Longwave
#3
Since I first saw Longwave as an opening act in the early months of 2002 at The Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA, I have been mesmerized. No band I have seen or heard since has managed to capture the sonic assault of Longwave at their best: warm vocals plastered over lush soundscapes, buzzes, whirls, screeches, and as far as I know, unprecedented feedback. When you listen to Longwave on record, you can’t help but admire the variety of sound. When you see them live, your jaw drops in awe as the sounds seem to arrive from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Longwave live isn’t just a concert; it is an experience.
There’s a Fire is Longwave’s third formal full-length release. It comes two years after their first big label release, The Strangest Things, which is to me one of the three best albums of the new millennium (The Strokes Is This It and Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights are the other two), and their initial 2000 offering, End Songs. The first was a standard issue indie-rock album with a hint of things to come, the second a space-rock masterpiece, the third is Longwave’s attempt to turn shoegazing sounds into radio friendly pop-rock. And it is this unpredictability of sound and effort that makes Longwave something more than the standard issue independent-minded band of the post-Strokes era.
There’s a Fire opens the album and is the kind of song that aims to stick with the listener after only one listen. The tune is unbelievably catchy, the music fast-paced and melodic, and the band hits a pop-rock home run. It is also certain evidence that the band could easily find a place on modern rock radio if only given a chance.
Two songs later, however, is River (Depot), which is an epic of sonic gymnastics and in that way is as radio unfriendly as a song can get. The dueling six strings of Shannon Ferguson and singer Steve Schlitz run the gamut of guitar theatrics and capture the versatility of the band’s sound proving that pop is far from all they can do well.
Then there are the pop/rock/alternative masterpieces Fall on Every Whim, Tell Me I’m Wrong, Underneath You Know the Names, and the abrasively sexy We’re Not Gonna Crack which again are every bit as good as the songs currently making their rounds on radio. In my opinion, they are even better, and that becomes apparent the more listens this album receives. These are pop tunes backed by an excellent musicianship which is the key underlying their catchy exterior. It is that variety of musical pallet that elevates the music beyond the cozy confines of the safe play lists radio retreats into, a sad testament to radio’s unchallenging nature.
Other album tracks, Underworld Song, The Flood,
and Next Plateau, expand on the band’s versatility proving undeniably
that Longwave are indeed something different than the post-punk pop or indie
rock that started with The Strokes and is morphing into more synth-related
stuff like The Killers. These guys are unpredictable. Following closely
enough reveals the lush textures, the individual details, and the diverse mood
which somehow remains coherent and uplifting in spite of the diversity. More than one listen showed me that
everything from Coldplay to The Foo Fighters to Oasis to Pink Floyd (I'm not
joking!) seems to have made it into the Longwave soup this time, yet somehow
it's even tastier than I would ever have thought possible. And there's even a
little Radiohead thrown in for good measure on the secret song The Sea
Monster which follows the closing track on the album.
Like Doves and their new disc Some Cities, this is one of a handful of
albums not to be missed from the first half of 2005. Both albums are great
additions to alternative indie post-punk (that's a mouthful!) and have shown me
that this type of music is still thriving on both sides of the pond. There's
a Fire is diverse, exciting, and continues to show a band growing into and
out of their sound: two signs of musical maturity and excellence.
Oh, and if you haven't figured out my bias yet, then I’ll repeat: see these
guys live because if you haven’t, then you haven't heard or seen anything
yet!