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| From | Snowdome01@aol.com |
| Subject | D.C. show: Thurs 8/7, Julie Ocean/Secret Pop Band/Aquarium @ Fort Reno |
| Date | Mon, 4 Aug 2008 10:09:49 EDT |
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D.C. listees -- this Thursday evening, August 7, at Fort Reno:
JULIE OCEAN -- ex-Velocity Girl, ex-Saturday People
SECRET POP BAND -- jangle-tastic D.C. trio
THE AQUARIUM -- Dischord melodicists
Free. Outdoors. Music starts at 7:15 p.m.
Nearest Metro: Tenleytown
Band info:
myspace.com/JulieOceanDC
myspace.com/jfortesecretpop
Aquarium info at dischord.com
Recent Pitchfork Review:
_http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/137691-julie-ocean-long-g
one-and-nearly-there_
(http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/137691-julie-ocean-long-gone-and-nearly-there)
Julie Ocean:
Long Gone and Nearly There
[Transit of Venus; 2008]
Despite its effusiveness, power pop is a highly conservative genre, favoring
a minimum of elements: infectious hooks, tight harmonies, driving tempos, and
bittersweet brevity. A very few artists, such as the New Pornographers, can
successfully tweak that formula without losing the immediacy of the form,
while others, like Fight Songs-era Old 97s, distinguish themselves through
their lyrics. But most power pop bands do it just well enough to risk becoming
anonymous, following the formula so closely that they neglect to include
themselves in their songs.
D.C.'s Julie Ocean, fortunately, does not fall into that last category. They
follow the same tried-and-true equation, but drop some unexpected elements--
Shakespeare quotes, French movie references-- into their songs, which they
play loud and fast, turning the requisite power-pop sugar rush into something
resembling punk intensity. All 1990s indie heroes should age so well: Julie
Ocean-- their name comes from an Undertones song-- are headed by Jim Spellman,
who played in Velocity Girl and more recently _was tasered on CNN_
(http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/51272-wtf-ex-velocity-girl-drummer-gets-tase
red-on-cnn) . The band itself is something of a D.C. supergroup, featuring
ex-Saturday People guitarist Terry Banks, former Severin drummer Alex Daniels,
and Weatherhead's Hunter Bennett on bass.
Julie Ocean blows Raspberries to anyone expecting Dischord post-hardcore or
some sort of post-rock cheerlessness. After honing their songs on local stages
for nearly a year, their debut, Long Gone and Nearly There, hits like a
combination punch: quick, jabby, out of nowhere. First out of the gate, "Ten
Lonely Words" never sits still, streamlining its busy guitar and wistful lyrics
into two quick minutes. "#1 Song" sounds a little more lived in, launches a
volley of oohs, aahs, and whoos over the angsty lyrics and an insistent beat.
"My Revenge" does, well, the same thing, but it doesn't sound repetitive,
thanks to the sharp contrast between the album's brightest harmonies and darkest
lyrics.
This momentum-- almost businesslike in its concentration-- continues unabated
through the jumpy "At the Appointed Hour", but stops cold on "Here Comes
Danny". Sounding like early-90s college pop, it's the weakest track here, but
also the longest. They repeat that pulled-punch hook mercilessly and indulge an
unnecessarily long guitar solo-- though it seems to want to be the heart of
the album, it sounds like a different band. After "Here Comes Danny", Long
Gone never quite reaches the same heights, although there are some peaks, like
the fidgety "Complications" and the roughed-up closer "Looking at Me/Looking
at You". The album clocks in at 25 minutes-- not even that, since they cut
off the last guitar chord mid-squeal. That's an abrupt end to a summery genre
record whose sure-footed melodies and imaginative economy make it sound
urgent and infectious...
MORE JULIE OCEAN REVIEWS AT:
_http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=145482289&blo
gID=365962741_
(blocked::http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=145482289&blogID=365962741)
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