Bockman's big sound could take on Bono
Published May 4, 2007
At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I would just like to say that Bockman totally freaking rocks.
Chasing Dragons, the band's first album since shortening its name from the esoteric Bockman's Euphio, is a testament to what a pop-rock band can do when it stays true to its sound without giving into factions. The band, whose members have previously described their sound as "arena-rock," performs larger-than-life melodic epics in the grandiose vein of the genre-less greats. Think the believability and raw power of War-era U2 with a little more symphonic edge and less of, well, The Edge.
Often anthemic and over-the-top, these could be songs that Tenacious D would write if the guys from Tenacious D took themselves seriously.
The album begins with "Tied to the Moon," a driving piano-rock track with lyrical imagery to boot and call-and-response vocals that make the song feel like a hybrid between Ben Folds and The Futureheads. Accented by the soulful, delicate harmonies of the backing vocals, front man Wil Reeves effortlessly rattles off the band's vivid imagery. He paints delightful images of being "tied to the moon" and "wrapped around stars" for his audience, while stellar vocals and piano, along with guitarist Sean Canan's spacious, almost pastoral guitars, make the song seem as vast and encompassing as the Midwestern night sky.
"Isis," perhaps the album's strongest track, is a well-crafted pop song, expertly combining emotion with accessibility, chock-full of bring-on-the-pathos choruses. Here, keyboardist Andrew Weir has the chance to shine with his intricate, orchestral piano melodies.
The single, "Squirrel View," packs quite a few punches. While Canan's bright guitar accents and piano licks are enough to make Chris Martin seethe with envy, the simple, hooky lyrics are lifted to a new level and given a new sense of warmth and humanity.
"Neighbor," with its barrage of powerful guitar and lush piano hooks, constant crescendo and shoutable lyrics ("too many summers ago/ and it's gonna be warmer in December/ under a blanket of snow"), is tailor-made for an epic stage show. One can almost visualize the quartet on stage, bathed in blue light, with pyrotechnics firing at will from either side of the stage.
The band proves its ability to supercede genre or customary instrumentation on "How Rad it Was," with its spacious synths, clacking electronica beats, spacey, distorted guitars and the occasional bongo thrown in for good measure.
Bockman gives breathing room for other local artists to work their magic as well. "In a Cruel Morning," an energetic bordering-on-electronica track featuring Shannon Diaz of Shirrelle C. Limes and the Lemons, features exquisite, delicate vocals that blend surprisingly well with the track's sometimes crunching, sometimes wailing guitars.
The title track is a gentle, lyrical blues exercise, with images of dragons building nests registering vividly in the band's soft, lullaby-esque harmonies. Canan's atmospheric slide guitar is powerful and an effective reminder of Bockman's early days bordering on the "jam band" genre.
Chasing Dragons, full of intricacy and amps-up-to-eleven power, reinforces the notion that Bockman could — and should — be playing the packed arenas that its sound is big and regal enough to fill, with fans shouting lyrics back with the same ferocity and passion the band puts behind them on its albums.
But at the same time, I don't think I could deal with them leaving Columbia.