Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Every Emily Peal And The Band Of Skinny Men performance is like a master course in dynamics. I can’t think of a band in town that has more control over their musical bombast than this cast of characters. They can smolder and they can flare. It’s not uncommon for an all-consuming hush to be followed by a blinding shower of audible sparks. Pay attention. You won’t want to miss this.
Emily Peal And The Band Of Skinny Men opened the Boston Band Crush Holiday Spectacular* with a powerful set that included their twisted and beautiful take on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. This is one of the most dynamic acts in town.
* This was the last show to be presented by Boston Band Crush, which closed up shop earlier in the week. Sad face.
Emily Peal & The Band Of Skinny Men
“Have Yourself…”
2012
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on our troubles will be out of sight
Never have those words sounded so foreboding. Emily Peal & The Band Of Skinny Men have turned a holiday classic inside out. The dark clouds that hang over their rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” makes the warm and familiar feel detached and cold. Every piano chord and string-like swell increases the hollow, empty feeling that the now haunting melody planted deep inside you. It is dispiriting and beautifully executed. I can’t stop listening.
Where to get it:
Do you know what I like about Emily Peal And The Band Of Skinny Men? I like when the song starts out quiet. Maybe there’s a piano or some finger-picked guitar. Then things get a little tense. You wonder where this is going. All of a sudden there’s a brrrruuuuuuum-brrrruuuuuuum-brrrruuuuuuum-boom-thwack-boom-thwack-brrrruuuuuuum-brrrruuuuuuum-brrrruuuuuuum and you’re kind of knocked back a little from the oh-my-goodness-how-did-they-get-that-heavy wall of sound coming from the stage. It’s a neat feeling, like being 6 years old and spinning around and around until you collapse in a heap. Then you get up and do it all over again.
This was the release show for Emily’s new EP, Fine Fur Coat.
Emily Peal
Fine Fur Coat
2012
I first became aware of Emily Peal when she opened the release party for Static Of The Gods’ final EP, The Midnight Fires. Emily and Mike Agentis stripped their songs to the core, letting a sense of quirk and craft shine through. I was particularly infatuated with the cunningly coy “Wise To You.” Even in full studio regalia, the song has a decidedly pop bent. That’s what I thought I was getting into.
Lately I’ve been reminded that first impressions can be deceiving. I’m still enthralled with Emily Peal’s music, but for more varied reasons. The depth of her recent releases have left a mark. Tunneling drove home Emily’s flair for the theatrical and unique arrangements. Her cover of “Bang Bang” was a vehicle driven by tension and power. Now Emily and her Band Of Skinny Men unleash Fine Fur Coat. All of these elements are pulled together. Here are three stories set to music that rattles and pounds until the fate of the protagonist is felt as much as it is told. This is cinema. The title track is an ever evolving affair, with stellar drum work getting more and more frantic as Emily’s vocals desperately search for some truth in a guarded relationship. “February” bears witness to fierce, fuzzed out bass overtaking a finger-picked guitar introduction. Neither instrument is a match for the haunting chat that closes out the song. The EP closes with “Mountain,” a sprawling epic built around piano arpeggios and blasts of sonic fury. The dissonant walls of distortion that accent the song carry me further from the Emily Peal I first saw at TT’s. I’m enjoying the journey.
Where to get it:
Emily Peal
“Bang Bang”
2012
What happens when Emily Peal covers Cher? Magic. Dark, dark magic.
Truth be told, this version has more in common with Nancy Sinatra’s stark cover than the original. Emily’s take thrives on the moments that slip through the cracks. There’s a tension to the sparsity that is undeniable. The mind can wander to some pretty dark places in between reverb-drenched arpeggios, places fully realized when Emily and The Band Of Skinny Men go off at the 2:37 mark.
Where to get it:
Emily Peal
Tunneling
2011
Truth be told, I don’t feel entirely qualified to write about Emily Peal’s new record. I can’t seem to wrap my head around it. I’ve been listening to Tunneling for about a month now, and every time I do I get the spins. The attention to detail is staggering. This record is impossibly complex, yet maintains a remarkable accessibility (you know, except for the disorientation thing). I’m done thinking about it. I’m just going to enjoy it.
Emily Peal’s piano driven sound is equal parts musical theater, introspective singer-songwriter sensibility and Queen-style grandiose rock, complete with intricately layered backing vocals and bombastic guitars. Check out the menacing “Gentle When You’re Cruel”, the emotional “Privilege”, the delicate “Creator” and the disarming “Elephant In The Room” to get an idea of the musical range Tunneling covers. It’s vast.
I’ve got a soft spot for “Wise To You”. It’s a song that never fails to make me smile. This studio version has more elaborate instrumentation than the live version I posted a little while back, but maintains the latter’s undeniable charm.
Tunneling is quite the impressive album, whose whole is even greater than its numerous parts. Just don’t try to figure it all out. It will make your head spin.
Where to get it:
The sound reverberates for a moment within the walls of TT’s before being absorbed by the mass of people huddled before the stage. Can they feel it? The sound? The moment?
This is a celebration for the release of Static Of The God’s new EP, The Midnight Fires. There are a full range of emotions on display tonight. There is certainly the mutual appreciation between band and audience, but there’s something heavy in the air, as well. It all comes out in the performance. Music as therapy. A weight lifted. Beat beat beat.
Emily Peal performs the oh-so-cute-oh-wait-no-what-are-these-surprising-undertones song “Wise To You” at TT’s. Look for the song on her new album coming out this summer.
OK, I’ll admit that I know very little about Emily Peal. She mentioned she drove up from New York for this show. I believe she lives there now. A quick search indicates strong ties to the Boston area. Looks like she may have lived here. That’s good enough for me.
One thing I know is that Emily Peal opened the Static Of The Gods EP release show at TT’s this past Friday. I also know I liked her set. I took some pictures. I will share them with you.
