The Quarter After
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The Quarter After

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"The Debut Album: The Quarter After"

QUARTER AFTER The Quarter After (Bird Song)

This is another combo that likes to indulge themselves a bit, with tracks that clock in at seven, nine and twelve minutes and only four out of ten at under four. Which is probably why, along with the its battery of efx, a mutual friend out west was surprised when I told him I liked this album. Led by the brothers Campanella, Robert and Dominic, with a rhythm section of David Koenig (bass) and Nelson Bragg (drums), all of them seem to have been intimately involved in the internecine L.A., fringe Pop-Rock scene of recent years (from various Rademaker brothers’ projects to Stew to Brian Jonestown Massacree to any number of I.P.O. type bands).

The sound is decidedly Byrdsian, with various chiming guitars amongst the efx, the Campanellas’ airy and dulcet voices, a seeming amalgamation of Clark, Crosby and McGuinn both individually and in harmony -- mucho harmonies -- and the lilting melodies. In the leadoff cut, the peppy "So Far To Fall," you can even spot flecks of "Why" winking in the distance. At least that is all true for most of the putative Side 1. On through the wah-wah/vibrato guitar driven "Your Side Is Mine," the bongo touched "Always Returning" with its rotating singular vocal and harmonized verses and its call-and-response constructed choruses, the mid-tempo lament "A Parting" featuring a trio of female backing vocalists and a keening lead guitar, and the first three minutes of the gauzy, alternating charging and delicate "Too Much To Think About" (after which, for the remaining nine, or so, minutes it concentrates on groove, sound and mood with the help of Mr. Massacree himself, Anton Newcombe, tinkering around with an Echoplex and snatches of whispers courtesy of Campanella père). Up to that point they’re all coruscating nuggets, semi-familiar and enchanting.

For most of the remaining that deflection does battle with their interest in melody. "Know Me When I’m Gone" is an elongated, rolling number, strewn with a liquid guitar. "Taken" is a brisk rocker whose first three minutes, along with the preceding, ringing "One Trip Later," melds in the intermediary point of Chronic Town era R.E.M., but for the next five, or so, minutes goes on a runout at varying tempos and densities, before finding the song again for the closing minute. Back a bit there is the atypical "Mirror To You" with it’s close harmony singing, acoustic guitar, understated pedal steel (courtesy of All Night Radio’s Dave Scher) and cantering, Countryish rhythm. The record ends where it started with the succulent, overt Byrdsian "Everything Again."
- http://www.thebobmagazine.com/Thebobjr6.htm


"The Quarter After-Changes Near"

Track Listing:
01. Sanctuary
02. She Revolves
03. Counting the Score
04. See How Good It Feels
05. Early Morning Rider
06. Nothing Out of Something
07. Changes Near
08. Winter Song
09. Turning Away
10. This Is How I Want to Know You
11. Follow Your Own Way
12. Sempre Avanti


It’s been about two years since the release of the debut
album by California’s The Quarter After - flag wavers for
all things melodious and harmonious in the vocal
department, combined with the jangle, fuzz, and noise of
their guitars. In the grand tradition of many rock’n’roll
"brother" bands, The Quarter After is lead by the two
Campanella siblings- songwriter/singer Dominic and
guitarist/producer Robert. The band greets the new year
of 2008 with their second release, Changes Near out
March 18th on The Committe to Keep Music Evil.


