Hope. The finality and open-endedness of the word set the tone for Meridene’s farewell show at the House of Rock last Saturday, a cold night in the beginning of February. Not long ago, Meridene had parted ways (seemingly for good), members of Laarks vanished into the anonymity of larger cities, and The Heart Pills looked as if they might live on the laurels of their first handful of tunes for years to come.

Saturday night turned all of this on its head as The Heart Pills took the stage, opening with new songs and powerful, confident renditions of old standbys alike, including newbie “Concrete,” a rhythm-driven stomper, and “Bus Ride,” a crowd favorite for its sing-along chorus. The Heart Pills seemed reenergized after a recent short tour, which included stops in nearby exotic locales: Oshkosh, Wausau, Chicago. An irony of sorts, this parting show was definitely a homecoming welcome to members of The Heart Pills.

Things would turn to farewells within the hour, as Laarks crooned out a high energy set as well. The bar had been set, the amicable gauntlet thrown, as each individual knew that this was a special weekend for music in Eau Claire, for themselves. Ian Jacoby didn’t miss a beat in picking up where the Laarks left off: sideways smiling at the crowd, fully aware that, while his bandmates were dressed in suits, he was happy to let his keys, voice, and hooded sweatshirt do the proverbial talking. Of course, the other folks in the band didn’t let their clothes do the talking either. Guitar, drums, and bass all interweaved into fabrics of musical alt-pop goodness. These songs seemed to call out, “We’re back, maybe for one night, but who knows?” Eau Claire has a funny way of sending people out into the world and then drawing them back, like some enigmatic cosmic yo-yo, and that’s what this night was all about leading up to the final hurrah.

Only in Eau Claire is one able to become close friends with talented musicians who run the gamut from internationally touring to local legend to high school upstart to virtually unknown house party novelty act. The result is a closely knit conversation between audience and band, the line between performer and listener blurred, where the band no longer is some faceless entity but a group of your most intimate friends. Honestly, this writer has only seen Meridene a handful of times, but, as the last adieu unfolded, I could tell that this was the magic that has drawn music aficionados to the band over the last few years. Lead singer/guitarist Trevor has a way of captivating his audience with part rockstar, part endearing cousin, and, as the night faded into wee twilight hours, Meridene became something more than just a band; it became an extended family full of inside jokes, awkward moments, a deep history of lives intermingled forever.

However, there were no tears shed when last call came, when the music was finished. As the stage cleared, band members casually packed up instruments in cases, and audience members pattered out into the streets, there were only smiles on everyone’s faces: smiles of satisfaction, smiles of fulfillment, smiles of promise. Why were people so happy when goodbyes are so hard, one not present might wonder? There were simply no goodbyes said this evening. The beauty of this place is that it has a way of drawing people back. The beauty of this place is that we know there isn’t just one great artist in Eau Claire; there are many. The beauty of this place lies in the fact that we will see our friends again: maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, but it will be soon. Finally, the beauty of this place lies in the fact that there was no stagnation or terminus at the House of Rock on this particular weekend night. Each of these bands left a single word on the tongue of the Eau Claire music scene. That word is hope.

 -Brendon Hertz, February 2012

Click photos to view

Photographs by Zachary Oliphant

]]> http://peervalidated.com/meridenes-farewell-show-w-laarks-the-heart-pills/feed/ 0 http://peervalidated.com/peer-picks-of-2011-trevor-ives-meridene-the-frenettes/ http://peervalidated.com/peer-picks-of-2011-trevor-ives-meridene-the-frenettes/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:28:11 +0000 Jordan Duroe http://peervalidated.com/?p=5102

T Carl Ives has been gracing our local stages here in Eau Claire for the better part of the last decade.  Last Saturday, he took the stage for the last time as the lead singer of Meridene (it was incredible!) but Trevor has new projects upcoming and is by no means disappearing from our local music scene.  Phew!  So keep an eye out for Trevor’s new project(s) as we head further into 2012, and in the meantime, check out Mr. Ives’ list of his favorite albums of 2011.

