Three Imaginary Girls - Clickpop Records

The Atlas

Imaginary Nicky — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:40:01 +0000

8.2

http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Kristin-Allen-Zito/dp/B0048IW0Y4/?tag=wwwthreeimagi-20

I first heard Kristin Allen-Zito, Bellingham’s indie queen about five years ago. A profound serendipity, I stumbled into an acoustic set at the now-defunct Bay Street Coffee House, and was immediately besotted. I am not usually one for femme folksingers, but there was something vulnerable at work that arrested my attention. Having cemented my allegiance by securing a copy of her solo debut Helium, I hoped for a second helping that seemed more unlikely with each passing year. A foray into punk-rock, her group The Trucks rocked and then disbanded, with Allen-Zito seeking refuge in New York and leaving a void in the Northwest music scene.

Two years later, and Allen-Zito has returned with a new album, The Atlas, on hand for her coronation as homecoming queen. It’s been a busy couple of weeks – Allen-Zito has played a flurry of shows to promote the release of her new album in Seattle, Bellingham, and most recently an impromptu reunion show with her riot grrrl electro-clash group The Trucks in Olympia.

Having sampled the bright lights of the Big Apple, Allen-Zito gives a nod to the City of Subdued Excitement by releasing The Atlas on her hometown label, Clickpop records. The gap-toothed, shit-spittin’ dance machine has ditched the toilet paper wings for a more accessible sound, which is not a departure from her former works so much as a return to her modus operandi that has the TIG staff squeeing in delight.

The Atlas opens with it’s eponymous first track, which is an engaging song with an undercurrent of well-measured snares and electronic tinkling that binds the different layers together perfectly – you’ll be singing along by the second verse. If you feel an earworm twisting about halfway through, fret not – "Utah" was formerly setlist stock but has been allowed to percolate and come to fruition – the reworked version is well worth the wait. A much fuller sound than previous acoustic releases Jen and Kristin or Helium, Allen-Zito employs a warm harmony of strings to serve as the backdrop to her sweet vocals and front-porch strumming.

Themes explored within the album are much what you would come to expect from a veteran of coffee-house ballads – love, stormy coastline imagery, and the quintessential Pacific Northwest experience of riding your bike through the rain. If I were to suggest an alternate title for this release, it would probably be Water – the element is mentioned in over half of the songs on the album, be it through churning waves, gathering puddles or slowly forming ice crystals.

There is plenty of country in "Pedaling My Bike", which is a little too ripe with bluegrass notes for my taste, but straightforward and charming nonetheless. Allen-Zito serves up the sass on "Pushups", which is the closest the album comes to rock and employs a swaggering choir and punchy percussion to boot. The twee factor has been reigned in just enough to let this album flow freely, until the tongue-in-cheek "Underside of Heaven" ends, signalling it's time to hit repeat once again.

Perfect for rainy bus trips, the clinking of warm teacups and musing over crushes, Allen-Zito ushers in the winter season with this new release – pick up a copy and squee over it today, and then catch her live at one of these intimate shows:

December 3 2010, 8pm - WWU Underground Coffee House, w/ Cumulus – free all-ages show (Bellingham)
December 7 2010, 8pm - KUGS 89.3fm live show and interview (Bellingham)
December 7 2010, 9pm – The Wild Buffalo, support for Fences (Bellingham)

The gap-toothed, shit-spittin’ dance machine has ditched the toilet paper wings for a more accessible sound, which is not a departure from her former works so much as a return to her modus operandi that has the TIG staff squeeing in delight. Perfect for rainy bus trips, the clinking of warm teacups and musing over crushes, Allen-Zito ushers in the winter season with this new release – pick up a copy and squee over it today, and then catch her live at one of these intimate shows:

Interview with Bradley Horror of Black Eyes and Neckties

Imaginary Shrie — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Bradley Horror, of Bellingham party rock phenomenon Black Eyes & Neckties, took time out of his pizza slinging schedule to have a few words with me about the current state of the band and where they plan to go next.

TIG: So tell me the story of how you guys got together again... I've heard rumors that it was because of a Halloween party?

BH: When Black Eyes & Neckties got together Ryan and I had already been playing/ writing music together in a punk band for two years. He and some friends decided to start a "house band" with three of the dudes who were living together: Ryan, our old keyboardist Thomas, and our old guitar player "Sexy" Ryan. David and I tagged along because they needed a vocalist and a drummer. At the time we were all really into Christian horror rock band The Deadlines, so we started a similarly themed band and called it Black Eyes and Neckties. We practiced and wrote songs over the course of two months, just in time to have a Halloween show. The show went great and everyone was obsessing over the band, so we decided to keep it going.

TIG: The organ in your songs is morbidly delicious. To me, it's really the glue that holds all these brash and amazing components of your songs together. Was the horror theme a given from the beginning?

BH: The horror theme has always been a staple. We could never stray too far away from it, otherwise it wouldn't be Black Eyes & Neckties. We based this band on that thematic element and we would be lost without it. We have always tried to stay away from that "riff rock" sound and I think ultimately it has been beneficial.

TIG: I'd say so. You've set yourself apart with your brand of sound, and I think that's part of what's made you guys so appealing to a lot of people. Who are your influences? What bands/artists remain a constant favorite?

