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Arc and Sender — Arc and Sender
(High Two HT004, 2005, CD)

by Jeff Melton, Published 2006-05-01

Arc and Sender Cover art

Arc and Sender is a noisy little trio from Maryland that spans the genres of indie/alternative rock with experimental lo-fi grunge. This means the trio can hammer away for hours on brutal chords, punishing the scenery by driving a riff to an inevitably unresolved conclusion. And that’s the entire point of their interplay except the players need to have some telepathic tendencies to anticipate when quick changes are imminent. Guitarists Greg Pardew and Jason Hutt together revise the premise created by Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd in Television where one player holds the rhythm and the other leads. Pardew and Hutt work just as closely with timed changes but even the drummer gets to wield the six string axe too so everyone gets to play. “Hundred-Year Flood” is nearly a slow ballad that winds through some bleak chord progressions while “Squares and Circles” represents a Frith-like textural side to group experiments. “Perambulations” shows that the group can execute extremes within one piece, beginning with a careful melodic construct before jumping full throttle into another assault. For “Light Pain,” the band successfully integrates saxophone into their unison riffing not unlike Curlew’s best work. Closing out the disc is “Sleep Hope Wake and Then,” which bridges a gap between ambience and heavy Sonic Youth style shredding. In summary, the trio is a welcome addition to the grungier side of indie rock jam acts.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 33, 2005 releases

Related artist(s): Arc and Sender

More info
http://www.hightwo.com/ht/2005/06/ht004-2/

 

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