Fucked Up – David Comes to Life

This album is a mash up of everything I loved growing up. Straight ahead punk and imaginative post-hardcore riff-jams with a bit of female vocals sprinkled in. It’s a perfect record to take an epic bike ride to. Full of raw energy, nobody in the Pitchfork music set sounds like Fucked Up.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

I saw TPOBPAH (ha!) this summer. They are one of my favorite new bands of the past ten years. They write catchy hooks with all the raw fuzzy-buzzy energy of Pinkerton era Weezer. On their second album, they clean up some of the pure shoegaze qualities of their self-titled debut and present a tighter more refined effort. Plus their lead singer is a big Packers fan. Won’t find too many Packers fans in New York based indie bands.

Lady GaGa – Born This Way
I feel like writing about Lady Gaga for Peer Validated is the equivalent of writing a puff piece about Rick Santorum for Rolling Stone. But the truth of the matter is this album kicks ass. It’s fun, wrapped in dirty synths and melodies that stick in your brain and refuse to leave. Its pop. Pure undeniable pop, and its more creative than this current 80’s revival trend in indie rock. Get over yourself and give Gaga a chance.

David Bazan – Strange Negotiations

Bazan is the best active songwriter in music. Although the latest album feels a bit rushed, it’s still better than 99% of music released in 2011. Strange Negotiations feels like a throwback to the days of Bazan’s old band Pedro the Lion. A bit of a grower compared to its predecessor ‘Curse Your Branches’ if you take the time to learn the songs, you’ll love this album.

Cults – S/T

No album grabbed my attention more in 2011 than Cults debut. This album reminded me that you don’t have to write extremely complex songs to be good. Everything is built off of perfect melodies accented by the sway of throwback 50’s inspired beats. Each song could be a single. This is pop music as art firing on all levels. If you don’t have this record, get it dude!

The last time The Shins put out an album the following was still true:  Heath Ledger was alive, the Emergency Stabilization Act was an absurdity resting in the comfortably distant future, and Aaron Rodgers had not played a single game as the Packer’s starting QB.  The year was 2007, the album was the successful but underrated Wincing the Night Away.  We haven’t heard much from the band in the five years since (with the exception of Broken Bells – James Mercer’s collaboration with Danger Mouse) so the upcoming Port of Morrow is something of an occasion for us Shins fans.

“Simple Song” endeavors to mark their return a triumphant one.  The track is built on a mechanized version of the barndance-ballad rhythm that The Shins test drove on Wincing (see tracks “Phantom Limb” or “Turn On Me” for reference, as well as any song off The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Darklands.)  “Simple Song” begins as an unadorned announcement of this beat, but it quickly erupts into something more audacious than we’ve seen from them before.  The rhythm guitar sounds big (I’d go so far as to say arena friendly), and is overlaid by the hyperactive counter melody in the dew saturated lead guitar, which chirps and bubbles with diminutive insistence like a teapot boiling over.

The fanfare atmosphere carries out the rest of the song.  It includes acrobatics (Mercer’s vocals alone are a spectacle, covering over two and a half octaves), and delightful diversion (the spectral comedown followed by a brief string quartet interlude.)

In short it sounds like a group of people who are happy to be playing together again, and who want to transmit this feeling as directly as possible.  I wouldn’t expect, or want, the entire album to be quite this brazen, but I can definitely get into it for the occasion.

Front-man Trevor Ives was the only original member to survive the group’s many member and genre/style changes. The final foursome of Ives(guitar and vocals), Paul Brandt(keyboard and vocals), David Power(drums) and Brian Wells(bass) was the tightest and by all means best line-up.

The band is releasing its final set of recordings, an EP that shows off Ives and Co.’s professionalism and willingness to experiment, at its finale show at the House of Rock on Saturday, February 11 at the House of Rock. Listen to a live version of the song Don’t Try from Meridene’s November 26, 2010 Daytrotter session below.
Meridene – Don’t Try live at Daytrotter

Here are a few photo and video snapshots taken over the six years that Meridene was unarguably one of the area’s best bands. Please enjoy this retrospective profile.

