OK, so it’s not super obvious at this point given my recent super weak updating frequency, but trust me, I have big plans for TRMW in 06. One of these plans involves regular posting of unreleased stuff by bands I like. And when I say bands I like, you know I mean Nice Nice, because you know Nice Nice is pretty much the musical magna carta thrown down ‘pon the earth like molten hot fire. I’ve recenty taken to describing these guys (one Jason Buehler and one Mark Shirazi, both old buddies currently residing in Portland) as the best no-wave fusion jam band on the planet, which is sloppy at best but kind of gets at it. To be clearer: Nice Nice is Jason playing guitar and shouting through a megaphone whilst simultaneously twiddling a vast selection of effects boxes and synth pedals, whilst Mark beats the skins (old-school and electronic) with primal abandon / lazer precision. The result is a driving, pulsing future-music that comes off like “Remain in the Light” era Talking Heads jamming with “On the Corner” Miles Davis and, uh, Can.
Except on this track. Getting back to where I started, I originally received this track in it’s rougher form, and was planning on posting it as the first in my series of unreleased TRMW jams for 06. But the days led to more days and here I am posting the final version of the track, the album already having been released. Which means nothing except a small reduction in blog cred (aka NOTHING) and an even tighter version of the song. Taken from the Fall installment of Nice Nice’s excellent series of seasonal EPs (four in total, released on Temporary Residence throughout 05), “Down, Down, Down Part 1″ is the kind of warm, chiming acoustic lullaby I wouldn’t expect from this band in a million years, and enjoy all the more for it. My friend says it sounds like “Christmas in India” and that seems about right. The slide guitar has that sitar-y vibe going, and there’s a glowing, winter wonderland feeling throughout. The rest of the EP is similar in acoustic warmth and loveliness, and stands in stark relief against (a) the other three’s foreboding pysch drones, and (b) pretty much all recorded Nice Nice music ever. It’s a talented band that can drop something this amazing in a style completely different from (what I thought was) their own without making it seem like a genre exercise, all while communicating something emotional and deep. So yeah, reason number 500 why Nice Nice rules the universe.
I should probably also mention that these four EPs will soon be bundled together in some sort of box set, so keep an eye out for that. Nice Nice is also currently recording their next album. Jason tells me they just finished this track called “Freak Flag” that is “really catchy” and “just might be the title track.” They’re also about to begin a biweekly residency at the Towne Lounge, where I’m told they’ll be debuting some new material on March 23rd. Needless to say, you should go.
Merry Christmas:
