Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

He Really Likes This One

Local Review: Ibrahim, Ibrahim

After a bit of a delay—the disc was actually recorded in early May of 2002—Pilot Light mainstays Ibrahim have finally delivered a self-titled, self-released debut. And boy, was it worth the wait.

Sure, the easy critical route would be to compare Ibrahim to the post rock vanguard, but the only true link would be the all instrumental format. I mean, there really aren't that many pop/rock bands who eschew vocals in favor of guitar exploration.

What we have here is a highly personalized mix of sounds produced by a rock band, plain and simple. Ibrahim ditches the verse/chorus/verse structure in favor of shifting tapestries of sound and dynamics. The eight tracks on the disc are surely the result of a lot of practice, evidenced by the tight ensemble playing and sometimes complex arrangements. That said, the songs feature easily discernible melodies that draw the listener into a continually spun cocoon of sound.

Of course, there's the obvious Dent antecedent: Ibrahim features a couple of former members of said combo. But, for my ears, this disc is more similar to the extended jams of Tele-vision, to post-wave instrumental bands of the '80s such as Love Tractor, The Raybeats, Pell Mell, or maybe Firehose sans vocals. We're talking powerful, lyrical, and downright scarily good. Plainly put, this is a great record that anyone with a brain in their head should love. Now, go out and buy it already...

Label Hunting

Local boys Senryu got some international exposure this week when their manager shopped their music to labels and distributors from 40 countries at the MIDEM International Music Market in Cannes, France.

Senryu's singer, Wil Wright, says the band was one of only nine or 10 American acts chosen to display their wares at MIDEM, a 37-year-old institution whose name strangely doesn't seem to stand for anything. The manager will be showing off How I Spent My Day in the Sun, an unreleased five-song EP that includes three new songs and two tracks off the band's 2002 album, Stars and Garters. (Those tracks: "Kitty" and "Maybe on the Moon.")

Wright says if he hears from record labels, "it could be a week from now, or a couple of months from now." In the meantime, Senryu looks forward to recording their second LP, A Bath of Broken Glass, which they hope to release by fall of this year.

Senryu plays with Manda and the Marbles and Feable Weiner at Patrick Sullivan's Thursday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Go.

Thursday: Take a ride in the country with your sweetie.

Friday: You can never get enough R.B. Morris. Go see him at the Laurel Theatre. (See you at Vic 'n' Bill's after the show?)

Saturday: Go celebrate the release of the High Score's great debut album at the Pilot Light. If you time it right, you can jump back and forth between there and the Tim Lee/Glory Fountain show across the street at Patrick Sullivans.

Sunday: See for yourself whether the 90 Day Men sound like Pink Floyd at the Pilot Light.

Monday: Mondays were made for moping.

Tuesday: Tuesdays were made for drinking your sorrows away. So drink away.

Wednesday: Support downtown's newest bar and coffee house and hear Chase Pattison play for free at Brazo.

—Madame "stay away from the haunted heart" Georgie with John Sewell and Tamar Wilner