A while back when perenial Ripple favorites, Grand Atlantic, were touring the US for the first time, me and the Mrs Racer set out to Hotel Utah in the City to watch our boys tear the place apart. And they did. But before them there was an entirely too long list of opening bands, most of which verged beyond the annoying. At one point, me and the Mrs were going to step outside to let our ears rest before Grand Atlantic came on, but something about the band taking the stage made us stick around and check them out. And good thing we did.
The second The Photons plugged in those little hairs on the back of my neck stood up to pay attention. Mixing an eclectic, quirk pop atmosphere, like the Decemberists with some charming guitar-based jangle rock, The Photons took immediate control of the stage and all 200 of the ears packed into that tiny club. A seven piece, multi-racial, multi-gendered outfit, The Photons threw every thing into the mix besides guitar, bass and drums, including bassoon, clarient, glockenspiel, bells, toy piano, gang chants and I believe a xylophone. And somehow they manage to do this without ever swamping the sound in excess or noise pop, always maintaining the meat of the melody. "Glory!" the title song off their self-released EP is a dynamite example of how quirk-pop can be engaging without losing itself up the butt of the Polyphonic Spree. "Where Were You Last Night" follows suit, both songs carried by the energetic, near-frenetic vocals of James Parrish. Both of these songs are impeccably crafted slices of quirk-pop perfection. Can't-miss winners.
And talk about a cool D.I.Y product, each copy of the Glory! EP comes complete with an indy black and white comic book, "We Are the Photons," drawn by bassist/drummer Calvin Liu.
Fun and engaging, The Photons were for real. Unfortunately, their webpage says that they've gone out on indefinite hiatus, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for more Photons to come our way. In the meantime, you can download a couple of free tracks from the band at www.wearephotons.com.
In case you need a reference, this minimally produced, self-manufactured disc comes complete with a photo of a gun chamber loaded with 45-70 shells. Combine that with the tell-all title, Get Ready to Bleed, and you'll get a good idea what your ears are in for with this little retro-metal treat. Rocking on like the '90's and all of nu-metal had never happened, 45-70 take their licks from the pages of early (still cool) Motely Crue, rough and tumble Metallica. Toss in another chamber full of NWOBHM spit, venom and bile, plus the desire to pound their heads against any hard surface within reach, and we got the formula decoded.
I can't really remember where these cats hail from, but I think it's someplace way up in Michigan or such, far away from civilization, culture and non-fur covered women. As such, the boys banded together to create what all men lost to the world need: music to vent out all your testosterone and chest-beating manhood. And do they ever.
45-70 have studied their lessons well and can take command of a riff like a general taking control of his troops. Each track pounds with elemental NWOBHM guitar fury. Drums explode with the frequency of blind man walking through a mindfield. Bass is heavy and pummeling while the vocals add just the right amount of Vince Neil squeal. The album kicks off with a fury. Opening cuts "Under," and "Honesty" just may be as good D.I.Y. metal as we've heard around here in some time. "Under" opens with a particularly nasty guitar riff, tearing right into a true "face melting" guitar solo. The opening wailing scream leaves something to be desired, but once the verse drops in the vocals work out just fine. Bass rules through the verses propelling things along like a tank cruising a battlefield. Listening to this track reminds me of all the ballsy excitement that reigned through the record store when the NWOBHM was new and in full flight. Each new release just brimmed with a punky-D.I.Y excitement. You never knew what you were gonna get, but it was all done with passion. That's what 45-70 got going here. An undeniable passion for their metal freakout.
"Honesty" ups the stakes a bit, showing some strong songwriting chops. Yeah, sure the drum sound needs to be beefed up, but remember these cats recorded this album in their tundra cabin between deer and moose hunts. You can almost taste that moose flesh here, as the song slinks and trods along to the raver of chorus.
From there the album doesn't let up. Raw and bare D.I.Y. metal that's definitely worth the effort.
--Racer
buy here: Get Ready To Bleed
The Photons
45-70
www.45-70theband.com
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