The Quarter After formed in the first year of our young
century in the Campanella’s home town of Los Angeles.
The brothers started jamming with a young bass guitar
wizard from Ohio, Dave Koenig (ex- Brian Jonestown Massacre, currently Spindrift) and dynamic
veteran east coast drummer Nelson Bragg (now in the Brian Wilson Band) to create a propulsive and
sympathetic rhythm section to their psychedelic/folk sounds. The quartet came of age in the
burgeoning L.A. psychedelia scene alongside such bands as the Beachwood Sparks, the Warlocks, and
the Tyde. After honing their live show playing gigs up and down the West Coast, The Quarter After were
personally chosen by Arthur Lee and Love to be the only opening band for his first show in seven years
after being released from prison. After such triumph and upward momentum, the Quarter After did
what any decent band would do—break up for almost two years.
Inspired by an invitation to open a show with their friends, Dead Meadow, the band reformed and then
reconvened in the studio to finally put together their first album. The Quarter After’s eponymous debut
was released on Ric Menck’s Birdsong label and gathered an impressive cluster of gleaming reviews.
Critics found much to love about a band that could write near-perfect 3 minute pop songs and have
them co-exist along spiraling, psychedelic epics. One person who understood where the Quarter After
were coming from happened to be musician and DJ, Steve Jones, who began spinning songs from this
record on his influential and popular radio show, Jonesy’s Jukebox, on LA’s Indie 103.1 FM. Jonesy not
only regularly began playing "A Parting," one of the finest examples of Dominic’s songcraft, but also the
band’s nearly 12 minute psychedelic tour-de-force "Too Much To Think About"—a highlight of The
Quarter After’s live show.
Along with new bass player Victor Peñalosa, and substitute drummer Joel Williams, national and west
coast tours followed, sharing the stage with bands such as the Black Angels, The Lovetones, The High
Dials, and Brian Jonestown Massacre (of which brother Rob is an on-and-off-again member), as well as
an appearance in 2006 at SXSW. The band is now looked upon by those in the know to be one of the
leaders in the "3rd Wave Of Psychedelia," and selections from the band’s first record were chosen to be
on the Turn On Your Mind compilation released by Psyilocybin Sounds and Northern Star Records’
Psychedelica: Volume II compilation.
Throughout all of this activity, the last couple of years saw Dominic writing and demo-ing new songs
while Rob remained an in-demand producer, working on recordings by the Tyde, Black Angels, Mia Doi
Todd, Scarling, Goldrush, The Morning After Girls, as well as upcoming 2008 releases by Dead
Meadow and Innaway. The naturally symbiotic combination of Dominic’s songwriting and Rob’s
producing has resulted in the new Quarter After record, Changes Near.
Changes Near is still the Quarter After as we know them--Dom’s prominent twelve-string Rickenbacker
and rich melodies set the tone for songs that range from dense guitar-driven psychedelic attacks to
further explorations into down home country - in the grand tradition of West Coast rock. There are more
"roots" influences present, from country to gospel to English folk to garage rock. The songs are tighter
and more concise though there is still no shortage of the droning psychedelia, eastern scales, and
proto-punk noise created by Rob’s guitar.


All Quarter After members past and present make appearances on this record as well as a fantasmic -
collection of LA musicians including friend and mentor Ric Menk (Velvet Crush, The Tyde), Matthew
Sweet, Miranda Lee Richards, Mara Keagle, Eric Heywood (Son Volt), Christoff W. Certik (Winter
Flowers), Kirk Hellie (Meow Meow), Probyn Gregory (Wondermints, Brian Wilson Band), and
Matthew Sigley (Lovetones, Daytime Frequency). There’s also help from Anton Newcombe and
Collin Hegna of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, who helped steer some of the mixes with Rob.


The Quarter After recently completed a late summer tour of the - Yukon Promotions 1150 1/2 Laguna Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90026 541.788.0675


"INTERVIEW ROB CAMPENELLA: FLOMOTIONS UK"














Playing with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Rob Campanella can be found at his keyboards behind guitarists Ricky Maymi and Frankie Teardrop, very occasionally his luscious mane of hair bathed in bright lights , but more often than not sitting in the shadows and yet it just wouldn’t be the same without him.

This is very representative of Rob’s attitude to music as his true genius comes to life behind the scenes and in a studio. When he is not touring Europe, being ‘the responsible/ sensible BJM ’, Mr Campanella, LA based music producer extraordinaire, has the lucky task of working with some of the best bands around. And if that wasn’t enough, he also plays the guitar with The Quarter After, his own band with sibling Dominic [vocals, guitar] and band mates, drummer Nelson Bragg and Victor Penalosa on bass.

It’s 9 am in LA, and as Rob prefers to do it in the morning [being interviewed!] it’s my duty to gently wake him up with as many questions as permitted before his first cup of coffee. Fortunately for me, this man is passionate, knowledgeable and talented [still talking music here!] and very eloquent...

Florence: You’ve been enjoying a long working relationship with The BJM, as a member and helping put the last few records together but how did it all start?

