In the Pantheon of independent music, few individuals carry the kind ofmythic cachet that Clint Conley does. As a member of the jarringlyfierce Mission of Burma in the early 1980s, Conley established himselfas a thoughtful, powerful songwriter, crafting some of the mostenduring and seminal pieces of independent rock. The reach of Conley'scompositions like "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reach For MyRevolver" can be seen as direct inspirations to a number of musiciansall over the spectrum, from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore to pop-technopurveyor Moby. After Burma split in 1983, Conley took an extendedabsence (nineteen years!) from music and in this time started a familyand a new career as a producer for Boston's local WCVB-TV program'Chronicle.' It wasn't until two years ago that this epic writer'sblock lifted and Conley again felt the desire to step onto the stage.From these seeds of desire grew Consonant. Consonant is by no means theClint Conley show, however. Much like in Burma, Conley is surrounded byseveral accomplished musicians in their own right: guitarist ChrisBrokaw formerly of Come and Codeine, Matt Kadane formerly of Bedhead(and Brokaw band mate in The New Year), and Winston Braman formerly ofFuzzy. Also on board is poet Holly Anderson, who along with Conleywrites the bulk of the lyrics for their second album, "Love andAffliction." Each of these members brings their own contributions tothe sound, and upon listening it becomes apparent that Consonant is anextremely apt name. The different influences and additions all cometogether marvelously; never is a song lopsided or unbalanced. Thealbum's opener, "Little Murders" kicks in with a riff that is at onceimposing and yet delicately melodic. It is a deep sounding riff thatseems to fall over itself, perfectly contrasting the clear, reedyvocals. It is a remarkably full song, crashing down with a wave ofsound that rushes through the speakers. Throughout the album, thelyrics touch on relationships in impressionistic language, neverthrough narrative but rather in brief imagery that affects sensuallywith talk of shooting stars and "heat lightning fingers" like the track'Lost Together.' 'Night For Love,' a country-like homage, finds thesubjects locked in an embrace, giving us glimpses of the passion insuch a scene, where the moon and sky are spectators to "love andaffection," opposing the album's title. The band gets more literal on'Mysteries of the Holiday Camp,' a speedy track that captures theessence of traveling on a tour, especially as it is experienced throughthe eyes of someone who's been off the road for quite some time. 'She'sDriving Fast' eschews the deep sound of the other tracks for a sparse,lilting melody that mostly sits on its own, save the vocals. It nicelycaptures the sentimental air of the track, the feeling of early morningevoked by the thinness and pitch of the music. From there, Consonantdelves into the intense 'Cauldron,' with a surging chug of chords andsqualling guitar lines that are somewhat reminiscent of Burma at theirfiery peak. A climax of cymbals ends the song's quick consumption."Love and Affliction" is the sound of a collection of seasonedprofessionals who are capable of creating passionate, artistic rockmusic that can shake you into an enthusiastic pogo and still find itsway to touching the hearts and minds of the listeners, taking themalong to show them the forms rendered by the words and music. Theband's repitoire is stunningly versatile, cathartic and thoughtful.Intensity, poignancy; these are the elements of Consonant, and thesynthesis of these things is a beautiful expression that befits theirname.samples:
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