ARTIST: Mahogany Throttle
TITLE: Push Forward for Speed
LABEL: Soutrane Records
GENRE: Instrumental Rock
BITRATE: 195kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 39m total
RELEASE DATE: 2001-00-00
RIP DATE: 2007-08-19
Track List
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1. For a Fella Who Don't Smoke 4:27
Grass, You Sure Do Forget a Lot
2. Spur of the Monument 3:19
3. Michael 6:44
4. Forpaugh's 6:11
5. How Long Can You Tread Water? 7:02
6. almost to the e in done 3:32
7. In the Future We Will See the 4:55
Dissolution of the Contemporary
Cemetary
8. The Fine Curve of Hammers 3:16
Release Notes:
Chicago has long been home to some of the finest expressions of musical
experimentalism. Over the last decade, the city's roots in industrial
(Ministry), avant-jazz (AACM) and post-punk (Big Black) have inspired new
directions and convergences, in turn spurring on a generation of instrumental
rock bands following in the wake of Tortoise and Gastr del Sol. Proximity to the
metropolis has inevitably stirred the juices of Milwaukee musicians. The recent
four-day "Post-Everything" music festival at the Cactus Club attested to the
growing participation of locals in the outer reaches of rock. On probably the
festival's loudest night, the Mahogany Throttle shared the stage with the
equally raucous Insidious and The Danglers. The three piece of David White
(guitar), Brent Budsberg (bass) and John Gleisner (drums) proved up to the task,
firing off shards of frenetically paced riffage, inspired as much by Sonic Youth
as King Crimson. Perhaps what separates Mahogany Throttle most from its
heavy-duty contemporaries is their interest in using amplified instruments not
only for their visceral, emotional impact, but also for their ability to provoke
visual narratives. The group creates tightly structured pieces that shift
through various time signatures and textural modes, slowly developing in a way
more closely related to cinematic structure than to pop music. Parallels to
other art forms seem apt considering their backgrounds: White also works in film
and Budsberg is a highly-regarded conceptual sculptor. Both their art and music
show a propensity to make smart work without being overly academic. While the
filmic/theatric sensibilities of Yes and Genesis have no doubt inspired the
band, they steer clear of the bombast of their forebears by taking a more
barebones punk-rock approach. "If we had vocals, we probably wouldn't be singing
about magical fairies," jokes Gleisner. Mahogany Throttle's sensitivity to
guitar texture is represented well on their first album Push Forward for Speed,
now available on the local experimental Soutrane Records. The album was recorded
by Bill Curtis in a one-day marathon session at the Love Loft, The Danglers'
Riverwest home studio. Curtis, a local sound engineer who has worked in the past
with Victor DeLorenzo, designs and builds his own microphones and pre-
amplifiers which the band used exclusively on the album. This grass roots
approach is evident on an album that features only one overdub and all first
takes. All of the songs maintain the group's live interplay and harmonic
density.