music writing

here's something that I wrote for Stylus Magazine's stypod mp3 blog.


Fusing Your Worth
by
Chris Mattix

It's interesting to watch a band try to recover from a break up. Regrouping and refocusing can't be easy, especially for members of bands riding the coattails of past success. The pressure to prove yourself again as a musician increases tenfold after a break-up, and comparisons with the group that attained earlier chart success or critical recognition are hard to escape, But sometimes when one band dies another band gets its wings.

Kylesa was formed out of necessity. When Damad broke up in 2000 guitarist Philip Cope and three other Damad members formed Kylesa so they wouldn't have to stop writing songs. At first I assumed that Cope and company were going to pick up where Damad left off, in some grisly pit in the swamps of Georgia. Cope, however, turned out to be a much better musician than I gave him credit for, and Damad's demise has turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to the guy.

I didn't notice it at the time, but now when I listen to Damad, specifically Cope's guitar work, I can pick out the subtle nuances that have become fully realized within Kylesa. I can hear Cope's influences because they wander, as if Cope is a child who can’t focus all of his attention on one thing. Consequently, he sneaks things in where he can -- a riff here, a riff there, but always in moderation, so people won't catch on. The track "Second Hand" from Damad's album Rise and Fall is one of the more obvious examples of this. If you listen closely you can hear riffs that sound eerily familiar to early Emperor and Neurosis. This track makes me wonder what it was like for Cope to have to restrict his creativity for so long; constantly repressing the urge to fuse together a variety of styles.

I suppose it doesn't matter what it was like for Cope in the 90's, because he's a creative juggernaut today, and Kylesa are getting better with every album. Their latest release, Time Will Fuse its Worth, eclipses the band’s previous material because it’s more focused and the songs are more challenging. The physical make up of Kylesa is as unique as the music. In particular,using two drummers makes the band sound more full and adds tribal elements that take Cope's songs in interesting directions. The other band members deliver as well and guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants' bark is one of the highlights of the record. She and Cope trade off seamlessly on the track "What Becomes an End," which starts with a heavy dose of old school hardcore guitar work that reminds me of Artimus Pyle's song "Showdown," and then a saunters into a sludgy riff for a moment before picking up speed and taking off again, finally ending with a wah-wah infused guitar solo that would make Matt Pike proud.

Although Damad fit so nicely into the world of crust punk and His Hero is Gone-style hardcore, it makes sense that Kylesa are a band who are reluctant to tie themselves to any particular genre.A lot of bands strive unsuccessfully to make fans and critics wonder what they will do next. They never quite break the mold that formed them and, as a result, they become predictable. That’s not a problem for Kylesa. In fact, unpredictability is the whole point. We don't know what to expect from them next because they truly don’t know what road they are apt to take.That’s what makes them so much fun.

p.s. here's a link to the last article I wrote.

http://stylusmagazine.com/stypod/archives/579