Riffing D.C. Jive
Following the swift deflation of the tight-knit D.C. post-punk scene, music journalists despaired at their inability to overuse the adjective angular, or to dub a band "dance-y" without conjuring images of Anglophile ponces with bad haircuts channeling Gang of Four. Lucky for us, local trio Rahim is picking up the pieces, borrowing odds and ends from Dischord City without resorting to nostalgia for a bygone time like the Q and not U era.
"We grew up on a lot of that D.C. stuff, and we get compared to it," says vocalist/guitarist Mike Friedlich. "I see that, but I also see Television and Sonic Youth."
Rahim has been playing together in some capacity for quite a while, but it's only been in the past two years that the band refined their signature sound. Last year's J. Robbin's-produced EP, Jungles, created a minor fervor whose promise is fulfilled on Ideal Lives, their French Kiss debut. The record was also produced by Robbins, the former frontman of D.C. legends Jawbox.
"He's extremely talented, and it worked out really well," Friedlich says. "We recorded and mixed in seven days. Part of me would have liked a little more time, but it's cool to get in and document it and do what you can."
The album is full of squirrelly and repetitive guitar lines that are given plenty of room to breathe, thanks to a rhythm section that manages to be both indispensable and inconspicuous. The track "10,000 Horses" chugs along like a soulful robot, and Friedlich sings pretty, albeit with cojones. "Forever Love" is pure pop with back-up harmonies, and the danceable march of "Klangklangklang" is ornamented with trumpets. Rahim has less in common with the chaotic dissonance of Black Eyes and more with Different Damage-era Q and not U. The album also has the new Liars' tendency toward vocals-as-chanted-mantras, but the band mixes the monotones with enough serene melodies to keep things interesting.
"There's so much happening in New York, and there's so many vital bands," Friedlich says. "But I think New York's a real hard place to be. There's a trillion bands, but it's not about community; it's about getting on the right shows and getting signed and doing your thing, as opposed to doing it for the sake of itself. It doesn't foster the best creative situation. At the same time I love what New York has to offer, and there's so much good stuff coming through all the time."
Ideal Lives showcases the trio as an evenhanded collective that's more than the sum of its parts, and I'm certainly curious to see how the songs will be tweaked and contorted on stage. And this week's our chance.