Rings - Black Habit - mp3 review
January 15th, 2008 r8e8rcom
I have always loved the idea of weighted simplicity. A few years ago I had an idea to start a band where every song was based on a series of simple loops of varied lengths that would stagger and overlap to create shifting circular melodies and rhythms. I locked myself in my studio for a few hours armed with a sampler, a guitar, a rhodes piano, and a drum kit. My delusions of grandeur carried me all the way through a total of about 8 hours of solid work. What came out of that was not the body of work I had hoped would spark the flames for a new musical project, but one solitary song that I couldn’t even finish myself. I ended up enlisting the help of a former band mate to finish the lyrics and vocals. To this day the song remains probably the only thing I’ve ever written that I consider to be half way decent, still a far cry from my original intent.
Rings, an NYC all female trio, seem to have had the same idea and have actually followed through with it. Black Habit is technically the groups sophomore release, having previously released a 7″ and full length under the name First Nation. The record was going to be called Rings, but, the band decided that ‘Rings’ described them as a band more than First Nation. Since Melissa Livaudais left the band, Nina Mehta and Kate Rosko also wanted a fresh start with newly added member Abby Portner, the sister of Animal Collective’s Dave Portner. The album was recorded in Rove Studios in Kentucky with Kristin Anna Valtysdottir aka Kria Brekken (formerly of the band Mum). The band has always been a perfect fit on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label, and while Black Habit is not a vast departure from their debut, there is a slightly darker, more concise motif to these songs. This is definitely not a record for everyone, the loose, spasmodic, sometimes repetitive nature of these songs are likely to turn as many away as it welcomes in.
Scape Aside
All Right Peace
You Remind Me
For a bit of fun, my circular motif opus. Rumor has it, this track still gets some play at various DC area venues, whoopty fucking doo, eh?
-mark
