Bon Savants “Between the Moon and the Ocean”

First and foremost, I look forward to holiday family gatherings as an opportunity to spend time with people I don’t typically see a lot during the regular year. Christmas, though, always offers the distinct possibility for things to turn a bit awkward. Getting a present from a distant relative and having nothing in return, hearing my uncle after a few drinks talk about that time he grew pot in grandma’s garden, and the worst one–pasting a smile on my face when getting a weird present. This last one I always dread, but thankfully haven’t had to deal with much. But the dread is still there–I don’t like lying, but what are you supposed to do with a present that completely defies all expectation? I’m not Pacino.

I always get to see my step-siblings over the holidays, and in the case of my step-brother, it’s the only time we get to hang each year. He lives in Boston, and has played around in bands for the better part of the last decade. In 2004, he brought me a t-shirt (not my sole present, mind you) from his latest band, Bon Savants. They hadn’t recorded much at that point, but had played with The Wrens and Silkworm, which is a good start for any band. This year, though, he brought me the unmastered recordings of their debut recording, Post-Rock Defends the Nation, which brings me back to my first point. As hard as I find it to pretend I like a weird present, it’s even harder for me to tell someone I know and like really well that I don’t like his or her music, or this is how I’d change it, etc. I was waiting for my mother to say something like “Oh, Eric, you have to put his music on your little website! It would be so fun!” Needless to say, I was prepared for an ethical dilemma of the highest order. But as I listened to the CD on the way home that evening, the best result possible happened–I managed to forget at several points who made the music and experience it for what it is–a pretty dang solid debut album.

Dave (bassist/step-brother/dude with burly mustache) tells me the sessions for Post-Rock were helmed by former Dave Fridmann associate Bill Racine, who most recently piloted Rogue Wave’s Descended Like Vultures. A high degree of technical precision is evident, even in the unmastered versions of the tracks in front of me. I get a strong aroma of 80’s Brit-rock influence in the guitars (Ride, Inspiral Carpets), but one tethered to reality by a strong commitment to traditional pop melody–realized through the striking voice of lead singer Thom Savant. Referencing all manner of brooding, darkly romantic rock frontmen–Bryan Ferry, Jarvis Cocker, Stephen Merritt, The National’s Matt Berninger, even Mike Patton in his best smoking-jacket moments, Thom’s voice alternately rides atop and pierces through the pulsating, swelling music. “Between the Moon and the Ocean” (mp3) splits the difference between Thom’s baritone and falsetto vocal tendencies while crooning the great line “You kiss like a Russian”. And an alternate mix of “Why This Could Never Work Between Us” (mp3) tacks a couple glorious minutes of fuzzy squall to the end of a marvelous song–for my money, if they have a single to grab mass attention, this is it. I want a commission.

Post-Rock Defends the Nation should drop sometime this spring. Befriend them on MySpace, if that’s your thing, here.

Filed under: Bon Savants  Family Shiz  Xmas