E8 GO | The P o r t l a n d Press H e r a l d / Thursday, S e p t e m b e r 2 0 , 2012 3& 5= j BVS >]`bZO\R >`Saa 6S`OZR BVc`aROg AS^bS[PS`
TH !NNUAL 9th Annual
-AINE ,AKES Maine Lakes "REW &EST Brew Fest AT !4 POINT SEBAGO 0/).4 3%"!'/ CASCO, MAINE #!3#/ -!).% Just off Route 302 *UST OFF 2OUTE
SEPTEMBER 29 3%04%-"%2 11 A M - 4 PM !- n 0 "2%7%23 30 BREWERS
,)6% %.4%24!).-%.4 LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
4HE $ISCLAIMERS The Disclaimers 2ANDOM /RDER Random Order 4UX "URKE -# %NTERTAINER Tux Burke MC & Entertainer
of IREVIEW CD <M@<N
Ă&#x160;8NCĂ&#x2039; `em`k\j jlZZ\jj`m\ gifY\j# 'AWL' invites successive probes, culminating in an experience Zlcd`eXk`e^ `e Xe \og\i`\eZ\ #Z 3*$, +0)/40/ By RICK JOHNSON 5P TBZ UIBU 340 T i"8w &1 JT BO FYFS To say that RSO's "AWE' EP is an exercise in minimalism is a bit of an underDJTF JO NJOJNBMJTN JT B CJU PG BO VOEFS statement. TUBUFNFOU RSO is the one-man-band project of 340 JT UIF POF NBO CBOE QSPKFDU PG musician Ryan Owens. He sings and plays NVTJDJBO 3ZBO 0XFOT )F TJOHT BOE QMBZT all the instruments, and by "all," I mean BMM UIF JOTUSVNFOUT BOE CZ iBMM w * NFBO three: Voice, guitar and drum box. This UISFF 7PJDF HVJUBS BOE ESVN CPY 5IJT is music that almost defies classification, JT NVTJD UIBU BMNPTU EFmFT DMBTTJmDBUJPO but could best be described as a punkish CVU DPVME CFTU CF EFTDSJCFE BT B QVOLJTI take on a form of very primitive blues. UBLF PO B GPSN PG WFSZ QSJNJUJWF CMVFT Simple, primal and dissonant, there is 4JNQMF QSJNBM BOE EJTTPOBOU UIFSF JT something oddly compelling about this TPNFUIJOH PEEMZ DPNQFMMJOH BCPVU UIJT music, even if some may find it downright NVTJD FWFO JG TPNF NBZ mOE JU EPXOSJHIU unpleasant. VOQMFBTBOU Let's start with the voice. Owens deliv-FU T TUBSU XJUI UIF WPJDF 0XFOT EFMJW ers his vocals in an anguished howl that at FST IJT WPDBMT JO BO BOHVJTIFE IPXM UIBU BU first calls to mind a slower version of early mSTU DBMMT UP NJOE B TMPXFS WFSTJPO PG FBSMZ '80s L.A. hardcore. But with repeated T - " IBSEDPSF #VU XJUI SFQFBUFE listens, one can hear the blues creeping MJTUFOT POF DBO IFBS UIF CMVFT DSFFQJOH in, albeit blues filtered through a punkJO BMCFJU CMVFT mMUFSFE UISPVHI B QVOL rock sensibility. In fact, Owens' singing SPDL TFOTJCJMJUZ *O GBDU 0XFOT TJOHJOH really isn't all that far removed from Kurt SFBMMZ JTO U BMM UIBU GBS SFNPWFE GSPN ,VSU Cobain's take on Lead Belly's "Where Did $PCBJO T UBLF PO -FBE #FMMZ T i8IFSF %JE You Sleep Last Night" from Nirvana's :PV 4MFFQ -BTU /JHIUw