Attaining the status of transient art form is no small feat, and it requires topical
movement, shifting sensibilities, and tireless invention. AVEC’s debut album
If I Breathe I Fall Asleep, is certainly transient in both substance and style – achieving
a highly elevated aesthetic in its contribution to the world of musical art. Most
remarkable, though, is how the band wields their ever-shifting musical trope as a
blunt emotional weapon to surprise, startle and ultimately engage the listener. On
the heels of their self-titled 2003 EP on ReStart Records (At The Drive In,
Sparta, Defacto) and inclusion on Deep Elm’s Emo Diaries #9, If I Breathe I
Fall Asleep demonstrates an incredible work ethic, a tireless devotion to creativity.
The Baltimore quartet’s intelligent time signatures and chord structures are
built, shaped, reworked and refined by the combination of Shawna Potter – formerly
of Fair Verona (vocals, guitar), with the entire lineup of the Texas trio
Sand Which Is – Brooks Harlan (vocals, guitar), Adam Yeargin (bass), and
Scott Tieman (drums). The four of them combine experience from their past bands
to “open up an accessible, limber space in Sand Which Is’ rigid morass…its
noisy, gnarled emo and Potter’s energetic pop/rock touches in Fair Verona
sound like two different mind-sets, but…complement each other.” (City Paper,
11/10/04)
It’s an combination that’s allowed these three Texan boys, and their
Nashville, TN “alterna-diva” to quickly demand the musical attention of Charm
City and a variety of tour stops around the country with their own startling brand
of indie “Science Rock”. Shape-shifting and haunting, tense and erotic, each
track on If I Breathe I Fall Asleep seems to flower from one raw emotional collapse
into the next, as Potter’s “breathy, full-throated vocals and catchy guitar
crunch plays with, and off of, Harlan’s steely guitar lines and reedy howl. Yeargin
and Tiemann push and pull songs’ rhythmic backbones from a full-throttle rush to
a revving idle” (Brett McCabe, City Paper)
For example, “While You’re Down There” opens with a twisted, psycho 80s
dark rhythmic incantation that oddly blends into the forcefully and constantly gear
shifting, but richly evocative “16 Minus 71”. Then, with a sort of astral magnificence
the album winds into the sexual undertones of the beguiling duet between
Harlan and Potter titled “Imprinting”, a stylish give and take that blends delicate
textural guitar work with sensual lyricism. Finally the album wanders through the
brooding undertones of “Mandragora”, a smoldering piece of vacillating vocals
and ethereal melodies.
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