Search - High Water Marks :: Songs About the Ocean

THE HIGH WATER MARKS IS THE BEST INDIE BAND EVER!

Caylin Johnson | New York, NY | 09/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collaboration with The Apples in stereo, Oranger, Palermo, and Von Hemmling is incredible. The tracks leave me craving for more each and everytime, and the tunes are really catchy and upbeat. I'd recommend this CD to anyone who's a lover of indie music or a music lover in general."

High marks!

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 11/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Apples in Stereo is one of the top bands in the Elephant 6 collective, and now the band has been cut down the middle. One half is Robert Schneider's band ulysses, and the other High Water Marks. Now High Water Marks makes a solid lo-fi debut, "Songs about the Ocean" with its own fuzzy psychedelic-edged version of garage rock.



It kicks off with the mildly discordant pop ditty "Good I Feel Bad," which seems to switch tempo into a mildly blistering rocker halfway through. A fuzzy bass kicks in for "Queen Verlaine," which doesn't manage to really be either good or bad -- but that sound is taken into outer space with the densely-packed fuzz-bass and electronic blips of "Sixth of July."



High Water Marks has weird mix of the raw and laid-back, mixed in with some crazy beats that never quite get catchy. It's all a little too straightforward to really make your feet tap. But it is a fun musical adventure, simple rock with some wild twists -- such as the sinuous guitar riffs in "Good I Feel Bad" -- and a psychedelic edge.



Sidney provides some solid, clear leading guitar as well as some equally clear vocals, but her singing tends to get buried in the dense instrumentation. Her voice is too wispy to stand above "Sixth of July's" heavy bass and fuzz. Per Ole Bratset's almost androgynous voice is a bit stronger than Sidney's, but he still tends to get overwhelmed by the music.



And the other band members have some excellent credentials as well -- Sidney got fellow Elephant-6-er Mike Snowdon to contribute some excellent basslines, full of heavy fuzz that feels like an avalanche on your ears. But she also has Per Ole Bratset of Palermo providing some wickedly twisting lead guitar. Jim Lindsay of Oranger and Preston School of Industry round out the group with some drumbeats you have to dig to find.



High Water Marks have plenty of promise, if they build on "Songs About the Ocean." Don't expect the Apples in Stereo -- just expect some solid lo-fi fuzz-rock, and you won't be disappointed."