Oaks

  I bought the CD Field Beat from Oaks this one show they did with Population and Staring Problem. I liked their performance. They are Erica Krumm  and Jim Kolles, a married duo from Minnesota. In The Minnesota Daily they are described as shoegaze. I'll just run with that because I agree, and it gives me permission to continue using that crayon.  Erica in that same Minnesota Daily article sums up the band's lyrics as about "love, death, and nature".  Now I really want to pay attention to their words, because I like how they sound before even understanding. So in ways they are a darker shade of shoegaze, but they are perky too. The fog sometimes clears and you can proceed faster. This is goth club worthy shoegaze. I bring up goths because we are the only ones that even bother to dance to this while the hipsters cannot be pulled away from their iphones. I can seriously dance to this, and that's another way of saying that it keeps my attention effortlessly. And now its something I would love to see again.
 
 I was indecisive about buying the music or letting it slip forever and ever.  I fucking hate that. I'd rather just fucking know. Hell I'm in the fucking North side and I may go for some Indian. Devon Ave ain't that far from Burlington. Some opinions don't survive pizza, but this one did so long enough to have me buy that CD. That implies some commitment to figure out if you like the music further down. For some reason I took few pictures. Perhaps I was just irritated at myself for having missed Staring Problem.  Well, Oaks did come all the way from Minnesota. Buying the CD was almost a hedge on a bet, a willingness to let the seed grow.  Just buy the bloody music. You don't know the true value until the blossom explodes with time or tripping the right wire. I don't recall listening to the music on the way home. That was a Saturday. The following Sunday later early after noon I get a call to help a friend deliver a hand made work of art humidor.
  It was this spontaneous Sunday after noon car ride adventure, my first time at Eric's new place, that tripped that wire. He transformed what he called "the museum of half-assed home repair" into this beautiful apartment you would want to live. He added value to the entire building. He uncovered and polished a diamond in the rough. Made the rough even look good. The rough became functional, and not a symptom of neglect. You would want Eric to do what he does to your place. As we were touring from room to room, the spark of wonder was on that band I saw with Population, and almost with Staring Problem.  It was amazing and it felt great to have been given the tour because this is my friend and I get to see this great side of him. Now I was ready to discover the awesome sounds of Oaks. And now I really wish I bought the shirt.
   
  The main differences with the two versions of Feathers. Hmmm, the self-titled CD version has more gears moving, more textures of sound. Demo version feels stripped down. Its not a complaint at all. I love both versions. They both have this cool dramatic start that for some reason reminds me of Bauhaus Bela Lugosi's Dead. Less instruments means more parking space for the instruments to bring their 70's muscle cars. Like driving at a moderate speed in the middle of a fog that occasionally recedes to allow you to speed up.  Now other songs are fascinating me. Fur Shadows, from their self-titled debut is fucking wow!  I'm discovering that I really like this band with each passing song, Save Sleep....hells yeah. They are brilliant. Admiring how Eric rebuilt the bathroom, so nicely you can picture yourself showering in bathtub. He put layers of bricks around, creating a deeper space while keeping this rugged look. This place he chose with all the mystery that he would uncover and then recreate, and it was the catalyst that compelled me to look at Oaks from Minnesota. Now I'm wishing them back so that I can buy that shirt finally.
Zig