By: Jim
4.6.08

The Skinny:

Anthems MA (formerly Anthems for Odyssey), Soundpool, The December Sound, and 28 Degrees Taurus at O’Brien’s pub in Boston (Allston) starting at 9 PM on March 21st, 2008. I came into this show after an amusing Guinness chug-fest with my own musical outfit at dinner, and with reasonably high hopes for all four bands based upon what I had already heard on their respective Myspace pages. Anthems MA, for me at least, was the group that really stood out the most from the four.

Anthems MA is: Summer Kelly: Guitar, Vocals Collette Howe: Bass Christian A. Schlubach: Guitar Rich Patt: Drums

The Review:

Anthems MA was the first band on the bill for the evening, a local Boston outfit, two guys, two girls, and one clearly unified sound. Their first tune of the night, “Pills + Sex”, was a great instrumental groove with some minimalist melodic vocals, sans-words as far as I could tell, over Cure-esque chorused guitar riffing. A funk-influenced jam attack follows, adding a good break from the groove at the perfect moment that keeps it from being monotonous. Collette Howe’s bass tone is just plain nasty, growling and buzzing in all the right places, punching through the rest of the instrumentation clearly without overpowering it. Christian Schlubach’s heavily effected rhythms, swells, and leads provide a shimmering, watery backdrop to Summer Kelly’s vocal lines, while Rich Patt’s rat-a-tat drum structures simultaneously rocked the shit out of O’Brien’s through syncopated fills and drives while being understated enough in some areas to bring the listener’s focus back to the rest of the band. That’s the true artistry of a good drummer: Rocking out while complementing the dynamics of the other musicians.

There was a great deal of variation to Anthems MA’s sound during this set, and it comes through on their studio recordings as well. Elements of the Cure, The Mars Volta, and The Strokes came to mind as I listened, but none of it sounded “ripped off.” Rather, their apparent influences, coupled with the professional musicianship they displayed, made their tunes fun to listen to (if you like all the bands I just listed) and it worked well. I had a lot of fun listening to one or two of their songs in particular, though at this point I can’t remember which ones (I had a REALLY good night, nudge nudge, wink wink.) I heard some similarities in tone and timbre to Failure (the now defunct band, not the concept) vis-à-vis 1994’s Magnified. For someone who misses Failure as much as I do, a cover of their tunes or in this case some similarities in texture are always a welcome find. Anthems MA is definitely a bit more up-tempo and danceable than Failure however, so this comparison is perhaps just a momentary gleaning of similar tones.

The last song of the night, “Bullet,” was the final piece of evidence I needed to be convinced that I wanted to buy the Come Blister the Sea EP, and their upcoming LP Time Starts Now. The live version was an improvement over the studio version (which is good as well) which is as it should always be with any band. Howe’s bass lines walk up and down the fret board over Joy Division-like monotone guitar drones with guitar synth walls creating a sense of urgency. As the song progresses, the drums and bass become more bombastic and frenetic infecting even a sit-drink-and-listen showgoer/shoegazer like myself with an overwhelming urge to get up and strut…er…dance…moving on…Summer Kelly just kept nailing those high notes over and over, and you could tell the crowd was digging it.

My only complaint with Anthems MA’s set was that at times Summer Kelly’s vocals and guitar were a bit too quiet. However, from listening to the studio tracks, the reason I have this complaint is based upon the fact that Kelly’s vocals and guitar riffs are awesome, therefore I don’t really have a complaint, more of a suggestion: Turn Summer up!

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