Monday, May 18, 2015

Revolt Revolt race forward with dynamic restraint

Step forward, pull back

Revolt Revolt play Olympia’s Le Voyeur Tuesday night. Photo credit: Jason Sievers 
Remaining stagnant as an artist is a fear that seemingly everyone besides Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay has. To come back, release after release, with the same sound and vision is death even to superstars like Katy Perry. Reinvention comes, part and parcel, with being a creative person. Even still, there's a worse fear that can arise in the hearts of artists: straying from formula to deafening silence. To use a recent example, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah burst onto the scene with an inscrutable debut, only to fall prey to the indulgences and overreaching that defines the so-called "sophomore slump."
Where is the line between artistic advancement and the misguided reinvention that fundamentally shakes the ground beneath a band's feet? Chris Bock has spent years in various bands, honing his taste for noise-rock and navel-gazing drone. In 2007, he formed Revolt Revolt as an outlet for material he had been preparing as a solo artist. His predilections for post-punk drive firmly in place, the newly christened Revolt Revolt took off for a marathon round of touring and refining what made this band this band.
"I decided I could get different members, if need be, but I just wanted something full on, that I could tour," says Bock from on tour in Santa Cruz. "I really like the people I have now. We just finished up a record that comes out on August 7th, and it was pretty effortless."
Revolt Revolt put out two albums since their formation in 2007, both of which mostly came from the writings of Chris Bock, but the band eventually settled down with Mike Muir (guitar), Jake Fredrickson (bass), and Ben Wieland (drums). On their forthcoming EP, the band comes together to make a truly collaborative record. Wild Unraveling is a remarkably compelling album that truly feels like the work of a group of artists working together to create something of a forward step from what Revolt Revolt has done before.
While the post-punk and noise-rock leanings still exist, Wild Unraveling unveils a new side of the band that doesn't quite stand in opposition to their previous work, but rather indicates a surge forward in emotion and feeling, not to mention the extraordinary texture and novelty provided by opera singer Emma Doupe, as well as Built to Spill's Doug Martsch providing idiosyncratic guitar on several tracks. Bock's trademark rasping whisper is accompanied by a surprisingly complex bed of instrumentation.
"Our earlier stuff was a little more punk-influenced, a little more rocking out, which is cool and all," says Bock. "There is still some of that, even in the stuff we're doing now, but my guys and I are taking a few more chances. We brought in some different instrumentation, like this steel guitar player that I just happened to meet by chance. He came on and played some really cool stuff. We brought an opera singer in, because I heard this melody in my head, and I found a girl to do it. Doug Martsch happened to be in town, and he's known us for a long time. ... We've dynamically enhanced (our music,) I guess. That's a good way to put it."
Where Revolt Revolt find themselves is in a place where they break new ground through the ingenious use of restraint. Instead of sounding like a band backing down, Revolt Revolt sound more assured than ever. This is all not to say that Wild Unraveling is sparse; on the contrary, it teems with details and fun diversions to create a tapestry that shows a band in transition. Rather than rotting in stagnation, or finding themselves neck-deep in preposterous reinvention, Revolt Revolt are a band racing forward.
LE VOYEUR, w/ Mindrips, guests, May 19, 10 p.m., No cover, 404 E. 4th Ave., Olympia, 360.943.5710