Rob: I knew Anton from playing in bands around Los Angeles and I was a fan of his band. We were all part of the LA scene. The Quarter After was pretty new, we’d only been around for less than a year, and Anton and I were hanging out one night [in early 2001] and it was right before the South by Southwest festival of that year and he didn’t have much of a band at that point, except for Frankie and he asked me to help him put a band together to try and go to SxSW and he said “you can play keyboards”.
I was pretty good friends with Jeff Davies and I said “I bet I can get Jeff to come back” and I asked Dave Koenig who was the bass player with The QA at the time and it went from there with Frankie, Jeff and Anton on guitars, Dave on bass, myself on organ and another guy on drums, [who had previously played with Anton], and we did just one show in LA to test it out and it went really well. But then the drummer who had committed to go to SxSW bailed out at the last minute and so we never did do it.
However shows started to get booked, including one at The Garage and we ended up getting Hunter Crowley back on drums [he’d played the previous year with The BJM] for that one show but he had such fun playing with that particular line-up that he decided to stay on, and we did a bunch of shows and we booked a tour that summer that included playing The Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It was a fun, legendary tour and after that Anton started to bring his things into my studio, some of his gear and his microphones...and before we knew it we’d started recording ‘Bravery, Repetition And Noise’. That came out and we did more tours...It’s been a roller coaster, I’ve left the band several times since and come back as The BJM is just like the mob! As Al Pacino would say, "Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in!"
It’s been an interesting ride.

Florence: What about your time in the studio with Anton?
Do you get involved producing the records?

Rob: Anton used my studio and I’ve been in the studio with him working on the records but it’s all him really.
There is nothing I could say about a BJM record that would happen if Anton didn’t want it to happen.
We have a good working relationship but like every BJM album preceding, sometimes it’s just Anton and Anton alone.
He just wants to get things done and he doesn’t want to wait around for people. He’s also pretty particular about the way things should be done.
It’s the same story with any Brian Jonestown records, he lists the band members at the time but with ‘Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request’ for instance, all the guys listed played the shows at the time but that record is pretty much Anton playing everything!
It’s always an interesting combination where some songs are just Anton and other songs members of the band playing different parts so it really depends on the tracks, the time it was recorded or how...there are no rules when it come to recording.

Florence: Having toured quite extensively this year, what have been the highlights for you?

Rob: It depends. Some shows are just better than others and some towns are also better.
On the first European tour, the highlight of the whole tour was Grenoble [France]. For some reason everything clicked, the band clicked and the crowd was amazing and it was a beautiful town. Oxford [England] was a particularly great show and there are the times in between when you have a day off and you end up in Carcassonne [France] or Lake Garda [Italy] where you can chill out. Those are the highlights, when you are with a great bunch of guys and having fun.

Florence: Let’s talk about your own band The Quarte - FLOMOTIONS -UK


"US cult bands at Brickyard-QUARTER AFTER"

US cult bands at Brickyard
Published on 23/08/2007

By Anna Richardson

SIXTIES psychedelia meets contemporary indie style at Carlisle’s Brickyard tomorrow as two cult American bands team up for a joint headline show.

The Quarter After, from Los Angeles, will be joined by Philadelphia’s Asteroid #4 and three supporting bands for a night of swirling guitar action.

For one member of The Quarter After, it will be his third visit to Carlisle – Rob Campanella, who leads the band with brother Dominic, is also a full-time member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre who played their second gig at the venue in July.

The Quarter After are part of the same San Francisco scene, fusing their psychedelic sensibilities with soaring vocal harmonies and full-on guitar assaults.

On the verge of releasing their highly anticipated second album, the band is clearly influenced by classic Brit bands including The Kinks and The Beatles as well their UK contemporaries Oasis and The Stone Roses.

Fellow headliners Asteroid #4, who recently released their fourth album, offer a similar blend of 60’s fused guitar sounds but with a slightly more moody, spacey feel reminiscent of the early sounds of The Verve and cult British indie bands Spiritualized and Jesus and Mary Chain.

Organiser Craig Bright, who also arranged for Minneapolis’s finest The Hold Steady to play the Brickyard yesterday, said: “The Quarter After and Asteroid #4 are simply two of the best guitar bands on the planet. To attract both to Carlisle for one gig will make for a truly unmissable experience.”

Both bands are playing a short UK tour, including a gig in Liverpool, at the invitation of Echo and The Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant.

The line-up is completed by Sunsplit, also from the Philadelphia psychedelic scene, and Glasgow guitar poppers Hi Five Alive. Tickets cost £5.

The following weekend, The Brickyard will hold to a tribute to Tony Wilson, who died earlier this month, and who spawned the Madchester scene in the 1980s.

