Low-Beam

Having liked this distinctive New London, CT foursome's six-song mini LP, Fashionable Driving Songs, It's pleasant to see there is more on this two-song CD (or 7") teaser. Their commendable qualities remain: the enchanting boy/girl singing (guitarist CJ Stankewich and keyboardist Jaimee Weatherbee), combining together into one unique dual-voice; the dreamy Velvets undercurrent that bubbles through the burbling bass; the dreampop hints of Slowdive, whose vocals sounded like this 12 years ago, before their big buildups; the mysterious feel as they sing catchy choruses that insist that "I know where the time goes"; then the doubling of the trailout guitar on "Dread". the more they release, the more I'm convinced they're the most valuable thing to come out of the town since the Reducers, and maybe the most interesting subconscious rock band the state has produced since October Days 20 years ago. Enough teasing, please! We want an LP!

Jack Rabid - the Big Takeover

In a sleepy burg of the woody east lies a valley full of musical pioneers. Amongst the panoply of rock, garage, punk and jazz groups in their scene, Low-Beam is the clear and present leader of the pack. Following in the quarter century footfalls of past Mystic/New London, Connecticut scene luminaries like the Reducers, 17 relics, Lotus, Seratonin and Portersville, Low-Beam have dedicated their brief career to reaching the masses beyond the cult of rabid followers in their dreamy little hamlet. The release of their second EP, Every Other Moment demonstrates how significant geography is in the sound of this band. With both New York and Boston just a night drive away, Low-Beam seamlessly embodies the sounds of the '80s college rock intelligentsia to the north, and the Bowery art-punk that have prevailed in Gotham to the south for the past three decades. Just to prove that they are indeed forging a New England, Low-Beam also incorporate drone, psychedelic and trance elements borrowed in liberal doses and imported from the merry mother country. The distillation of these disparate elements combine to form the ever-expanding core of Low-Beam's delicate, yet brutal, hazy wall of sound.

Case in point is the opener "Stratosphere". Incorporating a rhythm section hell-bent on a crack impression of mid-'80s New Order coupled with a reverb drenched guitar and keys straight off of the Band's Music from Big Pink is no small feat. Somehow team Beam finds the gusto to do so, and do it without sounding entirely like a failed live band version of a DJ mash-up. While "Stratosphere" isn't the finest track in this collection, it is a suitable example of the ability of the group to engage and skillfully combine a fragmented group of musical ideas into a more cohesive whole.

The project picks up considerably with sun spun up-tempo rocker "Airstream". Losing the reverb in favor of a bit more crunch, guitarist and lead vocalist CJ Stankewich hurtles his group into a void of pop bliss. The confection is made all the sweeter with the addition of his belle Jaimee Weatherbee providing a soothing tonic with joint lead vocals. "Airstream" captures the dedication of Low-Beam to a pop songwriting sensibility perfectly paired with the wonder of vocal harmony in the vein of past post-lounge and drones all-stars like Stereolab.

Demonstrating a fondness for the sounds of their past musical incarnations, "Rocky Point" is an homage to the pulsing dub electrockica of drummer Rich Freitas' mid-'90s band Delta of Venus. Although Stankewich is no match on the mic for Venus frontman Tarbox, "Rocky Point" still is able to reveal a new dimension of drug-induced hysteria behind the fever-pitch fills of Freitas, which capture a new flavor to add to the Low-Beam oeuvre.

Weatherbee moves to lead vocal duties on the gentle acoustic anti-ballad "Tourmaline". There is a clear lineage exposed here, linking the Beams to indie classics like Helium's Dirt of Luck, Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See and left coast studio songsmith Mirah's moody Advisory Committee. Through a collective of dynamic, yet subtle performances, "Tourmaline" is able to achieve a winning and emotive result without sacrificing one of Low-Beam's strengths, the intrinsic power of their interplay as musicians.

