Rogue Wave + Earlimart

Review by Shannon Coulter

Well, if Margot Tenenbaum were ever going to emerge from her claw foot tub for a rock show, this would have been it. Both Rogue Wave and Earlimart were understatedly gratifying, with all 48 channels of the Independent’s glorious new sound system showing off their crisp, fashionable tenors to great effect.

Pop and folk find perfect agreement in the members of Rogue Wave, who make a thoughtful yet tailored sound seem effortless. The mood of the music is lilting and sunny yet also vaguely somber, like October afternoons in New York City (where, incidentally, Zach Rogue went to record Out of the Shadows' in 2002). Look for one track, 'Every Moment,' on the soundtrack for the new movie 'Napoleon Dynamite'. “Yeah,” said Gram Lebron bashfully when I asked him about it. “Good things are happening to us these days.”

Never has introspection been so unwrinkled. Playing stuff from 'Everyone Down Here' as well as their upcoming 'Treble and Tremble', Earlimart delivered some majorly planate vocals in a cool, fluid style, with occasional hot potato rockers like 'Lost at Sea' burning through the fog every now and then. Although lyrically generic at times, it’s been neat to watch these guys transform themselves from restless post-punks into moody modernists over recent years. 'First Instant Last Report' is my favorite from the new album for its soulful piano line and poetic references to their fallen friend, Elliot Smith.

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Read our previous Rogue Wave reviews:
January 27, 2004 @ Thee Parkside
October 9, 2003 @ Bottom of the Hill
August 15, 2003 @ Café Du Nord
February 4, 2003 @ Make-Out Room

Read our previous Earlimart reviews:
Interview: March 27, 2004
Review: July 22, 2003 @ Bottom of the Hill
Review: June 15, 2001 @ Dirty Duck, Modesto

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