Tickets for either event are available from www.ticketweb.co.uk or by phoning 08700 600 100.
- NEWS AND STAR-UK


"The Quarter After:Reviews/Customers too"

Amazing collection of classic Jangle that fans of The Gripweeds, Byrds, Love, The Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, The Waxwings and other post-psych Nuggets/Laurel Canyon jangle-vibe(think The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks) will not want to miss. This is something terribly, wildly special with its soaring vocal harmonies confronted head on by a searing, full-frontal guitar assault. "A fusion of dreamy 60s folk-pop melodies, reminiscent of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and a few lesser known Sunset Strip bands." Alternative Press. "The Quarter After`s brilliant self-titled debut disc picks up where the Lears` "The Story So Far" left off with a surfeit of psych-pop and jangly retro-pop that would make the bands that originated the Sunset Strip sound of the mid-60s proud if not downright envious! Several tracks, "Always Returning" and "Too Much To Think About," merit favorable comparison with the Grip Weeds splendid multi-layered psych-pop repertoire. "Too Much To Think About," clocking in at over eleven minutes, is evidence that the Quarter After like to stretch things out. "Taken" is a magnificent journey that effortlessly holds listener interest for just over nine minutes. The ten-song pseudo-60s joyride opens with the Byrds-inspired track "So Far To Fall" and the album comes to a jangly finish with the equally Byrds-inspired "Everything Again." In between these two tracks, the Quarter After tip their hats to Gene Clark, Arthur Lee and Love, numerous other Nuggets-era artists, and even REM. Guitar enthusiasts will drool over the full color insert photo of the band`s arsenal of stringed instruments. The Quarter After is a solid contender for Top Ten Album honors in 2005!" -- Eric Sorensen, Fufkin.com.
"A really well done collection of Byrdsy tunes with psychedelic trappings. Fans of bands like The Waxwings and The Grip Weeds will definitely want to snap this up. The disc contains some pretty and direct numbers, but this band is at its best when it simply cuts loose. "Taken" is a tour-de-force ..Of course, a whole album of this nature would...well, it would be great, but probably exhausting to listen to..Much like The Waxwings on their debut, The Quarter After can conjure up sounds like Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Stone Roses at the same time, as their harmonies mesh with a more psychedelic bent..This is an extremely impressive debut album, and certainly one of the best releases of 2005."- Mike Bennett, Fufkin.com.



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Amazing collection of classic Jangle that fans of The Gripweeds, Byrds, Love, The Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, The Waxwings and other post-psych Nuggets/Laurel Canyon jangle-vibe(think The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks) will not want to miss. This is something terribly, wildly special with its soaring vocal harmonies confronted head on by a searing, full-frontal guitar assault. "A fusion of dreamy 60s folk-pop melodies, reminiscent of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and a few lesser known Sunset Strip bands." Alternative Press. "The Quarter After`s brilliant self-titled debut disc picks up where the Lears` "The Story So Far" left off with a surfeit of psych-pop and jangly retro-pop that would make the bands that originated the Sunset Strip sound of the mid-60s proud if not downright envious! Several tracks, "Always Returning" and "Too Much To Think About," merit favorable comparison with the Grip Weeds splendid multi-layered psych-pop repertoire. "Too Much To Think About," clocking in at over eleven minutes, is evidence that the Quarter After like to stretch things out. "Taken" is a magnificent journey that effortlessly holds listener interest for just over nine minutes. The ten-song pseudo-60s joyride opens with the Byrds-inspired track "So Far To Fall" and the album comes to a jangly finish with the equally Byrds-inspired "Everything Again." In between these two tracks, the Quarter After tip their hats to Gene Clark, Arthur Lee and Love, numerous other Nuggets-era artists, and even REM. Guitar enthusiasts will drool over the full color insert photo of the band`s arsenal of stringed instruments. The Quarter After is a solid contender for Top Ten Album honors in 2005!" -- Eric Sorensen, Fufkin.com.
"A really well done collection of Byrdsy tunes with psychedelic trappings. Fans of bands like The Waxwings and The Grip Weeds will definitely want to snap this up. The disc contains some pretty and direct numbers, but this band is at its best when it simply cuts loose. "Taken" is a tour-de-force ..Of course, a whole album of this nature would...well, it would be great, but probably exhausti - Not Lame Recording Company


"AmericanaUk home ofAmericana, Alt-Country and ALternative"