Every band worth their salt has a devastating crowd pleaser in their arsenal and Low-Beam is no exception. The jubilant "Tuffy Rhodes" finds bassist Rich Martin trading in his Peter Hook inspired licks in favor of a more steady hand that recalls the playing of Naomi Yang. Stankewich and Freitas quickly fall into step and the outcome is a track that wouldn't be out of place on Galaxie 500's swansong, This Is Our Music. A symphony of ringing guitars, frenetic tom heavy drumming and pleasant male/female vocals, "Tuffy Rhodes" is the first classic track in the Low-Beam catalogue.

The EP concludes with a cover of, former Spacemen 3 and current Spiritualized leader, Jason Pierce's "All of My Tears (so hot)". While the track is well performed and produced this is nothing more than a carbon copy of the original Pierce studio recording. There is little to suggest the personality of Low-Beam has been invested into the fabric of this song. In order for a young band to close an EP with a cover, there must be a certain vitality that the band impresses upon the track itself. An excellent example of this would be TV on the Radio's brilliant acappella rendition of the Pixies' "Mr. Grieves" from their debut EP, which was a stirring new twist on a beloved song. Instead of following the chosen route, Low-Beam would have better served to include another stirring original rather than a mimeograph of a Pierce favorite. It is sad to end a promising collection of songs with a cover that would have been better left behind.

Given the indisputable fact that the music world is overpopulated with pretenders and hacks there is no question that we need more legitimate contenders like Low-Beam. - www.popmatters.com

Reviewer -Wally Cassotto

Lazy indie rock songs get easily lumped under the great post-Galaxie 500 umbrella, and covering a Spiritualized song at the end of your EP is no way to escape such handles. But for the New London quartet Low Beam, the groove they ride is so comfortable and easy to slip into that's it pretty damn tough to slight them for any sonic lineage. The fact that they fit so well in the mold is a testament to the quality of this band. Low Beam excites things without ever jacking the tempo or applying any other trickery. Keyboardist Jamie Weatherbee provides great vocals for CJ Stankewich to bounce his voice off of (especially in the duet “Airstream”) but her keyboard playing is more full of simple textural organ lines than electronic twiddling. As end of the Summer music, Every Other Moment succeeds on all levels casting its slow drawl over the songs. The odd compressions and studio effects that the band applies to the recording make the echoes of the earlier eras highlighted even more. The rhythm section of Rich Martin and Rich Freitas keep the mood of the record churning through so that it's easy to slip into the mindset of Low Beam without having to indulge in copious amounts of cough syrup to appreciate their sound. The accordion that breaks the proceedings at the beginning of “Tournaline” only serves to downshift things further as the band slips into a languid number that features Weatherbee's voice standing alone and vulnerable beneath the sounds until a doubletrack is added for the second verse. It's only when the electric guitar kicks in for the last couple minutes of the track that the simmering explodes and the tension that was created ignites. And then it falls into the positively bubbly “Tuffy Rhodes” that sounds like a song unearthed from some Harriet Records 7” that's been marked down too many times to count at your local record store (could it really have been there for 10 years?). (Cosmodemonic Telegraph) - Performer

Though not as immediately impressive as their breakthrough "Airstream" 7" (our #39 pick last issue) or, to a lesser extent, their first EP 'Fashionable Driving Songs', this New London, CT quartet retain their swirling, impressionistic pop agility on their new six-songer. Both the returning "Airstream" and the opening "Stratosphere" are like chiseled artifacts off The Chills 'Lost' EP (even the cover of Spiritualized's 'Pure Phase' song, "All of My Tears", seems more in this vein), the chiming organs and delicate guitars stirring up a placid tempest of soft psychedelia. At times they even broaden into modern, bombastic New Order-meets-shoegaze, only fed as much by the resounding organs, like on the best new song here,"Rocky Point", as by the gyrating guitars. Guitarist CJ Stankewich's and keyboardist Jaimee Weatherbee's vocals seem a little too loose this time around, a little too off- the-cuff, though that somehow fits with the equally loose music. At the moment, they're working on a debut LP with the effective Michael Deming for Fall release, and here's to betting he'll get the best out of them. If they have twelve more like "Airstream" and "Rocky Point" we should be licking our chops.