The above video is from Meridene’s first show ever, where they played Oh Lover, from the “A Very Strange Bear,” EP live for the first time.
The PV video below is of the song Written Like Mad Sonnets from the last time Meridene played on a sunny, warm day at the Volume One Sounds Like Summer Concert Series. The song is from Meridene’s full length album, “Something Like Blood,” which received considerable attention from national media.

Be absolutely sure to be in attendance for this truly important concert and the final opportunity to see Meridene on Feb. 11. Eau Claire’s “art-rockers,” Laarks, and “tin-can garage band,” The Heart Pills will help celebrate the occasion with sets of their own.

Thanks for six long years of good music and exciting shows, and farewell, Meridene.

More? See the Meridene archives.

Our man Flater may have left the Chippewa Valley for the 24/7 combination rave/orgy that is Chicago, but his bread-making, rubberband-headband and basketball shorts-wearing spirit is still here, persisting in the hearts and retinas of all who knew him and suffered the chronic snow-blindness that came from looking in the general direction of his immodestly exposed and highly reflective (bright, bright white) legs. God protect his soul navigating the dingy corridors of that non-stop feast of Saturnalia that is the windy city, that suppurating gas bladder of festering urbania, where the pizza sauce scandalously rests ON TOP of the cheese. We can’t be sure what a man suffering in the lower circles of hell would include on his “best of 2011″ list, but thanks to Kyle’s brave correspondence we now have some idea.

David Bazan – Strange Negotiations

SN was financed via pre-order to allow Dave to record and still have money for a family. It was a quick turnaround from his last album, Curse Your Branches, in fact, the quickest in his career. While probably not as cohesive as that effort, some slack should be and is given for the lack of “tour testing” the material. Though not my favorite in his catalog, it’s still top tier. Very few people are as eloquent with matters of substance.

Wye Oak – Civilian

WO is great with dynamics, both live and recorded. More than just quiet/loud/quiet/loud, they convey real emotion with their tide. The songs kill and they are only getting better.

Gardens and Villa – Gardens and Villa

There is an absolute truth; if a record is produced by Richard Swift I will like it. The dude is batting 1.000. Here with G&V he captures the feel of early electronic sound and imbues it with a roomy warmth that breathes vibrant life into these hook laden songs. Look for more RS products on my list next year.

Gotye – Making Mirrors

This is pop music from Australia. As in #1 hit, top of the charts, pop music. Those children of criminals are doing something right. It sounds like a throwback to the era of The Mamas & the Papas, when pop music was good. I don’t think the songs are going to change the world but most of them sound pretty cool.

TW Walsh – Songs of Pain and Leisure

TW is a former member of my favorite band, Pedro the Lion, and a world class mastering engineer, having mastered albums by Sufjan Stevens and our very own Meridene. He’s also an incredible songwriter. There’s nothing overwrought on this album. Everything is just right. You can buy it here for $8. http://twwalsh.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-pain-and-leisure

Porcupine playing House of Rock in September with guest guitar Ben Hinz

The rock riff has seen some hard times in the past 30 years.  In the 1980’s it was recast as the musical equivalent of a comically oversized raging hard-on (thanks hair-metal).  In the 90’s Nu-Metal bands used of the riff to similarly phallic ends, the only difference being the evoked member was sucked clean of any feel-good rigidity by the whining of suburbia’s privileged malcontent, leaving the music flaccid as a windsock on a windless day.  Bands have since cropped up whose music harkens back to rock’s jaunty heyday like your White Stripes or Black Keys, but these projects haven’t been an attempt to fuse the more traditional of rock’s components with current musical trends; instead they’ve remained throwbacks  that stand, if not in direct opposition to modern style, then at least firmly outside its bounds.  One thing I enjoy about this song, and Porcupine in general, is that their music constitutes a genuine attempt at this kind of fusion.

In “Rooftops” Porcupine has collected a sequence of notes from the institution of the almighty rock riff, removed the swagger and pretense (leaving in the patented chuck and grind), and used this as the foundation for the assemblage of an otherwise unassuming pop-rock tune.  The lyrics then furnish the top floor of this structure.  Far from the ground level canniness of the riff, the words dance on the crown chakra, exploring the fine line between a healthy capacity for wonder and the fetishization of the mystical.  Taken as a whole, “Rooftops” is home to a unique coupling of elements that is a bit disorienting but stylistically unique, and replete with the charm of the hook.

