Not a supergroup as much as a teaming of Bloomington’s flagbearers of intelligent post-punk pop music, Paul Mahern, David England and Scott Kellogg, along with drummer Alex Jarvis, have come together to form *ask. The band has released a two-song single+ just ahead of a New Year’s Eve gig at Radio Radio with four other bands, including Toxic Reasons.
Like Kellogg’s most recent effort, Silver in Their Veins (also produced by Mahern), the music on the single-plus-b-side favors the same “The Edge-style guitar razors and echo”. Mahern’s clean, minimalistic production polishes the eclectic, guitar-based pop, while letting the oddness shine. “Painted Hole” is the A-side, and builds a base upon a repeated and echoing guitar riff, before the song jumps into a melencholy power chord hook, with some pop sweetness in the chorus. Think a U2 b-side from the Joshua Tree album, with some Achtung Baby! glam.
With this release, it feels like *ask is a band that, if they desire, could produce some studio gems.
Mahern, also revered as the former frontman for Indianapolis’ legendary punk band The Zero Boys, is the compass of the band – the line that connects the dots. He previously teamed up with England on the latter’s 2009 excellent pop/rock album Little Death. Mahern produced, engineered, mixed, and added harmony vocals and percussion to that album. The two also worked together on England’s first solo record Almost True.
The second cut here, “Best Friends,” turns to a chunky punk buzz, adding a Clash attitude to the song’s sound. The cut swirls guitars around the vocals, and digs deeper into the U2 resemblence, with a flash of the Unforgettable Fire. That influence is the piece of the puzzle that grabs the listener’s ear, allowing the uniqueness of the band to follow.
Hear the music.
Scott Kellogg
Indiana Album Review: Scott Kellogg – "Silver In Their Veins"
On his debut album “Silver In Their Veins”, Bloomington singer/songwriter Scott Kellogg works with producer Paul Mahern to conjure the spookiness of a T Bone Burnett album, his singing recalling Robbie Robertson’s post-Band work, the music a nod to U2’s non-hit Joshua Tree songs, and enough Another Brick-era Pink Floyd to add glistening atmosphere to the project. It’s a crisp-yet-warm sounding album, with lyrics non-specific enough to let you tell the story your way.
Kellogg, a singer/songwriter outside the boundries of folk, opts to bypass making an acoustic guitar-based record. Instead, he and Mahern zero in on layers of sound, close-miked vocals and never straying from melody over experimentation.
Indiana Music: Album Release from Scott Kellogg; Rusty Bladen and Duke Tumatoe at Winefest
A pair of outstanding Americana musical evenings for our Southern Indiana readership….
On Friday night (Sept. 24), Scott Kellogg hosts an album release show for debut solo CD, Silver in Their Veins. He’s been name-dropped by me for his work on Bloomington Americana darling Bobbie Lancaster’s first solo record earlier this year. Kellogg will share the stage with the Shiny Sounds band, which includes Lancaster. She and Nick Einterz will open the evening with their own music.
8pm / John Waldron Arts Center – Bloomington, IN / $10.
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Latest tracks by Scott Kellogg
Duke Tumatoe and Rusty Bladen team up for a Winefest show at Chateau de Pique Winery in Seymour, about an hour south of Indy off of I-65. Bladen opens with Indiana rock (sounds like Petty) and tunes from his recent Homegrown Treasures album before Dr. Duke hits the wineheads with his blues/rock. The show is free; a beer garden will be open. FYI: Governor Davis plays Friday night, and the winery website says there is free camping (!)
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5:30pm / Chateau de Pique Winery – Seymour, IN 47274 / free
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