Superlow

L’Avventura / Distinguished Members / Superlow / the Acrobrats
The Middle East Upstairs
Cambridge, MA
January 4, 2006

New Year’s resolutions to rock out in various aspects of life were heeded during this night of music at the start of 2006. First up were the ever-cheeky, fast-and-hard-rocking Acrobrats. Featuring guitarist and lead singer Chris Wissmuller trading vocals with their guitarist, the band’s frenetic pace exuded a no-nonsense, up-close-and-personal attitude that kept them charging through their set. The band was clearly enjoying themselves and definitely had a playful side as they cranked out sweet-sounding hooks on most of the selections. The vocals and catchy guitar riffs made for a combination that would win over most pop-punk fans, while the sincerity and strength of the guitar lines would satisfy the more hard-core punk faithful.

Next was Superlow, a trio thatapparently goes by the “less is more” mantra. They rocked hard in high-power mode and let fly with the most decibels-per-member during the night. From the start, lead singer and guitarist Ed Thill proved his mettle with stage presence and showmanship while intoning lyrics and soloing on guitar. The band’s driving sound propelled them into the heart of their material, through highlights “Weird” and “Lie.” On these, the members managed some good harmonies, thanks to the backing vocals of steady and emphatic bassist Pete Abajoli, while keeping things heavy, thanks to the relentless drumming of Ed’s twin, Mark Thill. Hard-rockin’ times continued with “Like Heroin,” and another more pared-down song seemed to channel the Pixies at their power-alternative, hard-nosed, and lyrically-interesting best.


Following them were another trio — the Distinguished Members. Starting off with their “No Time to Bleed,” they launched into songs that incorporated a good deal of fervent guitar soloing by lead guitarist and singer Glen Fant. A solid and powerful rhythm section used their volume and density to contribute to the group’s hard-rock tone. Some softer, arpeggiated sections and chords drifted into the set, drawing Smashing Pumpkins comparisons. They have a hard edge somewhat akin to Foo Fighters, sharing that band’s ability to craft interesting melodies and work with smaller, contrasting sound at opportune moments. They ended with a dynamic hard-rock ballad, starting soft and finishing up in rockin’ and rollicking style.

The last group to perform was L’Avventura, featuring only two members and fronted by keyboardist, guitarist, and singer Marty Mattern. He donned a hooded sweater made of white down feathers. Before playing, he noted that the group’s drummer had recently made the trip up from the Carolinas. With this nod to the rear of the stage, Mattern explained that their name meant “the adventure,” was spelled with two v’s, and announced that “We’re about to take you on a bit of a journey.” Through the first three songs, simple, elegant melodies, ethereal keyboarding, and high-arcing vocals were apparent, as Mattern went from guitar to keyboard and back to guitar. He then went on to play a song about an infamous, morbid friend; it fell more clearly into a rock sound, with a haunting, slow, solid groove. Throughout the set, L’Avventura was set apart by Mattern’s tiptoeing tenor, reaching up to the higher points on the vocal register. He finished with “Shapeless,” assuring the crowd before he plunged into it that they still had shape from his vantage point on stage and that he very much appreciated still seeing them out there. The finale shifted tempo, taking on an Air-y quality, and had a rock sensibility through its significant backbeat. The journey was edifying and overall the night’s groups did a good job of reminding you what rocking out really means.

-Review by Andrew Palmacci; photo by Jessica Lee
- The Northeast Perfomer

GOING OUT HEAVY
Barebonz Entertainment
As teenagers growing up in Milton, the twin Thill brothers -- drummer Mark and singer-guitarist Ed -- bonded with bass-playing pal Pete Abajoli and formed Superlow, a trio with the good sense to soak up the rock stylings seeping into the suburbs from Boston. This debut shows the trio took the best the local and national scene had to offer in the '90s and incorporated it into their muscular pop sound. The opening track, ''T-Bird," starts with a guitar groove that marries the brawn of Urge Overkill with the accessibility of Foo Fighters. ''Second Floor" rides a chugging riff straight into an infectious melody, assisted by a radio-friendly guitar solo, while ''Lie" slows the tempo but is no less urgent in its propulsive drumming. ''Pretty" begins as a bouncy ditty that recalls the Gravel Pit, before vocals give way to a guitar frenzy. The heartbreaking one-two punch of ''Rich Man" and ''Falling," each delivered with a measured force, proves that the members of Superlow can wear their hearts on their sleeves and still hide a trick or two beneath.
TOM KIELTY - The Boston Globe

