Safe's Cinematic Ocean on LP

I think this is the last LP from my Syracuse stack that I need to discuss. I have a few more 7" singles that have snuck into my hands over the last few weeks, such as the Steven Douglas Wolfe collection I received just a couple of weeks ago. But I received this particular pile of LPs way back at the beginning of the summer and I was shocked and dismayed that a couple of titles slipped through the cracks.

I listened to this LP, Safe's Cinematic Ocean, right after Ulf Oesterle from Aux Records gave it to me. Actually, he gave me three copies of the album, all different colors. I've included two of the colors here--I never saw the third pressing because Shayne at Tenacious Sound grabbed it before I could open it. So I don't have the "complete" collection. But I do have an extra copy!

I'm not sure why I saved this LP for last. Of all the Syracuse records I've listened from L.R.S.. bettyElm and Aux, this one is perhaps the most polished, most professional and most likely to be heard on a college station--and I don't mean any of this as a diss to Safe. Over the last few months I've been trying to get a handle on the Syracuse music scene, and for the most part the DIY/indie rock influences run strong in Salt City. It's rough around the edges, passionate, retro--not that different than other medium-sized cities in the US--but there's more of a sense of fun here.

Cinematic Ocean, however, is dense and textured indie rock quartet music, a couple of guitars and a rhythm section and vocals that are earnest and clear without being too poppy. For a debut album it's very consistent, with each track maintaining the same high level of energy; it's an indie rock version of Damn the Torpedoes. There's a seriousness and dedication at work here--this quartet has mastered the concept of sounding like themselves, finding their sonic signature and making songs that sound like, well, Safe. That's something a lot of bands don't get right for a few albums, after they've earned their freedom by selling a few millions CDs.

In researching the band and this album, I made an interesting discovery--Cinematic Ocean was released in November of 2012, more than four years ago. Still, it's in the new release section at The Sound Garden, the record store here in Armory Square. I was also playing this LP in Shayne's store a few days ago and someone walked in and immediately asked if this was Safe. In a way Safe represents the great Syracuse hope, a local band that has garnered a great local rep and is perhaps ready to push for bigger exposure. If so, it's been four years already, so I hope we get that awesome sophomore breakthrough album--for all I know it's already out--and then I can say you heard about it here first.

Inclusive Or's Cocktails in Purgatory on LP

I'm coming up on six months in New York. The leaves are starting to turn color and I soon I will experience my first Syracuse winter. Syracuse gets more snowfall than any other major US city, by the way, so I'm about to have an adventure. Texas summers and Colorado winters have toughened me up over the last few years, so I'm not that worried, but I have planned a bit of traveling over the next three or four months--Toronto next month, CES in Vegas after the New Year as usual. So I'll be dealing with huge piles of snow on a fairly regular basis. Outside of that, I plan to burrow here in Salt City. Fortunately I have a ton of new music to review.

While that last paragraph meanders a bit, it's to make a point--I still have a bunch of vinyl to review from local Syracuse record labels L.R.S, bettyElm and Aux. I've been here six months, and I still haven't finished. I've been listening to most of these records, and I dig the overwhelming majority of them and have played most of them repeatedly. This album here, Inclusive Or's Cocktails in Purgatory, is a fine example of an LP that was likable at first and has since grown into something more rewarding and substantial.

I was reminded of this clever little album with lots of hidden depth when I was shopping at The Sound Garden, the local LP store here in Armory Square. They had Cocktails in Purgatory in the LP New Release section and I thought to myself, "New release? I don't feel so bad for not having reviewed it yet. It's still new!" But no, this album came out in 2014. Should I even bother?

In a word, yes. I should bother. What makes this indie band so intriguing is the slow and deliberate way this album unfolds. The first two or three songs are straightforward indie rock songs, a little rough and ragged and delivered with earnest energy from a band with electric guitars and bass guitars and drums and even a little keyboard action for low-level textures. I don't want to use words like ordinary or typical, but this is the type of music that makes you nod your head once or twice and acknowledge "Yeah, this is pretty good."

Then the band starts to stretch. While Trevor Grant's hoarse and jagged yet somehow whimsical voice remains a constant throughout the album--anchoring Inclusive Or's garage band aesthetic, the arrangements simultaneously focus and vary. "Inclusive Or" is a bouncy '80s track that almost sounds like The Knack, while "Scherzo" has the same fluid power of Green Day in their least self-obsessed incarnation. That song and its rock ballad follow-up, "Eudaimonia," feature a huge, endearing chunk of Hammond organ that's almost poignant. "Cured!" is a thrift-store hymnal, with Grant backed up by guitar and a strange grinding sound in the background--it's melancholy and desperate and ultimately hilarious in its honesty. ("Getting drunk off the blood of Christ/Isn't it nice?")

