The Apples in Stereo w/ Archie Bronson Outfit @ Black Cat
With all the hubbub surrounding Beck’s “secret” backstage show Monday night, there was some concern The Apples in Stereo show upstairs might get overlooked. To some extent it was, but let it be said that anyone who just went home to their couch and tried to stream the Decemberists on NPR through crappy laptop speakers missed out on a hell of a good night.
The Archie Bronson Outfit went on first, their post-rock a pretty stark contrast to anything the Apples have ever put out. But it worked well as an opening act, mainly because the UK’s ABO are a damn fine band in their own right. A labelmate of Franz Ferdinand, they share some of the same post-rock leanings, but do everything with a considerable air of anger and aggression. Where Franz might use driving punk guitar to get you up to dance, ABO turn up all amps, pedals, etc. and builds a wall of noise out of it. Occasionally, the wall tumbles to reveal either a song's trad-rock core or the most menacing use of a double-backbeat we’ve ever heard. Their myspace page somehow calls them “folk rock,” which, where we come from, means the Byrds. And the Byrds they certainly aren’t. But they are their own thing, a unique sounding way to arrange two guitars and drums to blow through your eardrums and pound the hell out of your brain.
After a few minutes to decompress (reconstruct is probably a better word), Apples came on to a small crowd, no doubt taking an attendance hit from Decemberists/Beck double whammy. This was a new sort of Apples; pre-show, lead singer Robert Schneider was noticeably geeked up talking about his new lineup featuring Bill Doss (formerly of Olivia Tremor Control), John Ferguson (of Big Fresh), and John Dufilho (of Deathray Davies) – something of an all-star lineup of psych pop.
The band mixed old favorites with new material from the upcoming album New Magnetic Wonder, and from first listen, there’s much to look forward to. They opened with “The Rainbow” from 2000’s The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone, this time reincarnated as a no-nonsense rocker. From there, it was largely variations on a theme, with Schneider and the boys working different angles of the pop canon. Though he’s been churning them out a long time, Schneider’s still an underrated songwriter, but the new garage vibe they're sporting puts the emphasis squarely on the tunes. It’s something like a self-imposed melodic gut check, and the Apples passed with flying colors.
Of the new songs, “Sun is Out,” written with some of Schneider’s old Elephant 6 buddies, was terrific backporch pop reminiscent of the best of the Summer Hymns. “Same Old Drag” could’ve resurrected the 70s A.M. Gold sound on its own (heaven help us), while “Energy” fully lived up to its name. It might not all have been perfect – crowd pleaser “Ruby” was welcome but Schneider’s voice sounded tired – and occasionally the mix failed to capture the nuances of a six-piece band. But when it did, the band’s ear for a killer arrangement did the trick (perfect example: throwing some Nicky Hopkins piano behind the chugging chord progression of “What’s the #?”).
The Apples strike us as the type of band who maybe haven’t picked up many fans in the past few years, what with Schneider devoting a good deal of time to side projects like Ulysses and Marbles. But talking to the band before and after the show, we could hear the excitement and determination in their voices. Then we heard them roll out the new tunes – all punchy and crafted, ringing with tambourine and delicately laced with feedback – and there's good news: they’re back.
Photo by Flickr user christakos