Oh, another underrated band from Kranky records from the 90s, on this blog......NO WAY. Bowery Electric existed in an in between time for this combo of space rock, shoegaze, triphop and drone, where they were to far out for regular indie listeners, but by the time they made their most accessible work trip hop was way past its prime with audiences, and for me those are the best bands, the ones that don't fit in nicely. Kranky, Too Pure and Wurlitzer Jukebox were the hubs of these sorta bands, their peers Jessamine, Wendy and Carl, E.A.R and Stars of The Lid were all pushing boundaries in their own ways. Pulling from avant guarde, pop, electronic and production that doesnt settle for just "sounding good". Their debut was a double 7inch, was definitely their most aggressive, soaring space rock, droned out psychedelia similar to Spacemen 3 at their loudest(but stripping all the blues/soul or rock n roll out). The vocals are coed, soothing and lethargic to have maximum focus on the droning guitars. Their first LP, simply S/T is a drone rock opus, still taking elements of Spacemen 3 but also what MBV did on Loveless, slowing in down and blissing out in a more earth bound way. These songs feel like growing weeds, expanding deeper and deeper, until you hit the core and its all ablaze in walls of distortion. Nothing about this first LP is what I'd call pop, the vocals are buried and don't grab you. That changes somewhat on their second LP "Beat", where vocals are pushed up, with mantra like vocal lines, the drums take on a slightly more "dancey" or "hiphop" type beats and the walls of sound are more inviting and less punishing. Clearly very much a combo of Seefeel, MBV and triphop. The guitars are sounding less and less like guitars, the bass is slightly more groovy, and pop is seeping in a bit more. Its still a deeply expansive and experimental work of rock music, but its starting to let a little light in, and accessibility. This was their last LP with Kranky, and their next LP would be their biggest change between records. Bowery Electrics final LP would end up being "Lushlife" which is the perfect description for the LP. I assume this is the album they are best known for, seems to be the most popular, and that makes sense, bigger label, catchy songs, grandeur production and much more vocal focused in the mix. The guitars are so buried or processed you cant tell whats samples or whats guitar. The vocals are catchier with cool hooks. Its still a very crazy sounding record, but its more "mature", confident and is the full decent into triphop, which by 2000 was outta vogue. The obvious comparison to Portishead, I think is a boring, Bowery has more of a dreamy vibe, but it is very urban and sensual, its not AS detached as Beth, and "Lushlife" feels more indebted to electronic music, shoegaze and IDM. Could be wrong, I think its a great LP, and yea its very of its time but it still rules. Their progression was natural but they also ended up in such a different place. I wonder live, how it felt going from these drugged drone jams to more polished stuff? If it was less visceral, or more fun? Wish there was more live videos of em. Anyway, they rule, Enjoy.
Https://boweryelectric.bandcamp.com/music
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