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The best kept secret in music
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Low fi-skater punk cock rawk. At a bargain basement/ garage sale price. A five finger discount of worthy Stooges, Clash & Pixies influences. Lead singer's putting forward his very best Joe Strummer. I wonder if he gargles with drano. Wake Up is a catchy opener (the chorus sweetly reminscent of U2's hello, hello's from Vertigo). I'd love to hear them do a Stevie Nicks cover someday. Now U2 can clash with pixies in a mosh pit of your own demise. - CDBaby.com Paul Layton
haVeBlue
Sin-e
June 11
Download: "DES"
Given that haVeBlue's lead singer talks about the Red Hot Chili Peppers pretty much non-stop when we're at work, no surprise his band sounds something like them. Early RHCP abstracted Go4 punkfunk into something less punk more funk, less brittle more radio-ready, and I see haVeBlue as something of a further, grungier abstraction. Song sections come very pronounced, and the choruses come big and dumb and big and massively FX'd, nothing too hooky, the force in the kinds of sounds pumped out, the confidence of the playing, etc. Strikes me as very 90s altrock, in the most unspecific sense.
Etc etc etc.
Really I'm more interested in indie-by-default bands like this because they seem to exist almost completely outside the critical dialogue surrounding new music, the current barometers for success, the nature of hype. From talking with two of the haVeBlues: They've never heard of Pitchfork, don't know who Christgau is, think most people haven't heard Tool. The last thing's probably true but still. They care about new music obviously because they're making it, but so much of this game is right place right time right sound, so you need to know what's out there. Most times that's more interesting than the music, that's what I think, prove me wrong.
Anyway I don't think haVeBlue really care about those things, hence a sound that most people might consider dated. Not sure how I feel about that exactly, whose loss that is or whatever, but I do think it's the listeners considering how full-on balls-out and so on haVeBlue played last night, to just a few people but nonetheless. I can't find the song on myspace but I think it's called "Halt!" which got me thinking about the Clash. So many bands have tried to do something like a "London Calling" (the song), confident but silly-dramatic but not Weird Al silly-dramatic (so the album too I guess), and I thought these guys came close when they started the tune by explaining, simply, "This is not a Police song."
- Nick Sylvester, http://riffmarket.com/
Discography
The RED EP
http://www.myspace.com/havebluenyc
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The name Have Blue seems to have no specific meaning, probably having been chosen at random from an approved list of secret project names. Shortly after the Have Blue contract was set, the project was transferred and became highly "black", with all information about it being highly classified and restricted to those with a need to know. Channeling sonic mixes ranging from the Pixies, Joy Division, The Clash, and Gang of Four, haVeBlue have created a pink noise symphony of a chow Spitz eating your mother's poodle as car horns wail in the background. Always looking for new textures all members play multiple instruments and are always looking to add new and promising sounds. Their music is ever changing and spans the genres like the ice ages, from rock to garage, to dub, to country. We are anything but tongue in cheek.
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