Thursday, July 9, 2009
Reviews:: Arms Up Look Left
So why would I even bring it up? Well, Arms Up – an indie rock trio from SK – have put there own little spin on the idea and I think bands should take note. After the success of their debut EP – Not From Montreal – you’d expect the band to rush back into the studio and hammer out 10-12 songs hoping to capitalize on any buzz they picked up. Instead, Arms Up made a smart business/financial decision and decided to launch their "3-P project."
What’s a 3-P project? Well, a couple questions/answers on their myspace tells you all you need to know:
Q:What's a 3.P?
A: 3 new songs every 3 months.
Q: Why not an album?
A: Albums are too expensive for our broke asses. We have new music weez want it out now.
Make sense? It does to me. The band wants to write songs, play shows and build a fan base. If giving away helps them in the long run, it’s worth it. I could segue into the importance of getting your record heard, but Carl Wilson already discussed the idea more eloquently than I ever could:
It’s not that people are so shallow that they are totally swayed by the externals, but those developments do, for instance, help determine whether journalists write about a record, and in that process become more deeply familiar with and attached to the work.
Does giving away 3-songs make Arms Up destined to be the next big thing? Of course not, but it certainly will get more people listening, heading out to shows and hopefully, becoming a fan of the band, not just the songs they trolled for online.
Look Left is the first installment, and really taking the time to craft three strong songs has helped the band. Their previous EP was full of anthems, and while they were done well, there is something to be said about writing songs for the venues you are playing. Look Left shows the band delving into more psychedelic territory, scaling back the soaring choruses and writing tracks for the bar.
Opening with Now, Now, Now, you get hit with the electricity of seeing a rock band in some local dive. A quick intro over some guitar and spacey keys let the drums and Voyno’s vocals stand front and centre, before the band explodes on the chorus. Dabbling with some Doors inspired keyboards and keeping the energy up makes the track a perfect opener, but also a song that will take on new live as the band works it live.
I’m not sure if the three songs the band will hit home with the people that loved their last EP, but they certainly help Arms Up find a sound that can grow with them. Writing anthem ready rockers is all well and good, but if you are only playing for 20 people, the fan energy needed to make the songs work won’t be there. Poor Boy Blues on the other hand, lets the band crank up the amps and get head nodding. The gentle acoustic intro is familiar and accessible, and the heart of the song is more transferable. Spanish Banks shows the trio shifting sound and trying a more classic rock radio ready approach. The classic, slow burning build of this ballad is handled well, and again, gives a nice glimpse as to the direction the band seems to be heading.
I don't think the band is quite ready - at least on record - to convert the masses, but this project will give them the freedom to try. Twelve songs in twelve months. It puts the pressure on them to write, but doesn't force them to cobble together a collection that should have been left in the jam space just to get a record made. It may only be three songs, but the idea and the potential makes Arms Up a band to keep an ear on.
MP3:: ARMS UP - Now, Now, Now
MP3:: ARMS UP - Poor Boy Blues
MYSPACE:: http://www.myspace.com/armsup
DOWNLOAD:: http://armsup.bandcamp.com/
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