Thursday, May 14, 2015

KEOL New Music: REVOLT REVOLT, Wild Unraveling

By KEOL Staff
Boise’s Revolt Revolt mixes healthy doses of ‘60’s-style garage rock, hard rock, noise, opera and space/psychedelic rock to create a unique experience for the listener. Their latest EP release, Wild Unraveling, is a creative collaboration between group founder, guitarist and vocalist Chris Bock, drummer Ben Wieland, guitarist Mike Muir and bassist Jake Fredrickson.
“Catch the Light” offers sounds like some late ‘60’s or early ‘70’s experimentation by artists such as David Bowie and The Velvet Underground. Subdued lyrics by Bock and spacey guitar riffs from guest musician Doug Martsch of Built to Spill meld beautifully with the rhythm created by Wieland and Fredrickson.
“Wilderness” offers a funky, Red Chili Peppers-like undertone that leads to some guitar work and a sound reminiscent of 1969 Jimi Hendrix.
Guest musician Todd Dunnigan, a bandmate of Martsch, adds background organ work to “Hold on Let’s Go” that teeters on the edge of gospel and something Al Kooper may have played on a Bob Dylan tune in the ‘60’s. The sound will bring older listeners back to a time when rock music wasn’t simply a couple of guitarists and a drummer, but a wall of sound that often included piano or an organ as well. The quiet of the song is interrupted, quite nicely however, by some stellar guitar work by Bock, Muir and Martsch.
Sounding musically more like something from the 1990’s, “Every Day Youth” adds several voice-overs early in the track before any vocals begin. Mid-way through the song, the band switches up the tempo and delivers a heavier sound with pounding percussion and staccato lead guitar. The track doesn’t end so much as it blends into the final song on the EP, “Never Fade.”
The band ends with something that might be a cross between Pink Floyd, The Smashing Pumpkins and Alan Parson Project. The sound is full and loud and constant, yet holds a beauty deep within in the form of guest singer Emma Doupe’s operatic vocals. Think “Great Gig in the Sky” plus “Welcome to the Machine” with a splash of “Tonight, Tonight” and a sprinkling of “I, Robot.” Don’t be confused by the silence mid-song; there is more to come before it’s all over.
The lyrics and vocal work throughout the EP add the perfect counterbalance to the often loud and disjointed guitar solos of Bock and crashing cymbals of Wieland. The sound, even when it includes some of the industrial noise elements, is not overly intrusive to the listener. In fact, much of it has an underlying calming effect.
Revolt Revolt plays Jefferson Street Depot on May 23. Visit them online at www.revoltrevolt.com or find them on Facebook.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

PICTURE THIS: Lila Rose @ The Independent, San Francisco 5/7/2015

The Independent in San Francisco was the seen of a theatrical event as much as a concert. Lila Rose released her new album WE. ANIMALS. Just before her set the cloaked object on stage was reveled to be a cage. As her set started that cage came alive with Rose inside it. She was surrounded by ghostly images of animals and faces. On one side of the stage playing drums was the producer of the album Daniel Garcia. The other side of the stage was the excellent string quartet Squid Inc. Her music is dramatic and theatrical with influences from Florence and the Machine and Björk. The set finished with the title song We Animals. Back inside the cage. Back behind bars Rose left us with the word’s “we are animals, least we forget it.”

May 10. 2015 | By Don Albonico
Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15

Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15Lila Rose @ the Indepndent, San Francisco 5/7/15
http://www.theowlmag.com/photos-pictures/picture-this-lila-rose-the-independent-san-francisco-572015/

Monday, May 4, 2015

Taking their "driving, noise drenched" sound for a little fresh air



Revolt Revolt 

Tuesday, May 5 at The Crux

Revolt Revolt is hitting the road.

Revolt Revolt is hitting the road.
It's road season for a lot of bands and local rockers Revolt Revolt are taking their "driving, noise drenched" sound for a little fresh air.
Teamed up with fellow locals, garage band Mindrips, Revolt Revolt is kicking off a monthlong West Coast tour ahead of the Aug. 4 release of new EP Wild Unraveling. First stop: The Crux on May 5 for a 6 p.m., all-ages show. From there it's on to Pocatello, Las Vegas and a southward swing to Pasadena, Calif. The road home leads through Portland, Ore.; Olympia, Wash.; and Seattle. The tour wraps with a TBA Boise show on May 23.
According to Revolt Revolt's website, Wild Unraveling is the first collective project for the current line-up of the band, which solidified in 2014, and includes special guests Doug Martsch and Todd Dunnigan, of Built to Spill, and Earl Hughes, whose bona fides include work with Alabama, The Beach Boys, Don Ho and Freddy Fender.