Solvents’ Forgive Yr Blood takes me to the back catalog in the Music Spectrum office.
The Washington state group’s album opens with the title track sounding like something from Bob Dylan’s Desire sessions where Dylan’s folk was augmented by a full band, Scarlet Rivera’s passion-fueled violin, and Howie Wyeth’s rolling drums. The resulting project brought the listener into a vacant house type sound where the music emerged like light shining through the dust. Solvents will often give you that same sense.
However, the album doesn’t stay in that folk rock vein. It branches out into electrified twang rock, creeping out from behind a curtain of indie velour. “We Were Guests Here” takes me back to DGC Rarities Vol. 1, a great little collection made most famous for its inclusion of the Counting Crows’ “Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman),” a track that is hard to believe was a throwaway. Solvents’ “We Were Guests Here” kicks off with a guitar riff similar to the Posies’ “Open Every Window,” although the Posies pick up a much faster tempo. But the Solvents song also is reminiscent of the way Teenage Fanclub’s “20/20” blends Byrds-like inspiration with some twang. Neither the Posies or the Teenage Fanclub track are pitch perfect inspirations, but there’s a glimmer there that brought back to mind this compilation which you should search out at your nearest used CD dealer.
Meanwhile, I was remiss to say it, but what really comes through from forgive yr blood is a comparison to the Gin Blossoms, a twangy-rock given as much to folk and country as it is to guitar-driven rock. Add Madden’s violin to the Gin Blossoms, especially the Blossoms’ more subdued, country tracks, and you start to get the idea of Solvents. I was remiss to make the connection, because I don’t know if a Gin Blossoms comparison carries much street cred and I want you to realize that Forgive Yr Blood is well-worthy of your listening.
