Blogarhythms

You may have noticed that Blogarhythms has made like George and Weezie and moved on up to some fancy new digs. I think we’re looking pretty spiffy myself. And the addition of some traditional blog features like archiving, direct permalinks to individual posts, search, and an RSS subscription feed are some really sweet, and much appreciated, improvements. But just because we’re getting all fancy over here doesn’t mean we forgot where we came from. So even as we move forward, we’re also taking a glance backward at a band we featured a sort while back.

While we were glancing back to find them however, that band — Canadian Post-Punk/R&B-fusion duo The Carps — pulled up right alongside us as they moved forward themselves with the release of their second EP, a six-song collection titled Waves and Shambles. The band is still fronted by singer/drummer Jahmal Tonge (who also handles guitar and programming) with Neil White in charge of synthesizers and taking the bass for a walk. The last time I bigged these kids (and their previous EP The Young and Passionate Days of Carpedia) up I likened them to a more Punk-influenced Kenna, comparing Neil to Chad Hugo and citing Michael Jackson & Lenny Kravitz as points of reference for Jahmal’s singing style.

The comparison to Kenna (and probably Chad & Pharrell’s pet N*E*R*D project to a certain extent) still stands this time out, with catchy hooks, conscious lyrics, soulful shouts and slithery synths twisting around fuzzy riffage the order of the day. But they’ve grunged up their guitar and bass attack a bit, trading in the Punky bounce for an aggressive growl that calls more on their Hardcore and Metal influences. Which in turn has Jahmal coming off something like a New School incarnation of Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover a little something.

The first tune I heard from the Waves and Shambles was something else entirely though. Titled “Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames (Redux),” it’s a slower-paced jam built around hop-scotching drum-programming & layers of synthesizers, and it features guest vocals from Black Mag-loving Chicago-based Rap duo The Cool Kids! As the name indicates, it’s a rework of another track on the EP, and when I heard the original — where Jahmal’s lyrics (ostensibly about the impact of substance abuse and possibly inspired by a touring evangelical drama with a similar title) come rapid-fire over rubbery bass, a clattering thrash of drums and those catchy synth chords — I knew The Carps hadn’t totally flipped the script on me. I also wished The Cool Kids had stepped outside their comfort zone and spit on the faster, more hectic original, but no dice.

The Carps “Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames”

Elsewhere, the intro beat to “Porgie & Bess (Big Booty Girls)” gave me a flash of a Hard-Rock take on Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Wishing Well” for some reason (they’re really not that similar), thus insinuating comparisons between Jahmal and TTD into my brain. And while they certainly both share a raspy whine, such thoughts were bashed right out of my head by the song’s blend of guitar screech & synth bleep, and it’s savagely pounding Dancehall-influenced outro/breakdown, not to mention it’s Parliament/Ohio Players-esque vocal segue. Further cranium bashing comes courtesy of “Veronica Belmont” which pits end-boss video-game synths against a crashing assault of kicks, snares and cymbals, while Jahmal gives all those whiny Emo kids a run for their money with his passionate wailing and dark lyricism.

More so even than the way the band mashes styles, mixing up Punk, Metal, Soul, New Wave, Synthpop, Electrofunk, R&B, Electronica, Hip-Hop and Carribean music, it’s Jahmal’s lyricism, which touches on a wide array of topics and treats heady subject-matter with a bit of good-natured irony so as not to come off heavy-handed, that sets them apart. The whole package of lyrics, vocals, sonic dynamics and creative ingenuity is something that’s had me anticipating a new record from the duo since the day I blogged about their debut. That it arrived alongside our own dose of newness is a happy coincidence.

- El Keter