have the Druganaut EP on vinyl? I have cashahol for you!)

Torche - 'Songs For Singles'

[I’m just gonna throw this out there. My dream bill for a ridiculously high energy tour would be Andrew W.K., Torche, and Fang Island. Who would you add?]

In an alternate universe, Torche is the biggest radio rock band in America. No one has heard of Nickelback, but they sure as hell know all the words to Songs For Singles. While it’s certainly a bummer that this is not the case here on Earth Prime, hopefully this Floridian metal act will garner a few new fans with their latest effort.

Songs For Singles is a somewhat sarcastic title, although still apt. At just eight tracks, the album doesn’t have the continuity of a full-length, but rather feels like eight really good songs collected on one disc. Maybe it was a defensive move on the band’s part, but it also makes a good point: All of these songs could be singles.

Calling Torche a metal band almost seems like a misnomer, since metal has splintered off into a lot of subgenres and means different things to different people. There’s some Savannah sludge in the group’s sound and even some drone, but an anthemic grunge vibe as well. Basically, it’s like a Soundgarden/Black Tusk mash-up that could probably open for, I don’t know, Foo Fighters. In fact, they should. I bet Dave Grohl loves the shit out of Torche.

Aside from the epic closing track, Singles sticks to focused rockers. Steve Brooks peels off guitar pyrotechnics, but he keeps them tasteful. He doesn’t distract from a good hook and the band as a whole keeps things brisk. At just 21 minutes, Singles opens itself up to repeat listens. The songs roll off of each other so well that one could easily get in three or four listens in a row. Torche doesn’t sound like any one band, but they sure vaguely recall ’90s alternative rock as a whole.