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Demander - S/T
Demander - S/T / 2005 Triplicate / 5 Tracks / http://www.demandernyc.com / Reviewed 08 August 2005
There is no notification on this digipak that Demander would bew such a hard rocking type of act. In fact, I was expecting something either in the vein of Matchbook Romance or one of the millions of retro-rock bands that have littered the music scape in the last few years. While Demander is not a band that purely goes on the fumes of bands that preceded them, there are a number of influences present on this disc, including but are most definitely not limited to Me First and The Donnas. The slower tempo of "Raise A Glass (Redux)" may just be the perfect vehicle for understanding that the band is not just someone with the punk chops, but rather a nuanced, intense band that can toy around with ever-increasingly intricate compositions. Of note during this track are the simply beautiful building orgasm found later in the track, something that is definitely borne by the drums.
The press sheet for Demander rattles off a listing of bands like Jet and Kings of Leon, but I feel almost as if this sheet is doing Demander an injustice by clearly trying to identify them with bands that might be better known but clearly are of a lesser talent. This EP may only be fifteen minutes, but the density of the music which Demander placed on this disc will allow for the sweet strains of tracks like "Elijah" to be played continuously without losing any of the interest one has for the band. The inclusion of a drum and violin-like bass line to "Elijah" really means that this track has a brooding, dark feel to it. The jangly and loud interludes that are to be found on this track are rendered all the more brilliant by the corresponding darkness.
Unlike many of the bands, regardless of genre, that are out and famous on the music market today, the ever-present and essential bass on each track puts Demander into a plateau all their own. There is no note of weakness to be found on this EP, and that means there is no cause for concern that the bands first full length will not live up to the high expectations one draws after listening to this disc. Strong mastering does not make this disc, but really allows the above-average (nay, impressive) instrumentation and arrangement of Demander to shine through as clear as day.
Top Track: Elijah
Rating: 8.8/10 - neufutur.com
Sivan Harlap and Karen Correa form the relentless rhythmic backbone of Demander, which seems to get better each time we see it. The dynamic outfit dazzles with angular off-time rock songs in the vein of Sleater-Kinney, which are publicly poppy but secretly proggy. -Time Out New York, May 2005
- Time Out New York
Plump, bristling prog-punk bass lines over in-your-face tribal drums and lovely alterna-pop vocals. - Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine, July/August - Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine
Local power-punk-rock trio Demander also played that night and were so intense, Sivan broke her snare drum! I'd only seen these guys as a duo before, but thought that the addition of the guitar completed the sound they're going for. - melodynelson.com, May 2005 - melodynelson.com
June 7, 2005
Spunky New York trio Demander will have to beat off Yeah Yeah Yeahs comparisons with a stick, and not just due to geographic proximity. Lead singer Karen Kanan Corrêa is reminiscent in stage presence and timbre of Karen O. Corrêa's a bit less twitchy live, perhaps because she's got a bass slung around her neck. Where the YYYs have the geek-chic of Brian Chase behind the drum set, Demander has Sivan Harlap, a hard rockin' girl. In guitarist Jared Scott, Demander has a solid back up to Corrêa, just as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner compliments Karen O.
But Demander manages to pave its own way. The band's songs are fairly straightforward hard rock, and like the Breeders, Demander structures its songs around innovative bass work from Corrêa. Their lyrics recall Tracy Bonham's thankless daughter routine in the mid-90s, especially on "Wicked World." Corrêa sings, "For sometime now / I've called you / My mother would / She would not approve." Corrêa's voice is somewhere between Kim Deal and Beth from the Gossip.
Corrêa and Harlap have been playing together in some incarnation since the early '00s. They started out as part of a band called the Hissyfits, playing with acts like the Killers before disbanding in 2003. After playing with an act called Beauty Supply, the duo segued into Demander, becoming a trio along the way with the addition of Scott. Demander plans to release its first album sometime this summer. - spin.com
Discography
Demander 2004 ep
(SOLD OUT)
Spring Forward; Fall Back
Wicked World
Something More
Raise A Glass
Lovelife
Self-titled 2005 ep
Release date: July 2005
Elijah
samthurman
Wicked World
Raise A Glass (re-mix)
Porte Cochere
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
It is the fiery combination of the blood of teenage boys, the spit of running bulls and a brave heralding of the post-sexy musical age that makes it click. No two songs are alike and each part of this trio has a distinctive voice in the collective melee. From the bam-ba-lam in the back to the heady attack along the front line it is a brave display of bad weather. Expect a new EP in July 2005.
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Karen Kanan Corrêa and Sivan Harlap met in 2001 as the violist and drummer, respectively, for NYC's widely-lauded Hissyfits. As part of the Hissyfits redux, they recorded extensively, played SXSW, CMJ and countless shows locally and nationally with acts ranging from Jet to Nancy Sinatra and internationally with The Killers and The A.M. (featuring some of the late Jeff Buckley's bandmates) among many others. The two musicians became close friends and musical allies.
During 2003, the two did a stint in a little-known but explosive band called The Beauty Supply. Karen was looking for somewhere to play bass and Sivan eventually signed on completing the trio. The brightly burning and short-lived group drew comparisons to a gender-switched Yeah Yeah Yeahs (a yelping male front man backed by two phenomenal female musicians) and even opened for the infamous Libertines at a little club in Brooklyn. The nascent Demander honed its skills and became an impenetrable rhythm section.
After the demise of both acts, the duo took up the reigns of a new project under the name Demander. With whipstitch guitar playing gilding their first recording, their songs wind their way up and down the backbone of Sivan's prodigious drum riffs and along the darkling ladder of Karen's bass lines and vocals. It is a nudging attack that is both fierce and inviting. The trio, rounded out by the addition of acme guitarist Jared Scott in November 2004, will be releasing a new EP in July 2005.
For sound clips of new songs, live video and more! www.demandernyc.com
www.spin.com/features/band_of_the_day/2005/06/06062005_demander
Beijos y abracos y Viva Demanda!
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