Soup took a break from being too metal for one hand to write this:
Portland, Oregon's System and Station, formerly Boise, Idaho's System and Station and Madison, Wisconsin's System and Station, are releasing their new album, A Nation of Actors tomorrow. And it's really, really good. What we have here is an engaging Pacific Northwest style rock record with influence ranging from northwestern indie rock to classic rock to early-90's post-hardcore.
The opening track, “The Magnetic North” is a great example of this. Straightforward rock verses with post-hardcore time changes and sweet melodies tying it all together. The intro and outro are sort of “emo” in the least corny way possible, although they don't really add or detract from the song itself. “Sell Out” sounds appropriately like something you might hear on the radio or MTV, like a hit single waiting to happen, provided either of those things actually still played anything this good on a regular basis. It's a straight-up rock song featuring some cool sinewy guitars and a really, really catchy vocal melody. “A Light to Lead You Home” features a lead guitar that reminds me a lot of something Built to Spill might do, but the whole thing is arranged a lot more tightly than anything Built to Spill has done. It builds up gracefully to a classic rock influenced jam with busy drumming and psychedelic guitar, which also sounds a lot like something Built to Spill would do. “On the Way” features a bouncy off-beat guitar rhythm, without ever degenerating into a bunch of white dudes imitating reggae like it very easily could (speaking of Built to Spill...). It's a really fun, catchy track. “Rainy Days in Future Cities” is a sparsely arranged but lush sounding track that evokes pretty much exactly what the title says. This is in stark contrast to the business and upbeat tone of “Too Late Too Soon.” The reverb-drenched “The World is Run by Wires” is a slower song featuring Built to Spill style delayed lead guitar and cymbal rolls subtly building up to a gorgeous pop song. “Pictures Found in Paragraphs” starts up with a sinewy post-hardcore section that breaks down into a “twinkly” pop song that brings to mind The Flaming Lips and builds into something that reminds me of early Jets to Brazil. “Out on the Wall” takes the quiet/loud dynamic and turns it into the most casual sounding thing ever, like it's no big deal anymore, mixing bouncy pop verses, with strangely polished, distorted post-hardcore riffing, and building up into a strangely polished rock song. “Dumb Luck” doesn't even bother with the build-up. It starts out with sinewy off-time riffing that reminds me of Drive Like Jehu a little bit, and an unconventional melodic structure. This is probably the most abrasive song on this album. The last track is the title track, “A Nation of Actors.” It's the longest track on the album, and it's a great culmination of the album as a whole. It opens with kind of “ballady” verses with darkly bouncy pop choruses, all of it with some tastefully mixed in strings. After a couple rounds of this, it builds up and spends most of the rest of the track building up distorted walls of sound and breaking back down into an outro that ties it all back together.
These guys are on tour, and they're coming through Boise (which, given that they're from here, doesn't surprise me), so I'll definitely be checking it out. They definitely sound like they'd be a good time live. Here are the dates:
Aug 20 2008 8:00P Doug Fir Lounge CD Release!!!! w/ Prize Country and Ley Lines Portland, Oregon
Aug 26 2008 8:00P Lil’ Red Lion w/La Fin Du Monde Eureka, California
Aug 27 2008 8:00P Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, California
Aug 28 2008 8:00P Knitting Factory Los Angeles, California
Aug 29 2008 8:00P Chaser’s San Diego, California
Aug 30 2008 8:00P Plush Tucson, Arizona
Aug 31 2008 8:00P Atomic Cantina Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sep 1 2008 8:00P The Conservatory OKC, Oklahoma
Sep 2 2008 8:00P Replay Lounge w/ Overstep Lawrence, Kansas
Sep 3 2008 8:00P Record Bar w/ The Life and Times Kansas city, Missouri
Sep 4 2008 8:00P Melody Inn Indianapolis, Indiana
Sep 5 2008 8:00P The Frequency w/ ifihadahifi Madison, Wisconsin
Sep 6 2008 8:00P Cactus Club w/ ifihadahifi Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sep 7 2008 8:00P Empty Bottle w/ Couch Flambeau Chicago, Illinois
Sep 8 2008 8:00P Triple Rock w/ The Slats Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sep 9 2008 8:00P Box Awesome w/ Fromanhole Lincoln, Nebraska
Sep 10 2008 8:00P The Waiting Room w/ Fromanhole and Race for Titles Omaha, Nebraska
Sep 11 2008 8:00P Hi Dive w/ Mustangs and Madras Denver, Colorado
Sep 12 2008 8:00P Visual Arts Collective Boise, Idaho
Sep 13 2008 8:00P Sunset Tavern Seattle, Washington
