object

Quiet. Loud. Quiet. In its original inception, grunge was a breath of fresh air that saved the alternative music genre. Bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana created a scene that was instantly vibrant and accessible. Regrettably, Nirvana’s success coupled with the sugar, slick vapidity of bands like Bush perverted and destroyed the genre. Enter Object, a band who unabashedly embrace the ethic of early grunge and turn it on its ear. With one of the best drummers in rock (no exaggeration) and a singer/guitarist who fills the room within the context of a two-piece, Object takes the torch of grunge and makes it respectable again. TDOA writer Amy delves into their work.

TDOA: You list Salvador Dali and Philip K. Dick among your influences – what about their work influenced your sound?

Eric: Both Salvador Dali and Philip K. Dick had virtuosic skill and mastery of realism while working in extremely abstract, experimental, and surreal ways. They were so far ahead of their time. These are the qualities that made them genius. I can’t say they’ve influenced our sound per se, but they’ve influenced me as a person profoundly. I can only hope to achieve a fraction of their artistry in my lifetime. Now that you mentioned it though maybe I should be concentrating on how their work CAN influence our sound!

TDOA: I feel like I’m listening to Billy Corgan singing Dinosaur Jr. songs. What are your thoughts on this comparison?

E: I don’t think my voice really sounds like either of them, but Billy Corgan and J.Mascis are definitely hugely influential on my guitar sound and songwriting, so that comparison is a great compliment. Thank you!

TDOA: How do you think your sort of alternative sound appeals to the hipster crowd?

E: I don’t think it does. Maybe they’ll catch on someday in a post ironic way.

Maria: I think the ‘hipster’ crowd is actually open to a lot of different kinds of music. They’re excited about live music and they want to be a part of it. I don’t think that we are SO alternative that we alienate them. There are certain unifying factors to the most popular bands in that scene that we don’t exactly have, but as far as raucous energy and loud noisy guitars, I think we fit in just fine. The intention is the same. We just want to write good songs.

TDOA: Maria, there are very few famous female drummers. Who do you count among your influences?

M: I love Meg White. She’s magic. I like her no frills playing because it suits the sound of the band perfectly. I just love her style all around. When she comes on stage, it gives me chills and I love watching her play. I don’t feel like she’s trying to prove anything which is refreshing and both her and Jack are 100% true to the songs. I think she is the most REAL part of the White Stripes…and don’t get me wrong, I love Jack. I think he’s a brilliant songwriter and a brilliant performer, but I think the whole project was his ‘concept,’ complete with tricks and gimmicks. The combination of the two of them is pure gold. I hope they get back together. As for other drumming influences, Jimmy Chamberlain is number one for me. His commitment to drums, music, and lifelong learning is very admirable. He can handle a lot of different styles and he’s always powerful and graceful. He’s a beautiful and strong player.

TDOA: I feel like I’m sitting back in my bedroom in junior high listening to your record. Is the 90s throwback intentional, or just a core component of your sound?

E: It’s not intentional in that we sat down and chose that genre to emulate. But I guess subconsciously it’s impossible to escape. We were incredibly lucky as teenagers to have had the music and culture that we did and it obviously had a major, lasting impact.

M: For some reason that’s just what comes out of us. We listen to a lot of different kinds of music, but maybe it’s the combination of rage and beauty that is characteristic of the “90s sound” that is so in tune with our personalities. I think bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden were able to make great songs that were immensely powerful, dark and beautiful. I suppose that is something that we strive for both intentionally and subconsciously. Honestly, though, I think the music is controlling us a little more than we are controlling it.

TDOA: You describe your sound as “aggressive.” Where does that come from, living in Brooklyn?

E: I don’t think it has to do with living in Brooklyn, although the frustrations of this city can definitely breed aggression. We just enjoy aggressive music. It has to have an edge to cut through my shell of apathy.