BONUS:  We have the following list of top five albums of 2011 as were selected in democratic fashion by Porcupine, La Crosse’s favorite musical export.

5)  Mogwai  -  Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

 4)  Tapes n’ Tapes  -  Outside

3)  Meat Puppets  -  Lollipop

2)  Foo Fighters  -  Wasting Light

 1)  Mastadon  -  The Hunter

Like the cartoon wherein a baby wearing a sash inscribed with the current year waves goodbye to a hoary old man whose sash displays the year past,  The Small Cities have concerned themselves with new creations during this time following the great annual refresh.  Recently, their labors have been in preparation for the release of With Fire, a full length album slated to launch March 3rd, in tandem with a kick-ass release show that is taking place (unfortunately for those of us further east) in the Twin Cities.  Amidst the storm of detail work and all around wood-shedding that comes with a CD launch, the band’s drummer and co-vocalist David Osborn takes a short break to share with us what he remembers fondly when he gazes back upon the mangy old geezer that is 2011.

1)  “Holocene” – Bon Iver  (Bon Iver Bon Iver)

Heard it a 100 times and it’s still beautiful every time.

2) “Chloe in the Afternoon” – St. Vincent.  (Strange Mercy)

So gnarly and badass.

3) “Cruel” – St. Vincent (Strange Mercy)

Love her vocal performance and the sorta menacing 80′s Madonna vibe.

4) “Lotus Flower” – Radiohead  (King of Limbs)

I just think this song is SO COOL.

5) “Loop the Loop” – Wild Beasts  ”Smother”

This song brings some welcome warmth to a pretty stark record.

Caleb Price is a 49 year old 1st generation American who immigrated here from Bratislava in 1992. She makes a living by traveling to rural areas of the midwest and the adjoining bible belt where she frightens superstitious rubes into giving her money and expensive cutlery by pretending to be a powerful sorceress. It’s a dangerous line of work – there’s always the chance she’ll be caught, in which case she’ll surely face public immolation in some remote Nebraskan town square – but she prefers it to her previous career back home in Slovak Republic, which consisted of playing nameless prostitutes in the backgrounds of various American horror movies set in Eastern Europe. “She” is also a “he,” and he likes coffee, microbrews, the driftless region, sourdough bread, and the following albums released in 2011 . . .

10) EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

An exercise in stylized ferocity, depicting a roving, stilted, swaggering, scuzzed out imp who is deadpanning the eschaton.

9) Man Man – Life Fantastic

“Fraggle Rock Noir.”  Lovable and frightening as hell.

8) The Antlers – Burst Apart

Even at it’s most intense moments, this album feels utterly weightless.  Light shuffles and sheets of ambience gently ricochet about large spaces, and you feel like something heavy is being lifted from your chest.

 7) Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light Vol. 1

Stoner Rock dons a Stetson.  Real heavy, real slow.

6) Yuck – Yuck

If you’re a bastard child of early 90’s alt. rock like me, then this choice doesn’t require explanation.

5) The Strokes – Angles

To say that Angles is derivative of previous material or lacks imagination is a lazy criticism.  Every track tries something a little different and 90% of them succeed.

4) Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2:  Judges

My thoughts on this album can be found on my previous post.  The gist is that it’s awesome.

3) Halloween, Alaska – All Night the Calls Came In

Don’t ask me how or why but my mind has chosen to overlay this record with a unifying narrative involving a schizophrenic having a series of intense dialogs with his television set.  3:1 is easily my most listened to track of the past three months.

2) Bon Iver – Bon Iver Bon Iver

This album’s sound is very large, but it’s also very fluid.  Listening to it you’re not quite sure how you’re getting to all the places it’s taking you, but the beauty and craft of the scenery is always enough to convince you that wherever you are is where you should be.

1) PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

A powerful work of theater in album form.  Classically cathartic in its stolid depiction of large-scale brutality.

