Acquaintances is a new band made up of some indie scene vets, including members of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Poison Arrows, Ponys, and Don Caballero. Their new self-titled album, released on LP by Epitonic/File 13, features a familiar brand of indie rock that’s disinterested in obscuring its influences, but the whole thing is delivered with an appealing mix of casualness and assurance. By the end they’ve managed to produce a very good debut.
Acquaintances can surely be considered an indie rock supergroup. Even though some of the band’s previous activity hasn’t exactly been rewarded with a high profile, every member of the band has indeed chalked up prior experience on the scene. The outfit is composed of guitarist-vocalist Jared Gummere of the Ponys and Bare Mutants, bassist Patrick Morris of Don Caballero and The Poison Arrows, and drummer Chris Wilson of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Shake Ray Turbine.
For added spice, Stephen Schmidt of Thumbnail, Chino Horde and Avenue Boulevard adds guitar and vocals to three tracks on Acquaintances’ debut, and Justin Sinkovich of Thumbnail, Atombombpocketknife and The Poison Arrows lends guitar, vocals, and organ to five of the disc’s cuts. And if you’re unsure about your knowledge of some of these names, you’re not alone.
Shake Ray Turbine, Chino Horde, and Thumbnail were all part of what Acquaintances’ band bio describes as “the file 13 punk scene” a happening that sprang out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Indeed, I do recall File 13 as being just one part of the ‘90s substantial u-ground punk uprising, and after a bit of snooping around the web it became clear that all three of the above named Little Rock groups were dedicated to the Big Rock, with Chino Horde releasing their first 7-inch way back in 1990.
Atombombpocketknife and The Poison Arrows also issued records on File 13 while Bare Mutants released a dilly of a garage-shoegaze 45 on HoZac. And if this was the collective height of the background that led up to the appearance of Acquaintances’ first offering, using the supergroup nomenclature would actually be pretty debatable.
However, the three biggest acts in Acquaintances equation were a much bigger affair. As a leading light in the instrumental math-rock genre, Don Caballero emerged as one of the best late-period entries on the Touch and Go roster. Ponys melodic, guitar focused non-retro garage stylings found them first on In the Red (a true signifier of quality), and then on Matador, and the Pharmacists were probably the largest deal of the bunch, hopping from Lookout to Touch and Go and then Matador, drawing a large base of support along the way for Ted Leo’s oft outstanding songwriting and the band’s superb live shows.
So after consideration, a supergroup Acquaintances most certainly are. And this can be an iffy situation, for the indie strain of this impulse, if supposedly borne out of a different sense of scale (punk, don’tcha know) than the essentially “classic” scenario that brought on the initial supergroups and in turn ushered in what’s frequently been described as dinosaur rock, can still flounder under the very same ill-founded ambitions and expectations.
It’s through a general lack of grand gestures that Acquaintances easily avoid this pratfall. As the record plays it seems their main goal was to simply put together a strong collection of songs designed not to knock the listener out of their seat but instead to mildly impress with the cohesiveness and the familiarity of the entire affair.
The record opens with “Paramounts,” a hunk of mid-tempo rhythmic throb that recalls the work of Sonic Youth, specifically their early-‘90s period that found them at their most rock reverent. The sound doesn’t overstep into mimicry or pastiche, but neither does it seem all the bothered about being something new under the sun. It sets up and plows forth with a solid handle on dynamics via a sturdy, if no big deal bit of songwriting, and makes its point in three minutes.
This shouldn’t be a surprise since (perhaps outside of Don Caballero) the prior achievements of this band weren’t necessarily based on mind-bending originality. So instead of striving for diversity that could potentially underwhelm through ill-advised ideas, the next cut “Learn to Let it Go” smartly expands upon the aura of the first, though it’s a bit more pop-focused as it throws in some well-trod noise-rock guitar textures and a mass of vocal attitude.
“Skin” keeps things on an even keel, but tosses a heaping load of grouchy guitar action into a heavy and pulsing slow rocker that’s dark vibe is less easily tagged to precedent. The song allows Acquaintances to stretch out a bit, and in so doing they examine some very likeable instrumental atmospherics. This is followed by “She Never Sleeps,” a more concise uptempo number that in its second half is somewhat remindful of the beauty groove found in Sonic Youth’s late period work.
And this approach is continued on “This Night is a Trick.” What saves the band from becoming a mere retread is the tangible sense of energy from all the members, lending the music a feel of influences legitimately absorbed and then spit back out in a lively, non-calculated manner. The overall thrust of Acquaintances’ sound is no accident, but neither does it come off as premeditated.
But there is still the risk of sameiness to avoid, and “Got it Covered” takes the rock thrust of “Skin” and throttles it into a brawny chug with nifty keyboard accents and some effective bursts of guitar explosiveness. The result is another of the LP’s least definable moments, though part of its appeal is how it could’ve been produced at any time over the last twenty-five years or so.
“Lower Your Expectations, Increase Your Odds” finds the band settling into a sweet spot. Wilson’s drumming on the track is terrific, nailing down the bedrock with a loose drive while the guitars examine all sorts of expansionist, yet still rock accessible terrain. At five and thirty it’s the record’s longest cut, but not by much, for “Bachelor’s Grove” also extends substantially.
The vocals on this song are frankly quite reminiscent of Thurston Moore, and when coupled with string motifs that sound like they could’ve been surgically removed from Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, it’s basically the moment on Acquaintances’ debut that falls too close to the source of its inspiration. It’s snaky enough in songwriting conception that it still goes down okay, and it’s in this record’s favor that “Bachelor’s Grove” is the exception and not the rule.
With “Say All the Right Things” the band get back into a more forthright rocking mode, and the cut succeeds quite well. And the straight-up melodic indie guitar-rock of “Ghosts” is one the LP’s most winning selections, providing enough unforced variance that Acquaintances actually start flirting with their own sound. That might read like a backhanded compliment, but when considered against most debut offerings, it’s actually an admirable, if in this case low-key, achievement.
“Thinking We Are Done Here” closes the disc and completes a late record trifecta of very strong cuts, and I’m certainly hoping the song’s title isn’t a bad omen for this modest band. We had enough supergroups as one-album wonders on the first go round. And don’t let the persistent comparisons to Sonic Youth throw you off Acquaintances’ trail. Overall, this LP is only about as close to SY as first alb Interpol (for one random comparison) was to Joy Division. Acquaintances isn’t a mindblower, but it does provide for a good ride.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B
