The Poison Arrows preview

The Poison Arrows
Subterranean, Chicago
Friday, September 12, 2008

The Poison Arrows include former members of both Don Caballero and Atombombpocketknife among its ranks. So does it sound like either? The easiest answer is . . . sorta.

Not as calculated as Don Cab and not nearly as rock as Atombomb, Poison Arrows lands somewhere right between with Casual Wave. It’s the group’s third EP since 2004, but probably the truest portrayal of the band yet, given its debut, Trailer Park, was actually a Justin Sinkovich (the former Atombomb of the bunch) solo record, and although drummer Adam Reach and original Don Cab bassist Patrick Morris were onboard for last year’s Straight Into The Drift, the material was apparently “prewritten.” We can only assume that means “not written as a band.”

The four songs that comprise Casual Wave (recorded with Greg Norman at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio and released on the Sinkovich-operated File 13 label) were written as a group, though, and actually while was being mixed. It’s not hard to hear the difference, either. Studio trickery in the form of layered drums and vocals made that EP robotic; it easily could have been the effort of one person with a weekend recording budget. Casual Wave is more organic (even with Sinkovich filling more and more space with synthesizers instead of guitars), more like three guys in a room jamming – more like a band.

The Poison Arrows and Post Honeymoon open for Holy Fuck.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download The Poison Arrows’ “Casual Wave.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly