by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
WHO: The Velvet Teen, Minus the Bear, Russian Circles and P.O.S.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 25th
WHERE: Jack Rabbits
The Velvet Teen’s new record, Cum Laude, is a twisted disco record with a hint of avant-garde masquerading as indie pop. Or maybe I have that backwards, but either way, the visceral, caffeine-infused rhythms and off-kilter drums are reminiscent of The Dismemberment Plan. The haunting song construction, with layers of child-like electronic melodies creating a two-dimensional sort of symphony that is complex but not spacious, has singer/guitarist Judah Nagler’s sometimes shrill voice distorted and bobbing above the strum of indie rock guitars.
The production opens the drum sound like a Steve Albini record, but the guitar and vocal structure is more like The Strokes. Cum Laude sounds more like a debut record because of its rawness, but there is a distinctly mature artistic voice underscoring it. The song Steadman’s Spray is a perfect example. Here on their third full-length album, the Velvet Teen has crafted a song with the energy and sensation of punk, without duplicating any punk music. The song is named after artist Ralph Steadman.
“To give a spattery visual. If you listen to the first lines in that song, it’s about having bloody fingers from playing guitar.”
Prior albums, Out of the Fierce Parade and Elysium, were very different projects.
“The last album had a lot of strings and piano. It was more mellow. Before that was a straightforward rock album. The addition of our new drummer, Casey [Dietz] has been a big influence on us. He’s a very different drummer, and it’s given me the opportunity to add more electronic elements.”
Nagler has been playing electronic music longer than he has the guitar. Since 1987 he has been dawdling with sequencers and samplers. For the last four years he has been working on a solo album.
“Band and a day job, you know.”
Although each of The Velvet Teen’s records have been a reinvention, Cum Laude represents the beginning of a new era in the band’s writing.
“This is definitely a new direction. I want to go back to using strings and some of the things we incorporated in the past, but this is definitely a lot closer to what we want to be playing. Most of our changes have been the product of our circumstances. This record represents a new process. A more consistent direction.”
Citing electronic influences such as Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, and a lot of the artists on Warp Records, Nagler also brought his taste for strange rock bands like Deerhuff, Xiu Xiu (pronounced shoo shoo), and Animal Collective into the studio with him when they recorded Cum Laude.
“We try to balance it lyrics and music. I enjoy writing the lyrics, but they come out of the melodies we write for the songs. I’ll start off singing gibberish, but as it comes together the lyrics shape. They are both equally important to me. You can have great simple lyrics.”
Lyrical themes on the album include whales.
“Lyrical themes on the album are sex, lies, and videotape… just kidding. Sex, lies, and a comprehensive worldview. Little kids are a big theme. Being a child. Anywhere there’s a whale reference, it’s a reference to lying.”
Nagler and Josh Staples, the founding members of The Velvet Teen, and new drummer Dietz, create the core of this California trio. They play to samples and synthesizer to duplicate the many varying soundscapes on the album that they can’t accomplish live.
“Eventually I hope we will be playing with live samples, but right now it’s just easier to use these sounds we used on the recording live. But the band is definitely the driving force of the show.”
Velvet Teen will be performing live with Minus the Bear, P.O.S., and Russian Circles on October 25th at Jack Rabbits in San Marco.
“Expect a lot of energy. A lot of noise.”
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