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Concert Wed Apr 30 2008
Under the Turquoise Hexangonal Sun
The Houston, TX outfit Indian Jewelry has never been an easy entity to get one's head around. Operating like a shadowy cult, it seems the band's revolving-door line-up contracts and expands with each appearance. They switch record labels frequently; and in the past have performed under a host of aliases such as Swarm of Angels, The Corpses of Waco, Electric Fuck-all, and the Perpetual War Party Band. And while they might initially be mistaken as yet another sprawling clan of freak-folkateer noodlers, their output instead consists of keyboard-and-feedback heavy psychedelic drones of the most sentience-nulling caliber.
The band is set to release its latest album, Free Gold!, on the Baltimore-based We Are Free label in a few weeks. It's a cleaner-sounding excursion than the group's prior recordings. This time around, the listener finds something floating more distinctly through the stifling haze of Indian Jewelry's keyboard buzz and guitar squall -- that being the group's underlying affinity for psych-pop melodies of the J&MC, Spacemen 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre variety. Animating the music with a slightly dreamy quality, it's these pop leanings that help lift the group's music out of the opiated, wall-of-noise morass. Imagine the Stooges and Stereolab collaborating on an extended cover of the Monkees' "Porpoise Song" and you've got the general idea.
Indian Jewelry are playing at the Hideout this Saturday night. Reputedly, the band puts on a stupefyingly intense show. On the opening bill is local heavyweight stoner-rock, math-metal revisionists Warhammer 48K. Warhammer's largely been off the scene for the past eight months or so, with some of its members appearing around town under their side-project alias CAVE in the interim. From the looks of it, they're back on their feet and gearing up for a new round of activity. They're heavy, they're tightly gnarled, they're bewildering, they're loud, and they might be one of the best bands operating in Chicago these days. Given the low-ceilinged acoustic of the Hideout, hearing protection is advised. 1354 W. Wabansia. Doors open at 9 PM, admission is $8.
[mp3]: Indian Jewelry – "Swans"
[mp3]: Indian Jewelry – "Temporary Famine Ship"
