Cringe Pours Hard Work, Raw Emotion Into First Album
Cringe singer/guitarist/noise purveyor/studio owner John Salvo bears a lot of weight on his shoulders.
For the last couple of years, the New York transplant has been juggling various roles as a husband, a father, a musician, a studio owner, a record label owner and a producer.
That’s enough to drive anyone one batty.
However, all that pressure has made for an excellent first album from his band Cringe, which plays underneath The Makers at Ichabod’s North tonight.
Titled “The Dark Wishing Well,” the album, features 11 songs so heavily rooted in harsh, chaotic noise, it’s likely to make anyone’s ears bleed.
Cringe wields a crazed, violent sound. Every song erupts with molten amounts of distortion, fuzz and other unnatural noises.
The dense chaos continually buries Salvo’s emotionally-torn vocals. That’s what makes the record so interesting. Throughout the effort, Salvo’s vocals struggle in vain to rise above the roiling din of his guitar.
In age of manufactured anger and angst, nothing is calculated on “Dark Wishing Well.” Cringe packs raw human emotion into brutally honest songs.
What makes “Dark Wishing Well” ultimately compelling is the fact Salvo and company have managed to craft strong hooks beneath the dissonance.
“I think a lot of the guys in the band are expressing the fact that we’ve put so much time and effort into this band and creating artwork out of it all, and it never really gets noticed as talent because we play around with the idea of using confusion and dissonance as the key element,” said Salvo. “It’s kind of like somebody looking at a piece of artwork that’s made out of garbage and calling it garbage.
“After all this time, I think a lot of the emotions in the band are the frustrations behind playing this kind of music to begin with,” he continued. “And our families. My dad’s in a mental ward.”
On a lighter note, tonight’s headliner, The Makers, have been dodging major label A&R reps (no joke) and putting together its third album, tentatively titled “Ultraviolent” and slated for release early next year.
Even more recently, a Los Angeles man interviewed on the Jay Leno TV show was spotted wearing a Makers T-shirt.
Seattle’s Pipe Fitter opens. The rumble begins at 9:30 p.m. The cover’s $4.
Elsewhere in the night
Well, Waterman’s Hollow fans, the wait for a new CD is over.
The band, which left Spokane in search of the greener pastures in Portland, has finally released the follow-up to its largely successful selftitled debut.
It’s titled “Caterpillar.”
On Saturday, the band plays Mother’s Pub to celebrate the disc’s release.
“Caterpillar” is a rapid departure from the first album and it’s also a major progression. With effort, Waterman’s Hollow settled into its own sound. Songs aren’t as flowery and contain more of a guitar edge. Those who bought the first album should easily latch onto this record.
Joining Waterman’s Hollow on the bill are its Spokane cohorts Roadside Prophets, a band that has been very quiet on the local scene recently.
Music starts at 9:30 p.m. The cover is $5.
Tonight, Mother’s Pub has L.A.’s Ether on stage. Ether records for Shimmy Disc, a label owned by indie rock lord Kramer. Plug Ugly and Mike’s Pleasure open. The cover is $4.
McQ’s Billiard and Cafe, 9614 E. Sprague, is looking for pool and darts buffs to participate in its leagues. Teams and individuals are wanted. For more information, call 467-0123.
The Cotton Club in Hayden has open pool tournaments every Thursday. The cost to enter is $3. Sign up by 9 p.m.
“Loud” Debbie Dowd, disc jockey at Z-Rock, will emcee a recordrelease party for the “Inland Northwest Compilation CD” Volume One tonight at Outback Jack’s.
Bands slated to appear are Midline, Distorted Silence, Shattered Reality and Mark Morrison. The clamor kicks off at 9:30 p.m. The cover’s $6.