I recall spending the majority of
the year 2010 balancing the workload of my freshman year of college with
constant gigging for various projects I fronted. The genres of my musical
endeavors spanned from metallic hardcore to pop punk, but all of these shows
managed to have the words Free Beer!
on the flyer.
Unfortunately none of these shows contained
alcoholic beverages free of charge. Free
Beer! was a thrash hardcore group from Mansfield, MA known throughout my area
for their humorous stage antics and their desire to open literally every show
even if their sound failed to fit the bill. Their live shows
always proved to be hilariously entertaining especially considering frontman
Mike Doolan’s absurd lyricsm exploring the themes of four loko chugging and
proudly receiving fellatio at the Foxboro skate park during a rainstorm.
The band began to play less and
less over time and eventually fizzled out until its drummer Tyler Kershaw
announced his upcoming solo project Funeral
Advantage. I was understandably expecting another nonsensical hardcore punk
band upon hearing this news, but I was proven dead wrong on every imagineable level.
Funeral Advantage is not just any
local music project. It is an incredible dream pop and jangle pop hybrid that has
one of the strongest albums of 2015 under its belt. Body is Dead creates a lush atmosphere of endless dream pop soundscapes.
The sound Kershaw achieved could be compared to Turnover’s Peripheral Vision, but with a more
cohesive flow and less redundant songwriting. Kerhaw’s vocals are ethereal, the
guitar work both clean and beautiful-sounding, and incorporation of
synthesizers may bring The Cure to
mind at some points. The lyricism delves into dark nightmarish themes despite
and its dreamy and happy sound.
Body is Dead is a beautiful work of art that you should check out
especially if Peripheral Vision also graced
your top albums of 2015 list.
No comments:
Post a Comment