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SeepeopleS
return to www.seepeoples.com
Amped Magazine, May 2006 Review: SeepeopleS at 550 Blues last ThursdayI don't typically see many bands from Boston come to our fair city. I don't know if it's distance or just that they haven't figured out how awesome Macon is yet. I was glad to see SeepeopleS play, and not just because of the geographic novelty. I'd heard good things about them before from a local musician and I figure they know what they're talking about. The first thing I noticed, before they even started playing, was the complexity of their setup. There were at least a half-dozen keyboards, what looked like an adding machine (perhaps a sequencer?) and more pedals than you could shake a stick at. They also had a projector and screen set up at the back of the stage. Their first song was very spacey and a little noodley at the beginning, kind of like Pink Floyd meets the instrumentals from Steve Miller Band songs. Then it started to pick up a bit, with some funky bassline going on, which made me smile. Once they started singing (and it did take a while,) I got excited. They had good harmonies! And the guitar lines were pretty, with a lovely layer of fuzz to drench everything. I spent enough time in Texas to get somewhat steeped in psych, and I make no apologize for my love of poppy noise. At times lead singer Will sounded like Chris Robinson, and sometimes he was more Lennonesque. What I really liked about the band is that even with the simplest melodies, they layered on plenty of sounds and influences, whether it was church organ, space bloops and bleeps or dub reggae reverb. One of the tracks off "Corn Syrup Conspiracy" came across like sunny indie pop, with some squiggly effects and some rocking dub sections. The next tune reminded me very much of the Paul McCartney section of one of my favorite Beatles songs, "A Day In The Life." Sometimes I get bored with long instrumental sequences, but SeepeopleS kept it interesting for me. Their sound was architectural in nature and was quite beautiful to my ears. I didn't catch a lot of the lyrics, but I liked the lines "Do you know what evolution has in store for you?/Do you think we are exceptions to the only rule?" from "Dinosaur." From checking out their site it seems many of the lyrics have political overtones. But there are also silly love songs and stuff. One of their songs sounded like a tweak on "I Am One" off Smashing Pumpkins' first album, complete with Indian-inspired guitar lines. Except there was no singing. In the background a variety of images flashed on the screen, from 1950s illustration to band home footage to art installation stuff. I only stayed for the first set, because I am lame, but I heard that Will Robinson, formerly of Moonshine Still , was set to make an appearance. I appreciated SeepeopleS for being a deviation from the norm and hope they weren't scared off by the light attendance, because I think more folks need to see/hear them. They have a bunch of MP3s on their site, so I decided to post their cover of Porno for Pyros' "Pets" from a fall show. Warning: contains explicit lyrics. Maggie Amped Magazine
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The Corn Syrup Conspiracy