Posts Tagged ‘Bryan Scary’
September 10th, 2009
Original Article from Rolling Stone
Photo: Sarah Wilmer
The Band: Bryan Scary & the Shredding Tears
The Buzz: Bryan and his crew claim to live in a mystic land called Scaryville, and are fond of speaking in cockeyed fairy-tale-isms — which, yeah, we know, a bit rich. But wait! At a time when every band you know is Twittering every mundane activity (”The Dude from Muse just bought paper towels”), don’t you want a band that indulges in a bit of fantasy role-play?
Listen If: You typically listen to your Ben Folds albums at twice the normal speed, so that Ben sounds like Freddie Mercury.
Key Track: The worked-up “Andromeda’s Eyes,” where Scary pouts and huffs over a hyperactive keyboard line, diving headfirst into Queen-size melodies and soaring into a pretty-boy falsetto on the irresistible chorus.
The Band: HEALTH
The Buzz: LA band loosely affiliated with the noise scene centered around the venue/studo The Smell (which also gave us No Age), HEALTH combine frenetic percussion with razorbacked guitar lines — a combination that caught the attention of Trent Reznor, who asked the group to open several dates in Nine Inch Nails’ Lights in the Sky tour.. Side note: we wish there was a band called Human Services, so they could tour together. Get it?
Listen If: You aren’t averse to big, grinding sheets of noise, but you’d like there to be a haunting human voice somewhere in the mix. Or you’re looking for a gym mix that will terrify the person eavesdropping on the treadmill next to you.
Key Track: “We Are Water,” the kind of spaced-out static jam at which HEALTH excels. It sounds like a rave taking place inside a trash compactor.
The Band: Telegraph Canyon
The Buzz: Sprawling Fort Worth, TX septet write alarming small songs, ornamented with accordion and violin — quiet little alt-country numbers that work their way toward irresistible choruses.
Listen If: You wish Ryan Adams would settle down a little, recruit six of his close friends and write that way-out-west record you know he’s capable of.
Key Track: The quiet, yearning “Shake Your Fist,” where vocalist Chris Johnson’s searching tenor stretches out long and pained over gently sparkling banjo and piano, directing the song into a riveting, convulsive chorus.
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