by Jack Rabid - the Big Takeover

Though not as immediately impressive as their breakthrough "Airstream" 7" (our #39 pick last issue) or, to a lesser extent, their first EP 'Fashionable Driving Songs', this New London, CT quartet retain their swirling, impressionistic pop agility on their new six-songer. Both the returning "Airstream" and the opening "Stratosphere" are like chiseled artifacts off The Chills 'Lost' EP (even the cover of Spiritualized's 'Pure Phase' song, "All of My Tears", seems more in this vein), the chiming organs and delicate guitars stirring up a placid tempest of soft psychedelia. At times they even broaden into modern, bombastic New Order-meets-shoegaze, only fed as much by the resounding organs, like on the best new song here,"Rocky Point", as by the gyrating guitars. Guitarist CJ Stankewich's and keyboardist Jaimee Weatherbee's vocals seem a little too loose this time around, a little too off- the-cuff, though that somehow fits with the equally loose music. At the moment, they're working on a debut LP with the effective Michael Deming for Fall release, and here's to betting he'll get the best out of them. If they have twelve more like "Airstream" and "Rocky Point" we should be licking our chops. - www.fingertipsmusic.com

This is Low Beam's third, or is it the fourth, release that they have created. I do remember how there was a 7” in there somewhere, and boy how I love 7”s. Whatever the discography count they are up to, “Every Other Moment” is a superb development from this CT based foursome. Springing from an early shoegaze background, Low Beam has drifted into new directions on this LP. “Tuffy Rhodes” has to be the best with its psychedelic organs that create a huge hazy sound that sinks instantly in my favor. But then “All of My Tears” caters to my love of Spiritualized and early The Flaming Lips records. “Every Other Moment” is a terrific direction for Low Beam to travel in. - www.crashinin.com

Singing about '72 four-doors and riding at night in cars with the windows down, Low Beam introduces in their very first song the influences that'll haunt them for the length of this album -- and let's face it, probably their entire career. They're focused on the night, bittersweet romance and wryly literate ideas; they've been called Joy Division on antidepressants, though I'd describe them as more of a cross between Cinerama, VU and the Sundays. That still probably doesn't rate them high enough out of the doldrums, but the kernel of the idea is there. Shoe-gaze mixed with post-punk is a faster shorthand, and dang, they've got the genre nailed down tight: "You're angry 'cos I'm angry 'cos you're angry, but that's what I'm for", they mumble sweetly together in "Angry", as the guitars speed up and growl, and the drummer taps time like jangly bells on the high hat. The whole track list is tight, with no song particularly repetitious but all of them necessarily similar enough that you're never jarred by their juxtapositions.

Hopefully Low Beam will keep going long enough to make this self-released disc a collector's item. Fashionable Driving Songs is worth going the distance.

by Jenn Sikes - www.splendidezine.com

Revealing the true definition of "sub-pop": mellow vibrations that maintain easy momentum below the usual fast paced bubbling of top forty hits; Low-Beam stays true to their laid back name. They are as sublime as Yo La Tengo, with a sense of melancholy on the road to happiness like Joy Division on anti-depressants. Their debut release, ‘Fashionable Driving Songs’, is filled with edible, streamline melodies, and clean male and female harmonies that travel across the shades of love, and the moods of human emotion. Jaimee’s and CJ’s vocals on “Low Beaming” sound like they were recorded while the two were eating honey sticks on a Ferris wheel in June. “Angry” builds beneath heavy bass that slowly gains momentum and increases in volume, but seems as angry as a soft pillow. “AWOL” deals with a little bit more vinegar through increased guitar work, while "Roses"dances through an empty ballroom of minimal lo-fi luxury and layered dream like vocals. ‘Fashionable Driving Songs’ is a crisp, and calm record without complicated changes, or hesitation to keep you feeling relaxed.