Eric Charles Christenson – his name has the same cadence and a a similar whimsical ring to a certain famous Dutch fabulist.  Unlike Hans Christian Anderson however, Eric does not lope across the countryside dishing out morals to eager children, (nor was he ever portrayed by Danny Kaye in a move in 1953.)  What he does dish out is tasty earfuls of catchy Indie-pop to the delight of Chippewa Valley Music lovers via Wisconsin Built, his musical collaboration with fellow Eau Claireianite Thom Fountain. The WB recently ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, and will soon have 10″ clear vinyl available for their recent release Rest Less. Also, upon request, he will occasionally dish out a best of list.

5) Fleet Foxes  -  Helplessless Blues  

I was afraid the Fleet Foxes would take their warm 60s mountain folk and turn it into something all too familiar or something completely off-base, but luckily, they struck a perfect balance of originality, familiarity and emotional payoff that makes a record like this so brilliant. Side note: I’m not afraid to admit the volume at which I sing the title track over my car speakers while driving around Eau Claire and you shouldn’t be either.

4) The Rural Alberta Advantage  -  Departing

The RAA are so good, it’s disheartening. Really, I love the whole thing: the firey strumming, the perpetually rolling drums and just enough steam to make cool offs like “North Star” and “Coldest Days” all the more resolutely beautiful

3) Little Kid  -  Logic Songs

My buddy Brian showed me this in the spring and Kenny Boothby’s tragic, paired down, lo-fi songs about faith, insomnia and a loud train behind his house really made the rain and drear that much more dreary, but also that much more warm. I don’t know how he did it.

2) The Drums  -  Portamento

The Drums can get dark, turns out. Who knew the same dudes who had their sunniest turns in mainstream car commercials would throw some minor chords in to complement an already killer sound that makes this a great record that I’ll be playing again and again.

1) Youth Lagoon  -  The Year of Hibernation

Trevor Powers is in his earliest 20s and already the kid’s knack for building and layering just won’t quit. The songs go from hushed whispers to stomping and soaring so seamlessly, it defines the idea of an expert making a thing look easy to everyone else.

Another video has stemmed in the anticipated release of Zoo Animal’s Departure EP. This one is the official music video for the opening track of the EP, “Laying and Lying”, and was produced by Minneapolis based Northern Outpost. The dancing was choreographed by Bobby Maher, the drummer of former Twin Cities rockers The Wars of 1812. Featuring merely a dramatically lit hallway (the rear of Nick and Eddie) and Holly gazing upon two lovers, she sings “I remember where we laid, I remember where I lied, don’t be asleep when I come, gotta be awake to lift someone…”

Looking at his list of associated acts, it’s apparent Dave Power is a man with his drumsticks in a lot of pies.  As a drummer with the musical acumen to juggle several different ensembles at once, we considered it worthwhile to see what he views as the audial high-points of 2011.

His list is as follows . . .

5) Wye Oak  -  Civilian

Saw them live at First Avenue a few months ago. Just a drummer (playing a full kit with his right hand and bass lines on a Nord keyboard with his left) and a female guitarist/lead singer; they’re incredible. Perfect country/deep south summer album.

 4) The War On Drugs  -  Slave Ambient

First War On Drugs that I’ve listened to; I think this put them on the map though. Perfect mix between acoustic and electronic sounds (lead singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel playing most synths and other electronics on the album). The most perfect fall album ever.

3)  Washed Out  -  Within and Without

I’m a sucker for good “electronic music,” so if you don’t like “electronic,” you might not like this. This is a beautiful album, perfect for hot, breezy, sunny afternoon boat rides on your friend’s rich parents’ lake.

2)  Oneohtrix Point Never  -  Replica

Another electronic album (though all instrumental), way more sample-based and experimental. There are stunning, ambient beautiful tracks (“Andro”), and more experimental, percussive tracks (“Up”). Make a drink and listen to this album all the way through, by yourself.

1)  Colin Stetson  -  New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

I have never heard any horn player create music like this before. Many now know him because of his involvement with Bon Iver, but he only showcases about 4% of his ability with that group, among others (Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, Feist, The National). When recording, mics are placed in his (contra saxophone) bell, on his keypads, on his throat, and all around the room. I believe that nothing is overdubbed. Listen to it and think about that..