M; Yea, I don’t think it’s specifically reactionary to our surroundings. I just like to put a lot of effort into my performance which seems somewhat aggressive to me. I want to be an active player in my life and in my music. It requires some aggression, I think there is an element of violence in rock and roll. It’s impulsive and extreme and allows you to express all kinds - Dumbing Of America

Local duo Object wears its mid-90’s influences on its sleeve, offering crunchy yet soulful alt rock

- TimeoutNY

Object mixes aggressive guitar riffs and powerful, beautifully executed vocal melodies with a chick who plays drums like an octopus (yes that’s a good thing) - Scissor Press

[Object’s] music warrants way more attention than it's been receiving. They are a band that's been fighting the good fight in this scene for years, never failing to rip and rage on stage. They've got a new album chomping at the bit, so here's to hoping that people start recognizing.” - Jasper Coolidge

OBJECT
THE MIRROR WORLD EP
VELCRO KITTY RECORDS
NYC tandem Object may get the obvious comparisons to White Stripes, but aside from the one guy singing and strumming and one girl bashing the kit, this dynamic duo's five-track disc emits a lot more than the obligatory. Demonstrating Jeff Buckley's soul, Kurt Cobain's scream, and Billy Corgan's twisted melodies, tracks like "Fooled" and "Walk Away" have got the '90s alt-rock rage tightly packaged and compressed into memorable nuggets that pop into your head at the most random times. The sleigh-bell effect and fancy fretwork that open up "Open Sores" help this track ring out the loudest. Object has done the most with the least on THE MIRROR WORLD, making a compelling release along the way that rockingly resonates with the ghosts of rock radio's not-so-distant past. -Mike SOS - Skratch Magazine - Mike SOS

Objects energy, especially live, is a most consuming event...


- Andrya Ambro

Object is a band with potential in a unique way: should there ever be a band to remake Nirvanas Bleach album and bring on a grunge revival, Object would be the one- they have that retro, grunge rock sound down pat. Thankfully, theyve gone above and beyond the traditional grunge sound, placing themselves in a unique niche of the genre. - Independent Clauses

Duos have never been as noisy as in this millennium. Before then, the word "duo" used to make you think of Simon and Garfunkel or the Everly Brothers...I guess everything started with The White Stripes. Afterall, when you have a drumkit and a super distorted electric guitar with the amp's volume set at 11, what else do you need to make some good old noise? This Object is a very noisy one and drummer Maria perhaps might be one of the wildest in NYC right now.

- The Deli Magazine

Coed Brooklyn duo Object distills 10 years of American alternative rock into well-paced four-minute anthems of its own: The bass combines Dinosaur's lumbering, distorted pop and Nirvana's snarling angularity. At the surface, though, is a mix of Smashing Pumpkins' interest in the epic and involved, shifts in rhythm and motif running counter but augmenting the spartan simplicity of Object and its obsessions. - North Carolina's Independent Weekly

It’s a little surprising that Object is made up of a pair of young New Yorkers, not refugees from a moderately popular mid-’90s grunge band. The Brooklyn drum-and-guitar act certainly squeezes enough bombast out of its two-pronged lineup to sound like it would fit perfectly at the moment when alt-rock became synonymous with Top 40. Singer-guitarist Eric Kramer’s rasp sometimes recalls Kurt Cobain, and other times it dips down into a throaty, dramatic Chris Cornell intonation, updating the sounds of “Black Hole Sun” for a world waiting to see if the Large Hadron Collider will create one. But on its debut full-length,Black Swan, Object adds enough tweaks to the formula to remind you that: 1) it’s the 21st century; and 2) Pearl Jam will never die.
- Washington Post Citypaper

The dynamic NYC duo known as Object holds their ground and main-
tains their grunge-laden hard rock stance on the tandem’s latest 12-
track excursion BLACK SWAN. Built from a sturdy foundation of tasty riffs
and thunderous drums and cymbals colliding into each other with the
controlled recklessness of the early goings of a demolition derby, cuts
like “Clones” demonstrates the stoner slacker movement championed
by acts like Fu Manchu and “Always” comes off as a Queens of the Stone
Age b-side while “The Feeling” displays a durable array of fuzzed-out fret-
work that summons a totally tripped-out vibe. Channeling icons of ’90s
rock without disabling their own identity (”Ghostly,” “Off the Record”) yet
still able to offer more than a retro sound thanks to the fiery and timeless
hard rock chops showcased, Object combines the wares of The Toadies,
Nirvana, Burning Brides, and Dinosaur Jr. for a rousing listening experience
that those who come to rock shall not be disappointed by.

- Gears Of Rock