Why do people start bands anymore? To get rich and famous? Compliment
re-tweeting? To gain the respect of their peers in the RIAA? I don’t
know, and I don’t have a computer so I can’t look it up. But I bet
sometimes bands get started with no goal at all, beyond basics like
don’t lose the keys to the practice space, and to share the
excitement of making music together. From there, the goals become
things like, get better at it, and do it more. But, again, no computer
here, so, don’t know 100%. Xetas have been doing exactly that,
making wired, joyfully intense music ever since their first 7” in
2014. Their first two albums, The Redeemer and The Tower, are compact,
high-voltage, furniture-throwing gems. With The Cypher, they emerge
after a year of work as a one-minded beast. The songs blast off and
burn, but carry a new depth and weight. Inside gusts of ferocious
noise there are subtly sweet melodies that stick in your head; volume
gets quiet, tempos charge, slow down, stutter, and implode. The sounds
are of a deeper dimension, surprising glimpses of (what’s that?) and
(huh wow!). It all creates a rich emotional dimension, which you feel
even while the band is thrashing you around in its jaws like an
alligator.
Instantly you notice the vocal arrangements. Everybody sings every
song, whether dividing verses or in unison, in true crew fashion.
It’s a moving statement of intent. Punk rock? To be sure, but punk
can mean anything goes. David Petro’s guitars come in countless
layers of tension, incorporating punk mowdown and bad trip psych, at
times bringing to mind Pen Rollings, Tara Key, and Roger Miller. On
“The Objector,” bassist Kana Harris’s voice effortlessly shifts
emotional gears as she reflects on power and change, leaving you to
meditate on the lyrics “no one here will remember the old
landscape.”
Maybe it’s a concept record? Could be, if the concept is figuring
out how to survive by being yourselves, how to get better and better
every day at being a band, and leaving nothing on the court. Isn’t
that a concept every band should have? Is that even a concept? Isn’t
that reality? It’s like I have to look everything up these days. -
James McNew
Xetas are David Petro - guitar, vocals, Kana Harrs - bass, vocals Jay
Dilick - drums, vocals
‘The Cypher’ was recorded throughout 2019 at Estuary Recording,
Austin TX and produced by John Michael Landon and Xetas.
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08/04/2020 Last update