The name suggests the Three O’Clock, Strawberry Alarm Clock, wake up: it’s time for a psychedelic revival. If like me you discovered the Byrds through the Paisley Underground and if you still retain a fondness for the Rain Parade, the Moving Targets, Bleached Black and others, then you’re going to enjoy this. There’s a moment on ‘A Parting’ that sums it all up: harmony vocals, jangling guitar falling out of tune and then alongside it a long sustained note warping into feedback - that’s the sort of thing that hooked me in the first place and fills me full of nostalgia now. ‘Too Much To Think About’ is a mixture of the Seeds ‘I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night’ and the Long Ryders ‘I Had A Dream Last Night’ going further than either into the interior of dreams, the guitars probing the sub-conscious realms with short forays away from the centre of the song prodding synapses until they end up stranded in a vast cavern with everywhere to go and nothing else to do but stop after the 10 minute journey. Tons of fuzzed guitar obscure the melody at the heart of ‘One Trip Later’ like clouds blocking the sun, with sunny bursts of pop climbing 8 miles high to break through before the effects pedals are stomped and the Angels are playing air guitar. There’s an early REM feel about ‘Taken’ in the way that everything is knitted together so that to add or subtract anything would completely change everything - then unlike them the guitars are allowed to chase off after stray notes and five minutes later we’re back to the integrated close harmonies. The closing ‘Everything Again’ is a mildly psychedelic pop song - barely three minutes of harmonies and irresistible chords that jangle courtesy of Roger McGuin and vocals by way of Gene Clark, the same template as followed on the opening ‘So Far To Fall’. So we’ve gone full circle, not heard anything new and yet the journey has got me rooting through my record collection to rediscover half-remembered songs - and more importantly plastered a huge grin across my face.

Date review added: Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Reviewer: David Cowling
Reviewers Rating:
- The Quarter After- Bird Song recordings


"The Quarter After"

Previously Featured


The Quarter After
S/T
Parasol Records / Bird Song Recordings
How can I not swoon over an album that takes a little of everything in music that I have learned to love since the wee age of a day old? Back in the early 90s, the Stone Roses was one of the first bands that stopped me dead in my tracks. Before that, I was bombarded by the Moody Blues and other British Invasion songs thanks to my father. Now, over 10 years later, another band has stopped me dead in my tracks. The Quarter After takes one part 60s British Invasion psych-pop, one part 70s classic rock, one part 80s drug-induced space-rock, and one part modern fusion of retro melodies and songwriting. On the band's self-titled debut, The Quarter After takes the past 40 years and make it sound just as good, if not better, than those who came before.


On the The Quarter After, you can hear many of the previously listed influences. The bloodlines for the Quarter After are quite exquisite. Singer and guitarist Robert Campanella is an off-and-on member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre as well as a producer and engineer. The band even enlisted Anton Newcombe in help in the recording of the album. The album is also the debut album on Bird Song Recordings, a project a Ric Menck, drummer extraordinaire. The other band members - Rob's brother Dominic (guitars), David Koenig (bass and 12-string guitar), and Nelson Bragg (drums and percussion) - have stylistic, yet ballsy range and chops that hold the album together. I could go on and on with inter-band and -artist relationships, but I have a review to write.


The album starts off with "So Far To Tell," which might as well be a 60s flashback tribute to the Byrds or Buffalo Springfield, complete with melodic ohhhh's and ahhhhs's mixed with girl-inspired lyrics. On two tracks, "Too Much to Think About" and "Taken," the Quarter After jams for at least nine minutes, mixing in some jangly guitar pieces with drones and basslines remisiscent of the Spacemen 3. One of the albums gems is "One Trip Later," a song reminiscent to the Monkees but with fits of a screaming guitar. "A Parting" is a beautiful Neil Young Harvest Moon-era tune. "Always Returning" reminds me of that infamous Blue Oyster Cult skit from Saturday Night Live. Now if only someone could get the band to add more cowbell.


While some might dismiss the Quarter After as flower power all over again, those people might as well go back under the rock where they've been living. The Quarter After has modern pysch-rock sensabilities with much respect to the bands that created the sound. These guys not only perfect this sound, they step it up a notch, kicking it in the balls while simultaneously shaking its hand.



-Jason Wilder - Delusions of Adequacy


"CD REVIWS The Quarter AFter"

Reviews
CD Reviews

The Quarter After

The Quarter After

Bird Song
The Quarter After call Los Angeles home, but it's not so much where they're from as when. For the QA's Campanella brothers, the clock is fixed at that moment in the '60s when pop swallowed a potent tab of psychedelia and hallucinated a musical soundtrack to accompany the trip. On their eponymous debut, the QA reference the first-generation psych-pop of the Beatles, the Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield and subsequent devotees like the Three O'Clock, Dream Syndicate and the Brian Jonestown Massacre while pursuing the same success/excess as their forebearers. "So Far to Fall" finds the band clicking on all paisley cylinders, from Rob and Dom Campanella's exquisite brotherly harmonies to their "Day Tripper"-fueled guitar antics, while the 12-minute "Too Much to Think About" spirals out from a Byrdsian psych/folk confection into a droning yet majestic space-rock jam. What makes the Quarter After endearing is their willingness to fine-tune psychedelic pop's grand missteps as well as its sugar-cubed triumphs.
By Brian Baker First printed in November 2005
- HARP magazine


