I was talking with someone a couple of weeks ago about the different types of bands. While things probably run along some kind of continuum, I feel like there are two major categories. The first, or the "Dinosaur Jr." category, contains those bands who exist to give life to the vision of their single, driving force. The second, or the "Sebadoh" category, encompasses those bands in which most of the individual members write and perform songs. Obviously, both types of bands can produce great things; and I really don't have a preference for one style over the other. Unsurprisingly, though, and for better or for worse, Sebadoh-type bands generally produce more varied albums.
Swearin' falls into the Sebadoh category. The quartet of Allison Crutchfield, Kyle Gilbride, Keith Spencer, and Jeff Bolt have spread the work out a bit more on Surfing Strange than they did on their excellent, self-titled debut with Crutchfield, Gilbride, and Spencer each taking turns fronting a few songs. This does give Surfing Strange a bit more of a varied feel than Swearin', but things hang together on a heavier, chunkier sound than before. In addition, most of the songs on Surfing Strange -- no matter who's delivering them -- reference sounds and influences from the past of indie rock.
The chorus of opener and lead single, "Dust in the Gold Sack," features some My Bloody Valentine-type distorted guitar with Crutchfield singing about imperfections, "Cracks in the ceiling above us, like dust in the gold sack." On "Watered Down," Gilbride sings of "getting lit" and his other vices -- "they empty me out... They water me down" -- over some Mascis / Martsch-style guitar. And along with the heavier sound, the unifying approach on Surfing Strange includes employing those influences in the service of facing life as friends and band members in 2013.
Crutchfield talks about contemporaries who "measure things in numbers," being "on the radar," and singing "the cunning sentences of record stores and radio" on "Parts of Speech." On "Glare of the Sun," Spencer gets a little psychedelic as he sings of the "wear and tear" inflicted by that glare. He throws in a "The sun is high, and so am I." It may not have been intentional, but that line did start me thinking about a very much "on the radar" band who does seem to play close attention to their numbers.
I'd imagine that it's easier to work through things like feeling defective or trying to hold onto your ideals and make a living at the same time, if you do it with the help of other people. That's probably a big attraction of a Sebadoh-type band. Everyone gets a chance to step up while the rest of the band helps them get their point across. What makes Surfing Strange such a successful record is that the honesty of each of the individual songs comes through while, together, they present a unified statement. And they do that by also just sounding really good.
Surfing Strange is out today on Salinas Records.
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