{"id":790,"date":"2012-05-24T05:19:39","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T10:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=790"},"modified":"2012-05-24T05:19:39","modified_gmt":"2012-05-24T10:19:39","slug":"album-review-alarm-clock-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/24\/album-review-alarm-clock-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Alarm Clock Conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years back, a good friend of mine phoned me up and invited me to come out with him to see his friend’s new band. Rarely one to pass up an opportunity for music and beer, I immediately accepted. The band was playing what I understood to be their fist gig \u2013 at a popular watering hole in the little town of Black Mountain NC \u2013 but all the players were veterans of other bands. My friend’s friend \u2013 the lead guitarist \u2013 was Ian Reardon<\/strong>, well known in the region for his previous band, the prog-leaning outfit MarsupiaL<\/strong> (sic). But this new act’s name \u2013 to me at least \u2013 suggested music of a very different sort.<\/p>\n

With a name like Alarm Clock Conspiracy<\/strong>, I imagined a cross between (of course) The Strawberry Alarm Clock<\/strong> and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy<\/strong>, two popular food-groups (like The Banana Splits<\/strong> and Bread<\/strong>) from the era when one could get away with naming a band in that fashion. But unlike those psychedelic (or pop-sike, if you prefer) bands, this Alarm Clock Conspiracy wasn’t purveying that sort of material at all.<\/p>\n

With guitar textures that often call to mind Russian Circles<\/strong>, Alarm Clock Conspiracy crafts songs that straddle the space between progressive rock and powerpop, with a bit of southern flavor carefully blended into the mix. Instrumentally, \u201cGone\u201d sounds a bit like early-to-mid-period Rush<\/strong>, but with the guys from Pure Prairie League<\/strong> on vocal harmonies. Some tricky lead guitar brings up the rear as the song roars to a stops-on-a-dime close.<\/p>\n

Shimmering acoustic guitar forms the basis of the moody \u201cTomorrow’s Past,\u201d a minor-key tune that calls to mind Nirvana <\/strong>at their most melodic (think: MTV Unplugged<\/em>). Steel guitar and mandolin put the focus on the Clock’s Appalachian roots. The laid-back vibe of \u201cWhat You’re Waiting For\u201d put the emphasis on the group\u2019s vocal harmonies, but there’s plenty of expressive bass lines and lovely, subtle guitar work. And \u201cWalking Up a Hill\u201d redolent of Workingman’s Dead<\/em>-era Grateful Dead<\/strong><\/a> with (much, much) better singers.<\/p>\n

All of which makes the musical left-turn of \u201cWhen You Wake Up\u201d all that much more of a shock. With its Music Explosion<\/strong>-on-ska approach, it points how just how much the guys in the band have absorbed and synthesized their influences. In lesser hands, the song would come off as a novelty; here it works, and well. The band’s melodic southern side \u2013 Outlaws<\/strong> style \u2013 comes to the fore again on the mid-tempo rocker \u201cShadow of the Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Splashes of Crazy Horse<\/strong>-style crunch are deftly applied in \u201cListen,\u201d but in between those barre-chording sections, it’s a bouncy pop tune with breezy, close harmonies. And then it explodes with a searing guitar solo. All in all, it’s a number with enough good musical ideas for three songs. \u201cWalking Alone\u201d is the closest Alarm Clock Conspiracy gets to straight-ahead traditional country, yet it’s among the strongest and most appealing songs on this (rock band’s) album.<\/p>\n

The rock returns for \u201cHello You Young Shadows,\u201d and some spooky, sound-effects-laden sections move it back toward the more complicated and demanding style of Reardon’s old band MarsupiaL. With its backward guitar solos and thunderous drumming, it’s the one place on their self-titled long player where Alarm Clock Conspiracy sounds like their name suggests.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking\u201d is a brief punkabilly romp with a dizzying lead guitar solo and a prog-meets Vegas ending. The jangling \u201cSomething’s About to Break\u201d mines the softer side of 70s FM radio rock for its inspiration; its soaring, echo-laden guitar solo evokes the best of that era in a modern way.<\/p>\n

Alarm Clock Conspiracy<\/em> will see official release on June 8, the night of a Release Party and show at Asheville’s Highland Brewing Company. The CD will be available at cdbaby.com and through the band’s own site at www.alarmclockconspiracy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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