Sure the album is a couple of years old, but the Syracuse music scene is tight and close and these guys are still playing around town, and they're playing some of these songs. Something tells me they're great live, so I might try to check them out soon--if I don't go into hibernation for the winter, that is.

Fowls' Into the Wild on LP

I tried to do a Google search on this album so I could get a little more background on this local band that records for bettyElm Records here in Syracuse, and here's what I got:

Stalking the Wild Ur-chicken (National Audobon Society)
When Chickens Go Wild (Nature News and Comment)
Poultry (Wikipedia)

With a little perseverance I was able to get a little more info. This quartet is actually from Rochester, which is about 75 miles from where I'm sitting right now. But this is one of the beautiful slabs of vinyl dropped off by Jen Bort of bettyElm, and after a single listen I was immediately intrigued by the ambitiousness of their songs despite their stripped-down aesthetic. Fowls specialize in tricky time signatures without being pretentious about it; the jagged edges of these songs do nothing to subvert the uplifting melodies and interplay between the guitars, despite the "math-rock" label Fowls gladly accept. More than once I was reminded of Television's Marquee Moon. After listening to Into the Wild, I was compelled to play that landmark album just to compare. The similarities aren't obvious, but they are there.

This album, originally released in 2013, took the band two years to make. The focus of their sound is contained in the instrumental volleys between guitarists Ruben Vazquez and Vadim Ovcharov, but it's also surprising how quickly the overall sound can drift from the complex into the lyrical--such as on the beautiful instrumental "Brother." Your ears will also perk up when you hear a certain familiar '80s pop-riff in "Yanaguana"--I'm being cryptic here because for the life of me I can't remember the original song or who sings it! Somebody help me here! It's really friggin' obvious!

The most impressive thing about Fowls is that despite the thorny math-rock pigeonhole they've been placed in, you'll be surprised at just accessible this album is. Songs like "Genoa" and "Just Ask Me" have a lively danceability and energy that wouldn't be out of place at the beach during a Caribbean vacation--which perhaps explains why those two songs lead into a third titled "Montego Bay." Perhaps that's because the rhythm section--bassist Aleksandar Nikolovski and drummer Ricardo Vazquez--have a clean, precise and sunny sound that brings structure to the more complicated textures provided by the two guitars.

Want a little more motivation to check this album out? It's available on their Bandcamp site for just $8. It's a very nice pressing, too, especially for a small indie label. Less finesse in the studio may have resulted in a busier sound, but this is surprisingly natural and coherent.

Stephen Douglas Wolfe's We'll Live on 45rpm 7" Single

This record sounds way too good for a guy who's playing at the chicken-and-waffles joint around the corner. Wait, there's more to the story than that.

First, let's go back to LRS Records here in Syracuse. We hooked up with Mark Turley and Nicholas Oliver a few weeks back for the Taste of Syracuse event--I was at the Newport Show at the time, but I was there in spirit. I wound up talking about LRS Records in my last Vinyl Anachronist column for Perfect Sound Forever, and they hooked me up with some tasty vinyl from local Syracuse bands.

A couple of weeks later, I received a visit from more strangers bearing gifts of vinyl--Jen Bort from bettyElm Records (awesome name for a label if you're a David Lynch fan) and Ulf Oesterle from Aux Records. I bored them with tales of my vinyl dedication and expertise and they quickly dropped off armloads of vinyl and backed away cautiously. It's taken me a few weeks to begin my assault on the pile, although I did give everything a quick run-through after Jen and Ulm left. While I really dig most of it, one thing stood out--a 45rpm single from a singer-songwriter named Stephen Douglas Wolfe.

Wolfe has an easy-going, earnest style that occupies that middle ground between folk and Americana--perhaps it's more connected with California country-rock from the '70s. It's mellow yet filled with longing, with catchy melodies and tight musical performances. On these two songs, "We'll Live" and "Wake Up," Wolfe sounds like someone who has been playing stuff like this for years. That doesn't mean over-rehearsed or bland, obviously, it means this guy really inhabits these two songs with every ounce of his being and he's deeply familiar with every note. These songs obviously mean something to him, and that adds another layer of depth. This ain't your daddy's old Seals and Croft albums.

Previously, Wolfe played in two bands--Getaway Driver and Cavaliers. This single is part of a series he's releasing through his pretty nifty website. He's charging $10 for this 7" single, but it's beautifully packaged and it sounds fantastic. It's easily worth it.

As for the comment about the chicken-and-waffles joint? I'm talking about Funk N' Waffles, of course, a true destination in the city of Syracuse. Not only do they serve amazing waffles in both sweet and savory versions, but they're also one of the most popular venues for local Syracuse performers. LRS Records has been promoting a series of shows there every Wednesday in June, and once or twice I've seen Stephen Douglas Wolfe's name on the bill. So I'm thinking about getting some waffles--I like the whole grain ones covered in fresh blueberries--and watching a very intriguing local musician in action.

Now to start digging around deeper in this pile o' music...