Neowax: Loud, Manic and Irresistible

Sun, 07/20/2008 10:38 AM  |  Entertainment

Hello, my lovelies, it is time for yet another Underground Hum, your weekly music column on indie scenes in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. I apologize for a rather long absence, but I'm happy to announce I'm back for good. Thanks again for the peachy emails you guys have been sending. Keep them coming.

And now, on to this week's edition of Main Stage.

Main Stage:

Bandung's such a crazy little town when it comes to music. It always leaves me dumbfounded, how many cool, weird yet fun musical acts you can find by simply digging around in the town's indie scene. I swear they've got nearly every genre under the sun. Feeling like some crazy free jazz with a hint of punk? Bandung has Sungsang Lebam Telak. In the mood for some old fashioned rock 'n' roll with a hint of funk? They've got 70s Orgasm Club. Shoegaze bands, you say? They've got at least a dozen. How about a little lo-fi noise rock injected with a shot of the psychedelic, then mixed with absurdist lyrics? I bring you Neowax, the subject of this week's Main Stage.

Neowax was formed in 2001 by four guys -- Ceplo (vocals, guitar), Valcon (vocals, bass), Aril (guitar) and Ibor (drums) -- who found inspiration and boatloads of fun in the music of 90s noise-masters, such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Pavement and Sebadoh, as well as psychedelic poets Flaming Lips, My Morning Jacket and Grandaddy.

A most impressive list of influences, audible in their raw, lo-fi sound. Raucous and complex guitars with distortions ranging from light to severe, along with smooth but frantic bass lines, flirtatious and playful drum work and intentionally off-key ranting vocals recorded minimally (thus making up the lo-fi part of their musical identity) seem to be their signature. You have to hand it to these guys: Not many bands here have the guts to tackle a genre as unfriendly to mainstream ears as lo-fi indie rock, but these guys do it with flair, style and a clear understanding and appreciation for there chosen genre.

On their debut album, Ghost Treat Magic, their exploratory range within the genre is quite apparent. On songs like "Deep Refine Yawned Before Them" (track 2) and "Tribute to Ironic Criticalism" (track 4), they play more on the noise side of the spectrum by pumping up the distortions and letting the guitar screech and fly off in as many directions as possible. Meanwhile, on "Wishing the Yolk" (track 7), they seem to be swimming in a psychedelic sea by minimizing the distortions and letting the bass calmly take your hand on a quiet walk guided by simple drumbeats. The same feeling is evoked on tracks 8 and 9 ("Carrier Pigeon Lost in the Sky" and "Gaposis").

If the style progression within "Ghost Treat Magic" is any indication, the band is nowhere near finished exploring its sound -- a very good thing, in this writer's humble opinion.

For all the fans out there of noise rock or lo-fi indie rock, I highly recommend listening to these guys. It'll definitely soothe your distortion-addicted eardrums.

For now, you can hear Neowax on their pages, www.myspace.com/neowax or http://amp.channelv.com/neowax. Info on how to buy their CD, Ghost Treat Magic, is also available there or by emailing them at gaposis_neowax@yahoo.co.uk

Thus ends this week's Underground Hum. Do tune in next week for Reverb.

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee, if any.

Be good!

-- Paul F. Agusta

If you have any questions or suggestions for this column, please contact me at undergroundhum@yahoo.com

For all you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee, if any.

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