Pits and pendulums
Cave In return, Superlow blast off, and Frank Smith swing
BY SARAH TOMLINSON
------------------------------------------------------------------------


"I wonder if there’s going to be a circle pit," someone joked as an expectant crowd braved a sweaty Great Scott last Monday night for Cave In’s first home-town show in nine months. There was a pit, all right, amid a swaying mass of delirious fans who shouted playful jabs and requests at the band with the easy camaraderie of kids at a basement show. One fan got so aggro that Honeypump promoter Ben Sisto stepped in to settle him down. But the excitement was warranted: the presence of Converge’s Ben Koller on drums had local musicians and fans salivating in advance. And his substitution for injured Cave In drummer J.R. Conners powered a revitalization that suggested this could be the band’s time, even more so than when they got signed to RCA a few years back. Guitarist Adam McGrath headbanged from the first note, guitarist/vocalist Stephen Brodsky windmilled a guitar so damp it appeared to be sweating, and bassist Caleb Scofield unleashed hounds-of-Hell screams under Brodsky’s high notes. Scofield made enough false starts on one new song for a fan to joke, "That’s my new cell-phone ring." But yes, the band have new songs: though Hydra Head isn’t releasing their "new" Perfect Pitch Black till September, they unveiled two songs written even more recently. The week before the show, Hydra Head’s Mark Thompson had said the band were writing another album with Koller and that Koller would join them for a fall tour. At Great Scott, McGrath revealed that the band have been practicing and writing obsessively for three weeks. And it showed. The new "Rastanaut" lightened the primordial space rock with a hint of dub while remaining taut and torrential. McGrath apologized for not having learned more material: "I promise, next time we’ll know more." But the audience left too heat-stroked and happy to care.

There wasn’t any kind of pit for the local hard-rock trio Superlow on Wednesday night, but there were plenty of people playing air drums. "You guys must be sick of these songs," laughed guitarist/vocalist Ed Thill to an audience who’d made it to the Paradise Lounge to celebrate the release of the group’s Going Out Heavy. The room included a few proud parents and enough Abbey Lounge regulars to suggest the Somerville dive had been transported across the river — especially on a night rounded out by the Dents. Superlow might be the least jaded band in Boston, and they blasted through a set of straightforward, high-energy rock and roll with bright, jangly riffs, a blast-force rhythm section anchored by Ed’s twin brother, Mark, on drums, and vocals that recall Kurt Cobain, as much in their earnestness as in their vocal timbre.

Earnest, countrified rock suits Aaron Sinclair. At the CD-release show for his band Frank Smith’s new album, Think Farm, at the Middle East upstairs Saturday, the singer-songwriter looked serious and dapper in a white shirt and black tie as he shaded indie rock with a melancholy twang, a match he’s perfected between gigs as the drummer for local art-rockers the Lot Six. Sinclair’s new material has a heavier, electronic edge, but it blended well with the band’s early Dust Bowl alt-rock sound, thanks to his Texas drawl and the jagged waves of electric guitar thrown down by Eyes like Knives’ Scott Toomey. The six-piece line-up fleshed out the songs with old-time banjo and luminous keyboards as they moved from nostalgia-laced ballads to rollicking rockers, and from sin to sincerity.

Sarah Tomlinson | stomlins@mindspring.com


- The Boston Phoenix

MUSIC

The Men of Superlow who started playing together as high scholl kids in Milton, say on their website that their music is the sound of smoking after school, working dead-end jobs, and trying to get attention from pretty girls. Judging from audio clips , those things sound a bit like the Foo Fighters. On its latest release "Going Out Heavy", the trio channels Dave Grohl and Company.