GSPN /JSWBOB T "MTV Unplugged in New York." What i.57 6OQMVHHFE JO /FX :PSL w 8IBU he lacks in technique, Owens more than IF MBDLT JO UFDIOJRVF 0XFOT NPSF UIBO makes up for with conviction and emotion. NBLFT VQ GPS XJUI DPOWJDUJPO BOE FNPUJPO Then there's the guitar; the simplest ar5IFO UIFSF T UIF HVJUBS UIF TJNQMFTU BS rangements of riffs, pounded out through SBOHFNFOUT PG SJGGT QPVOEFE PVU UISPVHI clanging, overdriven distortion. This is DMBOHJOH PWFSESJWFO EJTUPSUJPO 5IJT JT far from traditional song structure, and GBS GSPN USBEJUJPOBM TPOH TUSVDUVSF BOE the riffs function less as a way to advance UIF SJGGT GVODUJPO MFTT BT B XBZ UP BEWBODF musical ideas and more like punctuation, NVTJDBM JEFBT BOE NPSF MJLF QVODUVBUJPO driving home the point of Owens' pain. ESJWJOH IPNF UIF QPJOU PG 0XFOT QBJO There are no solos of any kind, certainly 5IFSF BSF OP TPMPT PG BOZ LJOE DFSUBJOMZ no hooks to grab onto. Owens howls a OP IPPLT UP HSBC POUP 0XFOT IPXMT B line, clangs out a two-chord riff to make MJOF DMBOHT PVU B UXP DIPSE SJGG UP NBLF his point, and occasionally thumps on the IJT QPJOU BOE PDDBTJPOBMMZ UIVNQT PO UIF drum box. Most of the songs consist only ESVN CPY .PTU PG UIF TPOHT DPOTJTU POMZ of voice and guitar, with the final track PG WPJDF BOE HVJUBS XJUI UIF mOBM USBDL delivered completely a cappella. EFMJWFSFE DPNQMFUFMZ B DBQQFMMB The production on the EP is just as 5IF QSPEVDUJPO PO UIF &1 JT KVTU BT sparse as the music. There is a slight TQBSTF BT UIF NVTJD 5IFSF JT B TMJHIU filter effect on the vocals, making them mMUFS FGGFDU PO UIF WPDBMT NBLJOH UIFN sound tinny like an old transistor radio. TPVOE UJOOZ MJLF BO PME USBOTJTUPS SBEJP But other than that, it seems as though #VU PUIFS UIBO UIBU JU TFFNT BT UIPVHI producer Todd Hutchisen simply hit the QSPEVDFS 5PEE )VUDIJTFO TJNQMZ IJU UIF record button and left the result largely SFDPSE CVUUPO BOE MFGU UIF SFTVMU MBSHFMZ as is. Don't expect a gloss or sonic sheen BT JT %PO U FYQFDU B HMPTT PS TPOJD TIFFO of any kind. Or bass, for that matter. This PG BOZ LJOE 0S CBTT GPS UIBU NBUUFS 5IJT
Bull Moose TOP 10 "ULL -OOSE KFG (' Purchase Tickets On-Line at 0URCHASE 4ICKETS /N ,INE AT www.MaineLakesBrewFest.com WWW -AINE,AKES"REW&EST COM or at the door OR AT THE DOOR FMI -207-647-3472 &-) n Rain or Shine 2AIN OR 3HINE
