THE PRESS "Noxious Saucy Beast EP" (Good Night) Review by Jordan A. Baker
Here's an interesting slab of indie rock that is a) not dance-punk, b) a slave to the hi-hat, and c) remotely ordinary. THE PRESS are an Atlanta based three-piece that do some impressive things with an organ, and have a vocalist who can channel all sorts of wacky emotions in the span of a five minute song. Although somewhat of a tenuous comparison, the vocals (and lyrics for that matter) remind me of PIEBALD's Travis Shettel, but with less dramatic flair - and there's no piano grandstanding. THE PRESS's music hovers slightly below mid-tempo, and digs in with jangly rhythms and odd percussive effects. For a band with only three members, they manage to weave a fair amount of textures into their songwriting. None of the six tracks are particularly memorable on their own, but the EP has an even, consistent feeling to it, notwithstanding shifts in moods (predominantly from spooky to creepy, to just plain, weird), tempos, and the like. I'm sure that being a "THE" band isn't going to do THE PRESS any favors, but their music defies convention, and I'm curious to see how they further develop.