Catch the men at the Middle East Upstairs tonight at 9 with Distinguished Members and The Acrobrats. Tickets:
$10
MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS
472 Massachusetts Ave.,
Cambridge, 617-864-3278
www.mideastclub.com - The Boston Globe (Sidekick)

SUPERLOW
BareBonz Records
Going Out Heavy
10 songs

Whip-saw sharp and snappy, Superlow epitomizes the ’90s approach to rock and its post-grunge aftermath. One might grouse that’s there’s only so far you can go with this approach anymore, but as far as I’m concerned, if you’re tired of kickass rawk you’re probably tired of life, and bad cess to you. Okay, so you’re sitting at home and listening to this and maybe it’s not reaching you in quite the way it should, but you have to keep in mind that in the process from live to studio, the signal-to-noise ratio gets watered down and turns flaccid, and the hardest sound in the world can be digitized to death. But does anyone still expect a record to reproduce the live experience? With a band like this, isn’t a recording useful mostly to give us some idea of their repertoire? Does listening to, say, Slanted and Enchanted even approach what Pavement was able to do onstage? What Superlow fails to put across on the recording can be readily supplied once you’ve gone to see them live. And you should probably do that pretty soon. Because bands this sharp don’t stick around forever. (Francis DiMenno)
- The Noise

THE BRETT ROSENBERG PROBLEM, MAX HEINEGG, SUPERLOW
Great Scott
10/7/04

At first, it seems weird that Superlow is singing about heroin because they look pretty straight laced. However, coming back from a cigarette, I see that the singer has unrobed and is covered with tattoos! Such commitment demands respect when your style is badass. And Superlow is certainly badass. More impressive is their ability to harmonize so well and keep it that way. It gets me thinking though... I almost feel bad for bands that are particularly tight. Not Radiohead, but bands in bars. When this is the case, it seems like the band spends more time at Guitar Center than writing while hung over in the garage. With Superlow, I can almost say this is the case. However, their songs are already pretty damn good---catchy riffs and melodies, and perfect for slamming cheap beer. I just feel like the show could be more fun if they would go crazier and play a bit sloppier. That would certainly suit them much better.

I missed out on the High Ceilings, but they must have had some clout around town because it seems that Max Heinegg has quite a draw. Along with this, he is backed by some of Boston's finest musicians from bands like The Sheila Divine, The Good North, and The Gasolines. With this in mind, it isn't surprising that the band sounds great. The tunes themselves are a refreshing break from the element of fashion and tartness found in indie rock these days, emotional but certainly not emo. They are also sincere and powerful. Unfortunately, such tunes aren't done their proper justice when seen swilling Pabst in a bar. These songs are meant for larger rooms where everyone knows the words, although the crowd would certainly know better than to raise their lighters.

I'm excited to catch Brett Rosenberg; I'd heard good things about him and he seemed like an essential part of one's Boston rock education. I am not disappointed. While I would say that he is a songwriter first and a performer second, I'm sure that he'd be okay with that. Although hearing these tunes for the first time, it's clear that this guy knows what he's doing. I'm certainly not saying he's a stiff either; the whole band is clearly having a blast up there and cracking jokes. The only thing I'm not sure of is the rock facial expressions made during the guitar solos. I can't tell if Rosenberg is kidding around or not, but because he plays them so well, I don't think he is. One can only get away with that kind of stuff if it's clear they have no idea what they're doing. All in all however, I would go as far as to say that has lived up to the hype. (Fillmore Slim)
- The Noise

03 November 2005


Superlow, Going Out Heavy (Barebonz) Rating: 6
Boston's punk-flavored power trio Superlow is about as discreet as a wrecking ball. On its full-length debut Going Out Heavy, the band's not so much inspired as it is instigated, ripping through ten songs in a rash 33 minutes. Discussing the album at length is like analyzing a brass-knuckled punch in slow motion: a humming wall of amplifiers, brusque, unpretentious songs, and a rhythm section that intimidates like a flexed bicep define the band's raging, street-tough rock. Going Out Heavy is terse, tight, occasionally anonymous, and often electrifying hard rock. And even though it sports the tough guy image, Superlow is surprisingly in touch with more delicate sensitivities: "Have you ever seen a grown man cry?" goes the opening hook to "Wasted Life". Going Out Heavy can't actually show us, but if we trust its aural approximation, it must look like a detonation sounds. [Amazon]
— Zeth Lundy - Pop Matters