Accordion Crimes

Anyone looking for a more sanitized version of pop music would do well to steer clear of the bands on the Siltbreeze label. In the world of lo-fi indie rock, the dirty, distorted aesthetic of Siltbreeze bands like Times New Viking and Psychedelic Horseshit exert a strong influence. And that's clearly the starting point for Accordion Crimes (due at the Larimer Lounge on Saturday, May 16), a three-piece consisting of Bryan Feuchtinger, Bryon Parker and David Sprague, who write the kind of fragmented, highly energetic pop songs that sound like they were conceived and recorded on an old four-track. Although the members of this band could easily have come up with something that sounds like it's in the pocket rather than bursting at the seams, the project is clearly being done for fun and for the sheer joy of playing music that doesn't have to be conventionally melodic.

By Tom Murphy
Published on May 13, 2009 at 9:27am - Tom Murphy, Denver Westword

Before nerds took over the world, they weren't so meek. Watch almost any '80s nerd-centric movie, Revenge of the Nerds included: Some were mild-mannered, but just as many were horny, twisted and even downright aggressive. Denver's nerdy Accordion Crimes — featuring former members of the defunct Hot IQs and the overlooked but still rocking Raleigh — fall squarely in the latter camp. The group's debut EP, A Higher Quality Version of This, bears all the telltale marks of indie rock, the nerd's music of choice. But beyond the jarring, melodic guitars and stuffy-nosed vocals is a streak of frustration and wiry muscle that imbues the disc's five songs with a vicious edge and propels the group into a whole other realm of supreme geekitude. This is real revenge — and it tastes fucking sweet.

by Jason Heller
Published on September 29, 2009 at 1:45pm - Jason Heller, Denver Westword

Accordion Crimes, A Higher Quality Version of This (Self-released). Forget the ex-member status of Accordion Crimes and fixate instead on the fledgling trio's go-for-broke, Archers-of-Loaf-like take on blistering, dynamic songcraft. Indie rock — both as a term and a movement — meant something once. With bands like Accordion Crimes around, it might just mean something again.

by Jason Heller - Jason Heller, Denver Westword

Accordion Crimes began its set with a rousing version of "Planes Over Milwaukee." The third song in was a fairly spot-on cover of "Girl U Want" by Devo. The trio has always been good but there was a great deal more confidence in what its doing for this show. But even that didn't prepare me for the song "Academy."

The gritty bass and drum rhythms had an edgy rawness that sounded like something you might have heard come out of Shellac or Drive Like Jehu. When Bryon Parker came in with the vocals and kicked the emotional tenor of the song up a few notches, I have to admit I haven't seen anything with such a sense of menace and ferocity since the last time I saw Tarmints perform "I Do."

The next song, "Forcast," was even more brutally effective with Parker's vocals slashing through the song. At the end it struck me as the kind of performance that makes you as a musician either want to quit or be inspired to do something that tries to measure up to something that powerful.

by Tom Murphy
Mon., Jan. 18 2010 @ 8:45AM
- Tom Murphy, Denver Westword

Freedom might be another word for nothing left to lose, but it’s also the way some of the most interesting music gets made.
With all three musicians coming out of bands that had ambitious inspirations to some degree, Accordion Crimes — which took its name from an Annie Proulx book — is a trio with decidedly non-commercial aspirations. Their debut EP “A Higher Quality of This” is about as low-fi as a recording can get without being hissing static.
And yet as a result of their “we’re just doing this for fun” approach, it’s easy to see David Sprague (drums), Bryon Parker (guitar and vocals) and Brian Feuchtinger (bass) becoming a big deal in Denver music with their ‘90s inspired take on indie-rock. The songs are there, and the trio puts on an inspired and energetic live show that is usually the highlight of any bill they’re on.
Parker and Sprague started Accordion Crimes after exiting the local outfit Raleigh. The duo asked Feuchtinger, the bassist of the now defunct Hot IQs and operator of Uneven Studio, if he would record a few of their songs. Feuchtinger, a former roommate of Sprague, went one better and asked if he could join the band.
“It was a really natural progression,” said Parker. “It’s a really fun project because they’re no rules and there’s no expectations. We feel like underdogs, but that’s a really good thing to feel like, I think.”

Broken sound?
Accordion Crimes describe their sound as “three friends making music that sounds broken and representative of what we’re influenced by.” To accomplish their goal of sounding broken, Parker sings out of a pair of old headphones, giving the music a naturally distorted and raw vibe.
The trio laughingly acknowledges that they would have been huge 15 years ago, when college-educated guitar indie-rock was at its zenith. But, as Parker points out, it’s better late than never.
“We don’t have any delusions of grandeur,” said Parker. “We just want to make things we really like, and if people like it on the way, that’s great.”

- Gene Davis, Denver Daily News