It's 1999. . . . . and what have we got to show for it? The radio expectorates its mindless drivel in the form of pierced-tongue tirades backed by sampled samples. Styles are aped and raped, leaving us with a hybridized mish-mosh of nothing in particular. As the great powers of Europe move ever closer towards an economically and (dare I say) culturally homogenous union, we too must look closely at our fundamental components. On the eve of the millennium, we must decide on what we will bring with us and that which will be left behind. As you ready your luggage, be sure to leave room for The New Luxury, the much anticipated debut album from Northampton, Massachusetts' newest trio Tappan Zee.
Together now for three and a half years, Tappan Zee have been creating an aural atmosphere that owes more to early Dream Syndicate or The Monochrome Set than it does to the flannel-clad upstarts of late. And yet, it is their timeless sense of melody paired with angular, inventive rhythms and arrangements that makes it so difficult to draw head-on comparisons to any single artist or epoch. Perhaps it is simply the fact that Tappan Zee is a band in the old sense . . . . . they collaborate and contribute individually. This is not a band ruled by a songwriter, backed by replaceable hirelings, and glued together by a big-name producer extraordinaire. Tappan Zee still makes music for our sakes and each song bears their collective fingerprint.
Anne Viebig lived in Houston until she attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where the band first met. As the band's guitarist Anne draws from her years of vocal training (yes, she was a choir girl) and she often opts for lyrical riffs rather than straight power-chords. To be sure, she can shred with the best of them when she chooses.
Colin Loggins plays bass and shares vocal duties with Anne. There is a comfortable ease in which he sings with Anne, obscuring the traditional notions of male vs. female back-up vocals a la Black Francis/ Kim Deal or John Doe / Exene Cervenka. Colin split his formative years in England and New York (near the Hudson Rivers' widest point . . . . . the Tappan Zee).
Peyton Pinkerton plays drums and adds the occasional guitar over-dub on recordings. Also hailing from the Hudson Valley Peyton is the guitarist in New Radiant Storm King and a member of Sub-Pop artists The Pernice Brothers.
There you have it. In less than forty-one minutes, your patience will be rewarded ten-fold. See you in 2000.
Ta,
Sir Trevor Rhys-Owens
(Dorset, U.K. 2/14/99)
|
|
|
|