Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Local CD Review I

Senryu
Stars and Garters

The five fresh fellas in Senryu don't really sound like anyone else in town. Their apparent influences—late-'80s Cure and Depeche Mode, Nick Drake, and especially the late, great Jeff Buckley—make for a pleasantly gloomy mix of restrained mood pieces and pounding, elliptical rock. A previous Eye reviewer objected heartily to the band's airy, emotional vocals, but I disagree—it's nice to hear someone in a local rock band really trying to sing for a change. The credits just list names—Seth A. Barber, Steven Rodgers, Douglas Thompson, Eric Wilson, Wil Wright—so I don't know who does what. The singer, whichever one he is, doesn't always get where he's trying to go, but not for lack of effort. You could say the same of the band as a whole—not all of the songs sufficiently distinguish themselves from each other, melodically or atmospherically. In general, I think they're more convincing on the expansive, rambling stuff (the marvelous "Kitty," for example) than the straight-ahead rockers. A couple of tracks are undermined by pristine but out-of-place guitar solos that sound like they were piped in from some late '80s power ballad, and the tendency to slide into unremarkable funk grooves is something that should be kept in check—don't play too much of that funky music, white boys. But when Senryu gets hold of a good melody (the ethereal "Maybe on the Moon") or an imaginative, edgy riff (the rollicking "Clear"), they make you reach for the "repeat" button. Word has it they're a fine live outfit, too. You can find out for yourself during their CD release party, which is Thursday, March 28 at Blue Cats. Senryu will take the stage first, opening for the power-pop stylings of The Features.

Local Record Review II

HiFiDriveBy
One Saturday In November (Broken Hill Records)

One Saturday In November is exactly what you'd expect, judging from the title. Morristown's HiFiDriveBy knocked out a five song EP in November of 2001, completing the entire recording and mixing process in a scant 15.5 hours. A risky proposition perhaps, but the band pulls it off with verve.

The success of the EP leans heavily on the quality songwriting of HFDB auteur and CEO, Keith Carpenter. When the songs are this well constructed, a bare-bones recording approach is good enough. That said, One Saturday has the best sound quality of any of the band's recordings to date.

HFDB is pure pop with enough of a punky edge to keep it interesting. Falling somewhere in the sonic neighborhood of The Cars, The Modern Lovers or a stripped down Superchunk, HFDB adds a unique Southern twist to the power-pop genre. Carpenter's vocals are perhaps a bit adenoidal, but there's no denying his passion—and that's what makes good rock 'n' roll. Actually, it's the idiosyncrasies of the vocal performance that give the EP its charm.

One Saturday is a teaser for HFDB's upcoming full-length, where the band will go whole hog with the complete studio treatment. The EP sounds so good it causes one to wonder if the band might be better off sticking to the lo-fi treatment. Time will tell.

To get your own copy, visit //go.to/hifidriveby or purchase at one of the bands somewhat frequent area appearances. Kids love the rock, and you will too.

Go.

Thursday: Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks at Tennessee Theatre. Dvorak and Beethoven are on the bill. The music should be swell, but we all really want to check out the new conductor candidate who will be behind the baton during this concert.

Friday: Norah Jones at Blue Cats. Jones is a hot, jazzy, bluesy singer who has started to make a name for herself. Catch her for $10 while you can.

Saturday: Soil with Skinlab and Headstrong at Blue Cats, if your tastes run to the extreme. Lords of Altamont with the Bitter Pills at Pilot Light, if you prefer indie garage punk power.

Sunday: Joseph Delaney at the KMA. Arguably, Delaney is Knoxville's best known African-American painter. Check out his work for yourself.

Monday: Fountain City Jazz Trio at Cafe Noir. Cafe Noir was formerly known as Brothers Coffee House. And it's still by the duck pond.

Tuesday: Abbie Conant at UT Music Hall. Conant is quite an interesting trombonist. Not only was she one of the main players in a gender discrimination case that rocked the philharmonic world, she also travels with a 600-pound surround-sound system in order to produce her latest concert, "The Wired Goddess and Her Trombone." It should be quite an afternoon—the show starts at 12:30 p.m.—and you'll be amazed what one woman and her instrument can do.

Wednesday: Tiptoe through the tulips.

—Emma "Lumpy, Beanpole and Dirt" Poptart with Jesse Fox Mayshark and John Sewell