BH: I like lo-fi minimalist music, where as someone else in the band might be partial to over-the-top, super-produced bands. I would say as a whole we try to revolve our sound around groundbreaking rock bands from the mid to late 90's who went against the grain and developed their own sound, like Drive Like Jehu, Refused and At the Drive-In.

TIG: Drive Like Jehu is one of my all-time faves. There is something about that band that kills me. If you could play a show with any local, and or national, band who would it be?
BH: Well I can't speak for everyone in the band, but I am going to anyway. Ryan: Mars Volta, Dave: Wu Tang Clan, Rich: Iron Maiden, Brenda: Modest Mouse, Josh: Britney Spears, Me: Bruce Springsteen.

TIG: I have to say that I'm also a fan of Wu-Tang and Iron Maiden as well. For different reasons of course. Haha.

TIG: Any additional tours planned for the near future?

BH: Probably not until the fall. We have a very minimal window as far as when we can tour based on our work and school obligations. We still manage to fit in a week here and two weeks there though. We are playing a lot of big shows this summer that will hopefully help to ease our tour bug.

TIG: What do you think is different between your first full length, Stiletto, and your second, Apparition!? Do you feel that it's more cohesive, more fun, more "you"?

BH: I think that both albums are accurate reflections of us as artists in their respective time and place. As far as recording quality and musicianship is concerned Apparition! is definitely the greater of the two, but when it comes to content it's really apples and oranges. I am getting too old to write the kind of songs I did on Stilleto, but we were really happy with Stiletto when it came out. We're just, as if not more, satisfied with Apparition! though.

TIG: Do you have any plans for another record in the near future?

BH: We actually just started writing new material within the last week. We have been playing/touring so much that we have been sticking to all the songs on Apparition! just to get them tighter and stimulate interest at shows. We want to do a 7" with a new song and maybe a cover or alternative recording of an Apparition! track. TIG:Have you enjoyed working with Clickpop Records? Seems that you'd get more exposure than previously, with New Regard Media.

BH: Clickpop have been amazing. They have been dedicated to us and we couldn't have asked for a better label, though New Regard was a great label to release a local album on. Clickpop go above and beyond, and that makes everything we do as a band better.

TIG: Better is good. Thank you for taking the time to let us into your horrifying world.

Keep your eyes peeled for new BENt material and check back for any new tour dates. You won't regret seeing this smashing (literally) band live. They'll kick your ass.

group03wy3.jpg

Bradley Horror took time out of his pizza-slinging schedule to have a few words with me about the current state of the band.

Apparition!

Imaginary Shrie — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:28:04 +0000

6.9

http://www.clickpopstore.clickpoprecords.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=229&zenid=meg76ktdf6l5tgvvi2kijvuga5

black eyes.jpg

Black Eyes & Neckties have certainly made a name for themselves. The buzzing garage punk fivesome are fierce, and downright scary, which is how their Bellingham hometown fan base prefers it. Known by their fans as BENt, Ryan Cadaver, Bradley Horror, Brenda Grimm, Josh Homicide, and The Fist stage horrifically splendid spook shows complete with bloodstained clothes, blackened eyes, and unusual stunts, aimed at creating an appropriately shuddersome experience. What began as a spur of the moment performance for a Halloween party in 2002 snowballed into becoming a Northwest college indie scene mainstay. BENt started out as a band that was "all about the show," complete with fake blood sprays into the crowd and an eerie stage presence, and haven't strayed from that ethos.

The band's debut album, Stiletto, was released locally in 2004 on New Regard Media and in 2006 the band was approached by Clickpop. BENt's sophomore effort, and their Clickpop Records debut, Apparition!, has a much larger sound and more bombast, while still keeping with the pummeling horror-rock sound they're known for.

"New Womb" pummels in as the first track, not afraid to let us hear the raspy shouts of Bradley Horror right off the bat. This song hits hard, especially as a starter, but some of the lyrics (i.e. "Why did I see through these windows?, Why did I turn on these faucets?") don't strike as very imaginative. Organ driven "Ghosts In Our Clothes," however, is gloriously ghastly and creepy enough to soundtrack a neighborhood haunted house. Marching drums and visceral guitar riffs introduce "Broken Teeth," made perfect by Brenda Grimm's moaning organ. They're frenzied, bloody and calculated on "The Midnight Sun." This song is especially terrifying with it's intense, foreshadowing lyrics and slow graveyard tempo.

Apparition! is a full-on onslaught to the ears with careening organs, abrasive howls, and sucker-punched drums. With a bit of vocal adjustment, the band could be even more haunting than they already are, and less grating. BENt lashes out immaturely sometimes, sounding like angsty teenage hardcore, but rights itself again with some killer, hard-edged rock. They maniacally beat and batter you, and leave you for dead with these songs, proving their Murder City Devils comparisons true. Songs about werewolves, zombies, death, and all the unnerving stuff between the cracks populate Apparition!, leaving need for peripheral frills, and instead getting straight to the crunchy, black truth of their music.

Apparition! has a much larger sound and more bombast, while still keeping with the pummeling horror-rock they're known for.