Restorations

Hailing from Philadelphia (not sure if it’s West Philadelphia born and raised), Restorations are quickly establishing themselves as the star draw of the burgeoning Tiny Engines label.

Restorations produce the kind of music that resonates deeply; drawing from a myriad of influences to produce a truly distinctive sound. With the release of their debut full length in 2011, they succeeded in delivering a rich collection of songs rooted in bluesy Americana; the sound layered with rhythmic subtleties, ringing guitars and the type of sincerity long forgotten at the punk rock party.

On listening to their self titled debut, I am reminded of Richmond Fontaine and Fugazi concurrently; a contention which is likely to render any further attempts to label Restorations irrelevant. The shimmering melody which introduces ‘West River’, firmly anchored by Dan Zimmerman’s bass is an aurally arresting precursor to the chiming guitars and hazy vocal styling of Jon Loudon; the song dramatically building to a startling flurry of crash cymbals and searing guitars, vaguely echoing Hot Water Music at their very best.

With each release, Restorations appear content in continuing to break standardised and seemingly well-worn barriers of genre classification, and throughout their repertoire, ambiguous influences overlap in unique fashion. It’s testament to the collective and their vision that they have been able to carve a niche for themselves as fine song writers whilst successfully circumventing unnecessary genre classification.

Effectively embracing simplicity is an underlying tenet of their finest songs; ‘A’ the imaginatively-titled A-side of their upcoming 7’ inch is effortless in its sweeping grandiosity. The guitars peal like church bells before they’re cut off at the pass by a bounding bass line; shrinking back to allow Jon Loudon’s husky tones to take centre stage, before resuming the thunderously melodic onslaught.

Restorations are surely on the cusp of something special, and it’s surely only a matter of time before they garner the level of acclaim and recognition that they deserve.

#Alt-Rock #Post-Punk #Restorations #Tiny Engines #Band of the week #Robin Wallace