Top 10 f o r P o r t l a n d s t o r e Sept. 10-16: B]^ T]` >]`bZO\R ab]`S AS^b $( 1. B o b D y l a n , " T e m p e s t " 0]P 2gZO\ ÂľBS[^SabÂś 2 BVS /dSbb 0`]bVS`a Âľ1O`^S\bS`Âś . The Avett Brothers, "Carpenter" 3. "Snow W h i t e and the Huntsman" ! ÂľA\]e EVWbS O\R bVS 6c\ba[O\Âś (DVD) 2D2 4. Dave M a t t h e w s Band, "Away f r o m " 2OdS ;ObbVSea 0O\R Âľ/eOg T`][ the W o r l d " bVS E]`ZRÂś 5. The xx, "Coexist" # BVS ff Âľ1]SfWabÂś 6 . D a v i d B y r n e a n d St. V i n c e n t , " L o v e $ 2OdWR 0g`\S O\R Ab DW\QS\b Âľ:]dS This G i a n t " BVWa 5WO\bÂś 7. " N H L 1 3 " f o r X 3 6 0 % Âľ<6: !Âś T]` F!$ 8. "Spartacus: Vengeance" (DVD) & ÂľA^O`bOQca( DS\USO\QSÂś 2D2 9 . Cat Power, " S u n " ' 1Ob >]eS` ÂľAc\Âś 10. N O F X , "Self E n t i t l e d " <=4F ÂľASZT 3\bWbZSRÂś - Courtesy of Bull Moose Âł 1]c`bSag ]T 0cZZ ;]]aS
Courtesy photo 1]c`bSag ^V]b]
HOW IT RATES ?FN @K I8K<J RSO - "AWL" @A= Âł Âľ/E:Âś Produced by Todd Hutchisen >`]RcQSR Pg B]RR 6cbQVWaS\ (( 72 Âť
Based on a four-star scale 0OaSR ]\ O T]c` abO` aQOZS
is the trebliest release I've heard in quite JT UIF USFCMJFTU SFMFBTF * WF IFBSE JO RVJUF some time. TPNF UJNF Did I enjoy "AWL'? Hard to say. "Enjoy" %JE * FOKPZ i"8w )BSE UP TBZ i&OKPZw may not be the right word. More like NBZ OPU CF UIF SJHIU XPSE .PSF MJLF "experienced." And yet I found myself iFYQFSJFODFE w "OE ZFU * GPVOE NZTFMG compelled to revisit that experience at DPNQFMMFE UP SFWJTJU UIBU FYQFSJFODF BU least a dozen times, so there is definitely MFBTU B EP[FO UJNFT TP UIFSF JT EFmOJUFMZ something at work. RSO is like that canTPNFUIJOH BU XPSL 340 JT MJLF UIBU DBO ker sore under your tongue that you just LFS TPSF VOEFS ZPVS UPOHVF UIBU ZPV KVTU can't leave alone, even though you know DBO U MFBWF BMPOF FWFO UIPVHI ZPV LOPX it's going to hurt every time you touch it JU T HPJOH UP IVSU FWFSZ UJNF ZPV UPVDI JU with your tongue. Unpleasant though it XJUI ZPVS UPOHVF 6OQMFBTBOU UIPVHI JU may be, after a while, you can't help but NBZ CF BGUFS B XIJMF ZPV DBO U IFMQ CVU like it. MJLF JU For $5, you can download a digital copy 'PS ZPV DBO EPXOMPBE B EJHJUBM DPQZ at r-s-o.bandcamp.com/album/awl. Or, BU S T P CBOEDBNQ DPN BMCVN BXM 0S for $10, you can download the album and GPS ZPV DBO EPXOMPBE UIF BMCVN BOE get a 7-inch record with a limited-edition HFU B JODI SFDPSE XJUI B MJNJUFE FEJUJPO hand-screened jacket. Visit the RSO webIBOE TDSFFOFE KBDLFU 7JTJU UIF 340 XFC site at rienissomethingoriginal.com. TJUF BU SJFOJTTPNFUIJOHPSJHJOBM DPN Rick Johnson is a freelance writer and radio host @WQY 8]V\a]\ Wa O T`SSZO\QS e`WbS` O\R `ORW] V]ab from Westbrook. He can be reached at: T`][ ESabP`]]Y 6S QO\ PS `SOQVSR Ob( rJohnson. rock@gmail. com `X]V\a]\ `]QY.U[OWZ Q][