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Local CD Review
Past Mistakes
The Purgatory LP (The New Beat Records)
With a five year history and five (count ‘em!) releases to their credit, Knoxville’s Past Mistakes return to the fore with The Purgatory LP, a sonic document which further advances the band’s evolution and emerging maturity by light years. Once relegated to the ghetto of post-hardcore and—I hate to say this—“emo,” the band has emerged from an early adolescent niche and flowered into something really special.
Purgatory finds the band spreading its wings, experimenting with new sounds and stretching boundaries while keeping a firm grip on previously established strengths. As always, songwriter/lyricist/vocalist/bassist Chase Valentine focuses on songs, bringing melody and a strong pop sensibility to the band’s crunchy, anthemic sound. Guitarist Tyler Chen then fleshes out Valentine’s musical architecture with atmospheric flourishes and effects galore—all tastefully presented. (Incidentally, Chen is a mad scientist of the guitar and could easily get all Steve Vai on our collective asses—but he has more restraint and better taste.) Finally, percussionist Robert Koons rivets it all together with surgical precision. Like Chen, Koons avoids showing off, finding his place in the rhythmic structure without distracting from the big picture.
The Purgatory LP falls into the much maligned concept album category, but don’t let this scare you off. Heard separately, each song makes its own complete statement. It’s only when you judge the album as a whole that the concept comes into focus. And just what is the concept, you ask? It’s about a trio of young musical spacemen who travel the galaxy on a planet-by-planet quest to save the cosmos with rock ‘n’ roll. Just kidding. Actually, Purgatory is an existential, post-adolescent personality inventory. Instead of pondering trite, teenage boy/girl problems, Past Mistakes tackles big-picture issues of life and love from an adult perspective—a young adult perspective, but adult nonetheless.
The Purgatory LP is not your little sister’s emo album. Emotional yes, but the band is not pandering to a common denominator. With this ambitious album, Past Mistakes has moved into the big leagues.
Sorta Local CD Review
Jennifer Niceley
Seven Songs
I daresay I didn’t appreciate Jennifer Niceley when she lived in Knoxville, and now, listening to her new seven-song EP, I’d give a gallon of whisky and a steel guitar to have her back again.
Now based in Nashville, this beautiful wisp of a woman sings like an angel, albeit one tormented by the eternal search for a little peace, love and happiness. Dreamy and lilting, Niceley’s voice stresses emotion over enunciation, creating a happy-to-be-sad miasma reminiscent of Mazzy Star or an extra-morphined Gillian Welch. Like Welch (and even to some extent Norah Jones), Niceley’s songs evoke a different time in a way that’s more sentimental than throwback. Five of the songs are hers, plus Jesse Winchester’s seaside ballad “Biloxi” and that classic ode to almost-creepy romantic possession, “You Belong to Me.” Her musical collaborator, guitarist and producer Joe McMahan deepens each song’s impact with a wavery acoustic or a swimmy steel guitar. Even with some swishy drum parts, McMahan’s production touch on Seven Songs always allows her delicate enunciation to shine though. The two, on tour along with upright bassist Kyle Keggereis, will stop by the Pilot Light on Friday, Dec. 3. The belly dancers of Gypsy Hands will set the stage with mind-boggling feats.
Go.
Thursday: Indulge your appetite for catchy indie rock (emphasis on rock) with Spouse at the Pilot Light.
Friday: Contemplate your place in the universe at the Heritage Planetarium in Maryville.
Saturday: Hear Suzuki Heart Strings Recital at Borders. Buy books for everyone on your gift list.
Sunday: Make a pot of tea and read the magazines you bought for yourself. Then visit historic and brightly decorated abodes on the Old North Knoxville Victorian Home Tour.
Monday: Big Jim Slade is a band, not a guy. Hear what they sound like at Barley’s.
Tuesday: Chill out to the DetroitDaddies at Charlie Peppers on the Strip.
Wednesday: The LoneTones play lunchtime at the WDVX studios at One Vision Plaza. Good for digestion.
—John Sewell, Paige M. Travis
December 2, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 49
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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