Reviews

I am so over atmospheric indie rock, although I was arguably never transfixed by it. I prefer my music short, straight-forward, loud and if there are solos of any kind, they are kept to a minimum and never even lean toward jam-style. So it's safe to say I initially dismissed Overview. Despite the EP, Forty-Four Stone Tigers, including only seven songs, it clocks in at the same length as a 12-track punk LP. This means long songs and a lot of extra time for showy instrumentation. Sigh. However, Overview was so undeniably good at what they do and entirely unique, I ultimately must give due credit to this unsigned San Franciscan band.

Overview's guitar work sounds like its flitting and floating through an atmospheric void. Vocalist Spencer Drager often does background ooohs that sound like they were recorded in a dreamy, vacant space. In describing the bandÕs sound, I want to point out that they're not at all mellow. The jargon used in reference to this subgenre has a wussy tint. But Overview manages to take this experimental, wavy sound and keep a high energy. I guess I would say they sound like Dismemberment Plan plus Mute Math with the song structure of Sigur Ros, but it's hard to pin Overview down.

The EP largely plays with dynamic to achieve its signature sound. From dissonant guitars to pulsing bass lines, the music moves through light and airy valleys and passes on to throbbing and emotionally driven peaks. My favorite song was "Melancholy in the City" because the guitar travels really well through the song and has this enjoyable bounciness mixed with a triumphant melody. "Desert Song" starts out empty-to-warm acoustic guitar, bends into a bass solo, gets real quiet, then builds up to an overall fantastic finish.

The instrumental title track falls into that Radiohead-esque ambience thing. The song has a great moody bass going for it, but the sound of wind is laced into the track, which...lame. The stomp/hand clap beat that opens "The Two Headed Snake" is exactly the same as one I heard in a Ben Lee song. I'm not saying that they ripped it because really, how many people are exposed to the non-funny Australian version of Ben Folds? I'm just saying it's the same. I also think the song is unnecessarily long (repeating lyrics will do that).

Overview doesn't sound like much of anything out there. There's a certain level of musical mastery that allows the band to make the lilting, concentrated tunes on this EP sound effortless. Both guitarist Brian DaMert and bassist Greg Sellin are pretty ridiculously talented. A band like this involves a certain level of attention and patience from the listener. Let the song unfold, I suppose. Which is cool if you're into that kind of thing.