"The Quarter After -Changes Near"

Changes Near : A Family Affair

For two brothers growing up in Lake Hollywood, California, it's only natural they might be influenced by the magical music wafting out of Laurel Canyon, even if most of that magic occurred while they were still a glimmer in their famous father's eye. Dominic and Rob Campanella (sons of actor Joseph) have recorded their second album with their group The Quarter After, and we all know that sophomore efforts can sometimes suffer (especially because of expectations). The new album, Changes Near, delivers all of the goods we heard on their debut and more. Though featuring a wide variety of sounds and styles, it's a stronger, more cohesive effort, and their songwriting and musical maturity shines. Bass player Dave Koenig's opening riff kicks off "Sanctuary," a driving, rhythmic song that drops into a spacey reverie before kicking back in again. At times you can hear early R.E.M. The next track, "She Revolves," is about as perfect as rock music gets, and not just because of Dominic's "worthy heir to Gene Clark" vocals. The electric 12 string and 6 string counterplay had me literally bouncing around in my chair as I wrote this. Love the phrasing of "I fell into a conversation with her, and she spoke just like a brand new day," and Rob has some fun with his wonderful breakdown as the song concludes. On the rollicking "Counting The Score," they skillfully move into Dillards territory, and then it's back to rock 'n' roll (and even some power chords) with "See How Good It Feels." The cow punk feel of "Early Morning Rider" breaks with "are you going to ride away," and we do, on a wave of trumpets and cascading guitars. "Nothing out of Something" is a powerful centerpiece, with that great guitar crunch reminiscent of a former resident of another nearby Southern California canyon. Angelic harmonies courtesy of Miranda Lee Richards, Mara Keagle (The Electromagnetic), and another Campanella, Christina. "Changes Near" was co-written by brother Andy (he also provides a variety of percussion on the album), and after the opening chimes of Dom's 12 string, the song slows with some tasty pedal steel from Eric Heywood that would make Sneaky Pete proud. After the march drum break and a vocal crescendo, we're treated to a psychedelic guitar flourish from Rob on his Vox that might be my favorite moment on the album. "Winter Song" is all ethereal grandeur with tablas and mellotron to round out this wonderful soundscape (do I actually hear echoes of Zeppelin for a moment?). We cleanse our palate with "Turning Away" before the superb intro to "This Is How I Want To Know You," which may or may not be a little nod to Rob's good friend Anton Newcombe. It builds with strong guitar interplay, and we hear the strong Campanella brother harmonies , which are showcased to an even greater extent on the next song, "Follow Your Own Way," co-written by drummer Nelson Bragg. The album's finale, "Sempre Avanti," is a tribute to their Uncle Frank, a renowned character actor who passed away in 2006. Subtitled "Johnny Marr's Not Dead," it features some of that renowned "How Soon Is Now" tremelo, especially in the haunting coda. The overall production quality is absolutely first rate, which is no surprise considering the fine work Rob has done producing and engineering for The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dead Meadow, The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks, et al. Though the influences are plentiful, who these guys really sound like is ... The Quarter After. They've carved their own musical niche. They're going out on tour, and it will be interesting to see which of these songs they turn into a psychefunkadelic juggernaut live. I'm betting on "Sanctuary," "Early Morning Rider," or "Sempre Avanti." I had the pleasure of watching them blow the roof off in Sacramento one night with "Too Much Too Think About" off their first album. I literally wore out that CD, and you and I will be doing the same with Changes Near. By the way, if you go to the Committee To Keep Music Evil website, you can buy a blue vinyl single with an edit of "Too Much" and a cover of the rare Stone Roses ditty, "Here It Comes." The highlight is really the acoustic guitar instrumental work that the Campanellas provide after the conclusion of that song. Just more magic from this amazing band.

-C. Henry - C. Henry


Discography

THE QUARTER AFTER-2005 (Debut album) Bird Song Records
CHANGES NEAR-2008 (The Committe to Keep Music Evil)
NEW 7" SINGLE
TOO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT
bside
HERE IT COMES (Stone Roses cover)
LIMITED EDITION- COLOURED VINYL

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