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By RYAN MAVITY
It is with a sinking feeling that I feel San Francisco’s Lower Forty-Eight are one of those bands that is destined to have a huge following in Europe and a small, yet devoted, cult here in their home country. I say that I have a sinking feeling because music this good yet complex does not tend to sell well here in the good old U-S-of-A. It’s a shame because Apertures mixes an indie-DIY spirit with a sound that would seem tailor made to be HUGE.
The fact that it has gotten much attention in Europe but not here points out that maybe the Europeans are smarter and more cultured than we are after all. Sure David Hasselhoff (Germany), Jerry Lewis and Mickey Rourke (France) are huge over there, but then again, Americans have unleashed Britney Spears and Creed on an unsuspecting world. I suppose I am getting off point, so allow me to return to your regularly scheduled review.
Apertures is a startlingly good collection of tracks. If you were to classify Lower Forty-Eight, you could probably call them post-grunge or post-punk. The combination of metal, punk and lo-fi production that worked for Seattle grunge is on display here, but Lower Forty-Eight takes it a step further and adds elements of garage rock and thrash metal to the mix. “Desperate Signs” shows Lower Forty-Eight at their best. Mixing a mid-tempo metal hook with singer-guitarist Andrew Lund’s Cobain-esque scream, the track is a headbanger for sure. Combine that with aggressive lyrics like “Come back/come back/come back/I just want to crush you,” and it’s a pretty kickass jam. “Blaue Augen,” “Slay Tracks” and “Truth from Fact” bring more progressive song structures to the plate and show off the band’s impressive range. “Mass Denial, Massive Guilt,” “I Am a Rogue State” and “The Distance of Light” could be hit singles in another time and place.
One thing that stands out about Apertures is the sound. It’s amazing that music this heavy and loud could be made by only three guys. The production is certainly lo-fi, but that’s part of the appeal. If they sounded less raw, the music wouldn’t have as much energy or power. Bassist Grady Mutzel and drummer Phil Becker should get a good amount of credit for that. They have a fairly simplistic playing style, but they give the music an anchor; Mutzel even gets to show off a little during the long instrumental break in “Slay Tracks.” And, of course, Lund’s downtuned guitar and wide variety of vocal styles take center stage. He can go from pleading to angry in a second.
Lower Forty-Eight is a band worth hearing. If you like metal or alt-rock, these guys will appeal to you. Maybe, much like artists like Jimi Hendrix, Bill Hicks and Doug Stanhope, the positive European press will gain them more exposure here in America . Surely, they are one of the most promising new bands out there today.
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