by Jenn Dauphinais - State Street Primer

I listened to Low-Beam's CD four times today. The first time, it sounded a bit trendy and derivative, albeit genuine. The second time, it sounded like a respectful toast to the Velvet Underground (somewhere between White Light White Heat and Loaded), and I have no problem with that. The third time, I realized how in-synch the four musicians are--a generous and truly collaborative humming throb of keyboards, drums, bass and guitar and two different lead voices. Fourth time, I really heard the lyrics--fascinating anxious observations on the languishes of love and the limitations of humanity: "So glad you have run away/With your cigarettes and a magazine/Your room is your new foxhole/Pull your helmet down." Low-Beam doesn't drone, doesn't mope, doesn't grind, but speaks like bands that do. Low-Beam is sweet and clean in a strange way, amiable in its confusion and despair. If you were at the Ideat Village outdoor festival in June, you know Low-Beam is intriguing rather than dour onstage. The band's native New London knows it better--for now.

by Christopher Arnott - New Haven Advocate

Destiny wanted that, to illuminate the last, grey remnant of 2002, the cd of an American quartet (of New London, CT, to be precise) that answers to the name of Low-Beam ended in my box of letters. It follows that I did not lose time and introduced immediately the cd to my reader and what came of it, for the delight of my ears and of my heart, was a very delicate sound, emotionally deep (in order to not say stinging) and bringing together a spacious range of sources of inspiration.



The six songs that compose this cd offer dreampop-oriented melodies, always halfway between serenity and sadness, light and darkness, dawn and twilight. The spirit interweaves the lyricism of the Mazzy Star, innocent verse escape with the ethereal desire of Slowdive, the sublime and restless melancholy of Yo La Tango and the deep and dark indisposition of the Joy Division. Everything is supported with the rhythmic section, ever exuberant and combined with sobrietà, without spigolosità, neither sudden variations of the subject, with a polished approach to low fedeltà that contributes a time that gives the sound of the Low-Beam an actual precise connotazione, simple in presence of many points of reference.



The onnipresent, sweet vocal duet of the tastierista Jaimee Weatherbee and of the chitarrista Charles James, instills tenderness and reasonates in their ability to alternate and to accompany each other in the moment, exploring with simplicity and holding itself to the wide-open from common places, afraid for love and the emotions in the With their use of keyboard and their interchange of male and female vocals, Low-Beam called to mind the propulsive minimalism of Stereolab or Neu!. But there was also an angularity to the music, and a manner of building and layering, which reconstructed the band's simple refrains into something more textured and hypnotic. There is an urgency to Low-Beam's music that underlies the vocal harmony.

Low-Beam songs start with a note or a melody, which is repeated like a chant. The melody, whether initiated by Rich Martin's bass or Jaimee Weatherbee's keyboards, is then combined with Rich Freitas' drums and C. J. Stankewich's guitar so that the melody breaks like a knuckleball, curving but somehow suspended in air. - New London Day

Singing about '72 four-doors and riding at night in cars with the windows down, Low Beam introduces in their very first song the influences that'll haunt them for the length of this album -- and let's face it, probably their entire career. They're focused on the night, bittersweet romance and wryly literate ideas; they've been called Joy Division on antidepressants, though I'd describe them as more of a cross between Cinerama, VU and the Sundays. That still probably doesn't rate them high enough out of the doldrums, but the kernel of the idea is there. Shoe-gaze mixed with post-punk is a faster shorthand, and dang, they've got the genre nailed down tight: "You're angry 'cos I'm angry 'cos you're angry, but that's what I'm for", they mumble sweetly together in "Angry", as the guitars speed up and growl, and the drummer taps time like jangly bells on the high hat. The whole track list is tight, with no song particularly repetitious but all of them necessarily similar enough that you're never jarred by their juxtapositions.

Hopefully Low Beam will keep going long enough to make this self-released disc a collector's item. Fashionable Driving Songs is worth going the distance.

by Jenn Sikes - www.splendidezine.com