Top of the Stairs
Holm Front
Dec 14, 2020 Maxband
Maxband, the Brooklyn-based project, sees Max Savage of Parquet Courts step out from behind the drumkit and take the lead. Savage plays guitar and splits vocal duties with Patrick Smith of A Beacon School, who also plays bass. Tim Nelson and Eric Read round out the lineup on lead guitar and drums respectively. Since debuting in 2018 with the lowkey tape release Perfect Strangers, the band has mainly played support slots for The Men, Sports Team, and The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, among others. Maxband’s first EP, The Top of the Stairs, is a full reintroduction to the band and an enticing taste of the group’s strong instrumental chemistry.
While it would be tempting to write off Maxband as merely a Parquet Courts side-project, Maxband largely sidesteps that accusation, creating their own distinct instrumental cocktail. The exception is the opener, “Unsaid,” which stray in the direction of Parquet Courts with driving post punk guitar riffs and vocals that bear no small resemblance to Max’s brother, Parquet Courts’ Andrew Savage. However, the style is a little less nervy, leaning into a barrelling frenetic energy that sells the song with unrestrained enthusiasm.
The band then quickly pulls off into less familiar territory with “Cut It Loose,” whose call and response guitar leads and tight rhythms are closer to the early days of The Strokes. The bright sound pairs well with Smith’s airy vocals and Savage’s vocals are the perfect counterpoint to the sunny indie feel. With the strongest hook on the EP and a frantic vocal climax from Savage, the song is a clear highlight.
With “Good Time” and “Rural North,” the band delves further into dreamy, effects-laden settings. “Good Time” is a more subdued and cloudy take, with Smith on lead vocals, while “Rural North” conjures gloomy textures and ethereal synth tones. Capping off the EP is “Case of Dust,” the best instrumental showcase on the record. The band says that each song on The Top of the Stairs began as a basic riff or structure that was built out on the road and then coalesced in the studio. That process bears the most fruit on the jamming instrumental outro of “Case of Dust.” When the band is given the chance to stretch out and lock into a groove, the effect is sublime, so much so that they could likely have spent longer in that mode with no complaints.
On Top of the Stairs, Maxband does an excellent job of building on the strength of their live shows and moves towards creating something wholly their own. The collaborative songwriting focus and variety of instrumental styles give everyone on the record the space to shine, and the resulting EP elevates Maxband to be more than a side project or a showcase for Max Savage, finding its own identity in spontaneous instrumental chemistry. (www.maxbandnyc.bandcamp.com)
Author rating: 7.5/10
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