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Avg: 3.5 (35 ratings)
- Date Released: February 17, 2009
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Punk
- Label: Quarterstick Records / Touch And Go
Playful noiseniks toy with keening songcraft and chaos a la Deerhoof
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We Say...
With the gush of drums that slowly coheres into "All That We Can See," and the honeyed vocal harmonies between Sholi's guitarist Payam Bavafa and bassist Eric Ruud, the group might be mistaken for playful noiseniks Deerhoof. That's not too far off the mark; Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier recorded this Bay Area band's debut, and much like their California neighbors, Sholi toys with keening songcraft and chaos. Percussive outbursts from Jonathon Bafus sharpen stripped-bare guitar chords on the aforementioned track. "Tourniquet" discovers a new perspective on the angular guitar-rock of Sonic Youth and Polvo, while "Dance for Hours" speeds faster and more frantic.
When Bavafa's vocals are at their most fragile, as on "Spy in the House of Memories," he emulates Thom Yorke. The band also cites Bavafa's Persian heritage, covering Iranian pop icon Googoosh's classic hit "Hejrat." Sholi also reference Bavafa's day job as an electrical engineer for an experimental neuroscience lab, often examining memory and its vagaries in their songs. Take "November Through June" and its line: "This is for myself, this is not for you." Thankfully on this impressive debut, Sholi is not nearly so solipsistic. -
They Say...
With influences ranging from jazz and prog rock to qawwali, Sholi's self-titled debut album is a uniquely free-flowing study in contrasts. All three of the band's members -- songwriter/guitarist Payam Bavafa, bassist Eric Ruud, and especially drummer Jonathon Bafus -- are fluent players and often play intricate parts, but they never feel showy; likewise, Bavafa's tenor is a perfect foil for the instrumentation, with a coolness that mirrors the band's prowess and emotionality that complements it. Sholi's songs rarely end the way they started; instead, they shape-shift at will, reflecting the band's mercurial moods: "Tourniquet" goes from dissonant rock to melodic almost-pop and back again almost imperceptibly, with Bafus' busy but purposeful rhythms leading the way. "Spy in the House of Memories" begins with darkly twinkling, loungy jazz with a melody that could be stolen from a torch song, then melts into sunny harmonies and guitars as Bavafa sings, fittingly, "We decide what we cherish and what we forget/What we leave at the other end." These quick changes can shake listeners, especially at first, when songs like "Out of Orbit" and "Dance for Hours" feel too subtle and too insular to reveal themselves fully without close attention; fortunately, Sholi has more immediate moments, such as the opening track, "All That We Can See," which, despite its flurries of drums and guitars and stop-start structure, has a melody that remains constant and infectious, and "Any Other God," which, with its martial drumbeats and subtly insistent guitars and vibes, is Sholi's most instantly catchy song. Fortunately, even the album's least obvious moments are well worth deciphering, and the emotional connection Sholi make on almost every track raises the band from merely impressive to very promising.
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| 01. |  |
All That We Can See |
5:59 |
|
| 02. | |
Tourniquet |
3:41 |
|
| 03. | |
November Through June |
5:08 |
|
| 04. | |
Spy in the House of Memories |
6:10 |
|
| 05. | |
Any Other God |
4:19 |
|
| 06. | |
Dance for Hours |
4:27 |
|
| 07. | |
Out of Orbit |
6:52 |
|
| 08. | |
Contortionist |
7:10 |
|
08 Total Tracks, 43:46 Total Length
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Credits
- John Golden - Mastering // Eli Crews - Producer // Eli Crews - Engineer // Eli Crews - Mixing // Greg Saunier - Producer // Greg Saunier - Engineer // Greg Saunier - Mixing // Greg Hagel - Percussion // Greg Hagel - Keyboards // Greg Hagel - Group Member // Jonathon Bafus - Drums // Jonathon Bafus - Group Member // Payam Bavafa - Guitar // Payam Bavafa - Vocals // Payam Bavafa - Group Member // Eric Ruud - Bass // Eric Ruud - Vocals // Eric Ruud - Group Member
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