The body Electric

Purple Ivy Shadows' moody power surge

by Bob Gulla

In the liner notes to Purple Ivy Shadow's stunning new album, White Electric, it is written: "We've found we have followed a story and this after all is something divided, but not entirely." This rather cryptic poesy helps at least to open up a line of questioning when the band's Erik Carlson is on the other end of a phone line. "What's it mean right now to be in Purple Ivy Shadows?"

"It's surprising now, but in a good way," he says. "We surprised ourselves with this album." The shambling country and roots pop of White Electric (Krave Records), which sounds like the Byrds circa "Eight Miles High" had they taken downers instead of amphetamines, is surprising. It's that plus an ongoing subtext of organic indie rock like Yo La Tengo or the Feelies, with rickety layers of homespun acoustic guitar, simple beats, and a subtle fascination with the Beatles. The mood feels heavy with melancholy, but the kind of down-heartedness that's not without hope. The way a single ray of sunlight finds its way through a thick patch of storm clouds.

"With this record, we were better able to accomplish or at least reach the ideas we were aiming for," says Carlson. "We've been working toward these ideas over the years, and we reached a point where we were finally able to express them."

Where PIS' previous works, as good as they were, featured Carlson's ideas almost exclusively, White Electric filters those concepts through the collective musical prism of his band, a lineup that consists of singer-guitarist Chris Daltry, drummer-etc. Frank Mullin, and Will Rice on bass. Carlson's ideas also got the bend-and-stretch from producer Thom Monahan, a talent who in Carlson's book deserves lots of credit for PIS' sonic realizations. "We had people in the studio pushing the bounds of their democratic rights," Carlson laughs. "But for something creative to be good it's gotta be pushed. You have to believe in the process of creation, whether it's making a sound or coming up with a solo, a certain guitar part. Sometimes that results in disagreements or clashes, but the product pushes the result rather than settling for one."

It's hard to believe in listening to White Electric that there were many "disagreements or clashes" in the record's making. From the opening shimmers of "Along" and the hypnotic allure of "Heart," to the doleful, 12-minute cello trance-out of the closing title cut, the album sounds completely and copacetically collaborative<four guys and a producer locking into a groove, achieving a certain aesthetic and seeing it through to fruition.  

"In the past we didn't know enough or something," says Carlson with the blunt humility you'd expect from such a tactile band. "This time we had a better sense of just how we wanted the record to sound."

If PIS feels comfortable with its new creative process, then it's also found a comfort level in the sagging, rather oppressive climate of indie rock. "Maybe it's a general mood, but I feel more comfortable in the fact that we're just gonna do what we can do as well as we can. It doesn't mean we'll be successful the way we thought we'd be when we started off, but that's OK. Things are different now in the music business. Before I felt we had to get the band to a certain level to be considered successful. But that's not the case. Our challenges now are more in musical expression and to make it available to the right people. I don't need a sales figure as validation." He pauses for a moment, then continues. "It's a difficult time, but in some ways I'm more comfortable with it. You want to get some sort of reward for what you do and it would be nice to support yourself with music, get some money for the time you put in. But if it doesn't work out, it doesn't stop you from doing it. Most people in the indie scene have to be in the same position, right?"

So, for those interested, that's what it means to be in Purple Ivy Shadows.

WANDERING EYE. Matt Derby and his band the Pines of Rome play tonight (Thursday,11/11), with Lullaby for the Working Class at the Met. PoR also play next Saturday (11/20) with Purple Ivy Shadows at the Green Room in what is billed as a dual CD release party. Look for news of their new record, On All Fours, in this column soon. Stone Soup on Saturday (11/11) offers up Bresler's Klezmer Orchestra. Mike Bresler studied under Andy Statman, which must make him a very good student indeed. Tell Richard at Stone Soup I said, "Hi." Illustrious Day will be playing for the spectators and runners of the Ocean State Marathon on Sunday (11/14) over on Narragansett Parkway. Festivities start early along with the runners, but so will the free T-shirt give-aways and other morning-type party-starters for those get-up-and-go types.

My bad: After making sure folks didn't confuse our own M-80 with the old punk band MX-80 I proceeded to refer them in last week's review as "MX-80" myself. Doh!

Got some points of interest? Contact b_gulla@yahoo.com