Brooklyn band, The Forms, just released their self-titled second album on October 23, 2007. Much to my delight, it still carries the wispy, twilightishness of their first effort, Icarus (2003). The twelve songs that appear on this work are galvanic and drip with opulence.
I was fortunate enough to make it to their album release party on 10/30 at Cake Shop NYC and it was a treat to be sure. A $10 cover got me free drinks for an hour, their new CD, and a live show featuring them as well as another band whom I've already forgotten because, well, they kinda sucked, frankly.
I have a few things to say about this band's live performance: First off, their PA system blows. Maybe it was the venue's system they were using and maybe they have their own set-up which might be decent, but whomever equipment it was they were using sucked some balls. I KNOW their sound is unique and intrinsic and requires some sophisticated mechanical do-dads but they did not have it that night. Disappointing. So many of their quirky and delicate sounds were lost, which kinda made them sound...average. That was too bad. BUT on to the positive. Boy does this band have some heart! Those boys can really make you forget you're listening to a 30 year old POS PA system from Goodwill in an acoustics-swallowing Lower East Side basement. They are the most enthusiastic and persevering bunch I've seen in awhile. They look like they love to play and consequently, I loved to head bang and scream their lyrics back to them with equal fortitude! They played most of the pieces from their new album along with 3 or so from Icarus. Hearing 'Stravinsky' live was the highlight of my evening (and of course the free booze and the vinyl copy of their album with a bonus track).
A bit about their successful second effort:
*A growling piano walks rhythmically beneath the first track, Knowledge in Hand. It is a great opener. It is solid and sets the mood. "With the knowledge in hand/ can I know/ Plans even I know the way unto the under land..." It is an abstract, cryptic poem beneath a rumbling, rhythmic potion.
*Alpha begins with beating drum, then comes in guitar which I felt sounded like the beginning of a Blink 182 song. The drums are the highlight of this track.
*Redgun is definitely one of the best on this album. Not just because it sounds the most radio-friendly. It just showcases the Forms' rhythmic choices. I have seen an acoustic version and nothing is lost in translation.
*Focus is where I start to feel like their whole album could have been created in the unconscious. "Focus on the target/ Locked in on the target/Forget now/All out of focus"
It's less of a song and more of an interlude to the next interlude which is the next track Borges. This track is just 48 seconds. It feels like singer, Alex Tween just took his paintbrush and just made one stroke across the canvas and threw it back in the paint can.
*Bones is crunchy and drives deep and again relies on the piano to fill the belly of the track.
*Blue Whale is just ear sex to me. The distortions make me feel like the process Jim Carrey went through to erase his memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.... if that makes any sense.
*Math Oberlin is the segue into the 9th track called Oberlin. Upbeat with one line of lyric throughout the 1:50 long track.
*Transmission's guitar is the driver this track. The bass plays a tiny monster running beneath the dinner table of this song.
*White Dot feels like the sunset of their song cycle. Again the unexpected drum pattern moves in to set the strange stage. The song begins to sound like Focus, developing it, mellowing it out a bit more.
*Getting It Back provides more delicious distortions. Heavy rhythm guitar and a steady beat with more simple lyrics plays for about 3 minutes before fading out and ending the album.
Lyrics remain simple throughout the album. Some lyrics from previous tracks are used in subsequent tracks. This leads me to believe that the albums needs to be listened to and viewed as one long continuous track. This album also distantly reminds me of Glen Gould's Goldberg Variations - not of course because the Forms sound anything like J.S. Bach, but because it seems as if the Forms chose one poem and just let their imagination run with it to create different versions. Most of the lyrics and melodies are simple in this album, it's what the pieces as a whole make you feel, that the complexity is born.
I cannot really describe the music of The Forms; only the feeling I get when I listen to them. They are a dreamy, post-apocalyptic band good for introspection. What I like about them is that they never lose their garage band sound. Is that another word for organic? Not neccessarily. Maybe closer to 'rawness.' I feel they are on the cusp of something much more profound, but they are off to a good start with their 2 albums. This Brooklyn band only at the beginning. Their sound is still mutating. Make sure to add 'Icarus' and 'The Forms' to your Ipod A.S.A.P.
