Alcian Blue S/T Label: Elephant Stone Release Date: 07/11/06

I, like all of us, get sick of watered down worship of the past greats. Nothing drives me crazier than some band taking something raw and beautiful and shaving the edges off, playing dress up and making some money. With that being said, Alcian Blue’s influences are obvious; even a casual listen will reveal the Washington, DC based group’s mixture of Joy Division, The Cure, and Depeche Mode’s sound. It is undeniable, every review you will read will draw comparisons to the former kings and queens of doom, gloom, hazy, and shoegazy, like Jesus and the Mary Chain, Sisters of Mercy, Swervedriver etc. and they are all right. Alcian Blue are most definitely building on a style much played out in former decades. Alcian Blue however are not mere imitators, their self-titled Album is full of well-written, well-performed, honest and sincere songs.

They take pieces from each of their influences, mixing them together and making something not very original, but very entertaining. Jake Reid imitates Ian Curtis Deadpan vocal delivery on “This Day This Age”, even utilizing the same echo-y production to give the whole effect. Simple and powerful Drum Machine beats, tap away, never sounding to cheesy. Clean, Resonant guitars pick out Cure-esque patterns, from the 17 seconds era. Fuzzy and Hazy guitars fill up space with My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and the Mary Chain references. All sounds point the darker side of life. Even at their happiest they come out sullen, the song “See You Shine’s” happy guitar melody is covered is covered by electronic drums and fuzzy guitars, and doesn’t truly resemble anything happy until Jake Reid starts to sing the chorus of See You Shine.

If you like me, and the mention of the any the bands in this review, make your heart skip a beat, then most definitely check out Alcian Blue, on cd, and in concert; July 29 at Relative Theory with The Sky Drops and Hyle. $5 adv / $7 day of show 
8pm. Be there because I can’t.

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