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Transmission getting weaker, weaker, weaker
Disappear with The Slow Signal Fade
The inevitable decay: existence winds down to nothing, energy is diffused into the formless void. Life is the doomed struggle against entropy and the signature sound of that futile struggle is the digital delay, the first initial surge of sound followed by a slow signal fade.
The essence of entropy inspired the name of The Slow Signal Fade, a quartet from Los Angeles that mixes shoegaze guitars with arresting female vocals into an exotically appealing sound.
"It definitely has to do with our sound, but it's a weird sort of metaphor for life. It's like you're born, you automatically start dying ... It's not even supposed to be negative, it's just the way things are," said guitarist Ron Ulicny.
The name certainly fits the sound. The basis of their sound is Ulicny's guitar work. He drenches it in reverb, distortion, chorusing and the all-important delay until it becomes an orchestra of shimmering, pulsing sound existing in an imaginary, infinite space. Warm, soft and gauzy lines transform into furious, buzzing riffs in an instant, varying from dreamlike to electrifying. Chris Walters' bass-work plays off it-sometimes working in counterpoint, sometimes melding with it into a unified pulse. Aaron Vishria's drums push the songs along and add the occasional accent. Over all of this, Marguerite Olivelle's powerful voice swoops and soars, going from a sultry whisper to a banshee-like wail in the space of second.
Certain individual influences are easy to name and the band has been plagued by specious comparisons.
"One more fucking person compares us to the Cranberries, I'm going to ... freak. Maybe (Olivelle) sounds a little bit like (her) voice, but I don't think we sound anything like the Cranberries," Ulicny said.
They do sound something like The Cure, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, but there are plenty of less obvious forces at work in their music. Bassist Walters cites Kyuss, Tool and Pink Floyd, drummer Vishria names The Police and U2. Olivelle draws on jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, along with more recent indie stars such as Cat Power. The sum of these influences is put together in such a way as to create something distinctive and unusual. Love them or hate them, The Slow Signal Fade create something that is unmistakably their own.
"If everyone listens to New Order, you end up sounding like the Killers or something, Ulicny said. "It's one of those things; I think it really helps us out. We're not trying to sound like anything, we just kind of play, and whatever comes out is what we sound like."
For The Slow Signal Fade, song writing is an organic process. Each member brings ideas into rehearsals and the band plays with them and jams, adding pieces until the song takes shape. For this reason, the band's songs are a true reflection of the group as a whole.
"Anyone can come in with an idea and it just builds from there ... No one is like 'here's a song I wrote, here's what you're going to be playing.' At most, someone has a part for their instrument, maybe a rough suggestion ... for somebody else. We all contribute," Vishria said.
"There's no reason to be in a band if it's not going to be like that," Ulicny said. "It's like you're working for somebody else. If you don't respect the people you play with to come up with their own parts, to do what they do, just play acoustic or be a singer/songwriter or something."
That band-oriented focus on song writing brings the band closer and keeps things fresh.
"It is so exciting when we go into the studio and someone comes up with something. That's why it works, we inspire each other," Olivelle said. It doesn't hurt that they all get along like old friends, camping out while on the road and taking detours for "band trips" to see famous sites or visit a favorite hot dog stand.
The band has released two EPs on Stroll Music, Kindling and Through the Opaque Air. Kindling was a demo they recorded and mixed in 24-hours and decided to release. Opaque was recorded over the space of two days with a producer who was unfamiliar with the band. It's marred by muffled drums, an unbalanced mix that ignores the band's idiosyncrasies and a generally flat and lifeless sound. No one in the band feels that either release is a good representation of their sound.
"People get a misconception (about us). They listen to the CD, they think 'these are good songs; it's not bad, but there's something missing.' Then they come see us live and they're like 'OK, I get it a little better,'" Ulicny said.
The difference between their recorded and live sound is the difference between unfulfilled potential and brilliance. The drumming is more urgent. The elements are better balanced and they make excellent use of dynamics and tension to keep the songs from being boring. Each song traverses its own course, building and breaking in waves of cascading sound. It doesn't hurt that Olivelle is a striking vision on stage. She's animated and vital, whipping her head around, gyrating in time with the beat and staring into an unknown distance as she sings. Short and slender with exotic, beautiful features, she seems like some sort of rare pixie, with a voice several times her size.
After two unsatisfying recordings, The Slow Signal Fade has enlisted none other than the legendary Steve Albini to mix and engineer their debut album. Albini's talents behind the mixing board have helped bands such as Nirvana and High on Fire capture their sound on tape. Now they hope Albini can work some of his magic with their distinctive sound.
"We realize what wasn't captured, and so I think that's our goal, with working with Albini, is to actually capture our sound," Olivelle said.
"He's the best chance we have of capturing the edge and the niceness at the same time," Ulicny said.
The album was finished over five days and will be released in early 2006. The band is eager to get it out there and follow it up with a tour.
"When we're not making music, we're thinking about making music. It seems like our life is either doing it, or planning it or selling things so we can do it," Olivelle said.
If Albini can capture their edge and niceness, not to mention their dynamics, diversity and dedication, it should take them a long way.