Historics : Taverns
It may seem as if a cosmic aligning of the stars is the only explanation for how the men of Historics came together to release their compelling debut album, Strategies for Apprehension. It’s difficult to imagine what a collaboration between Don Devore (Amazing Baby; Ink & Dagger; The Icarus Line), Josh Grubb (VietNam), Mickey Madden (Maroon 5), Jeff Knutsen (Fast Fourier), and Matt Werth (Favourite Sons) may sound like. Despite their disparate backgrounds, Historics’ have created a meticulously crafted and inimitable sound.
Recorded over the last year in New York and L.A., Strategies is a collection of art-damaged pop that’s as catchy as it is experimental. Over the album’s 45 minutes, the band drifts between sun-kissed psychedelia, pulsing slowcore, shaggy garage rock, and droning electronics. Strategies opens with “Skin Orders,” a tug of war between angular acoustic guitar strums and swirling keyboards, before shifting into a dream-pop chorus. “Taverns” is ripe with bittersweet bliss, where Devore’s melancholy lyrics linger over Grubb’s hypnotic guitar licks.
