CAPILLARY ACTION
CAPILLARY ACTION
Equal parts samba school density and Beefheartian primitivism; pure pop bliss and chamber ensemble precision, Capillary Action are an American musical ensemble that cannibalize a wide variety of sources to synthesize a cubist, confrontational take on classic pop forms. Led by composer/singer/guitarist Jonathan Pfeffer, Capillary Action’s music is typified by its frenetic pace, dense harmonies, broad dynamics, elastic rhythmic interplay, and confessional tone. Far from pastiche or collage, central to Pfeffer’s modus operandi is the challenge of eliminating the distinctions between chaos and clarity, art and pop, consonance and dissonance to communicate complex, ambiguous, and extremely personal experiences through song.
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Since 2005, Capillary Action have maintained a staunch DIY approach to its operation, releasing music on its own Natural Selection imprint and sharing stages far and wide alongside Beirut, Dirty Projectors, Rhys Chatham, Shudder to Think, and Les Claypool, among others. In March 2011, Capillary Action’s long-awaited sophomore album Capsized will be released on the group’s own Natural Selection imprint. Capillary Action still traffic in the overwhelming moments that have become its bread and butter—the sugar rush of an unexpected timbre, the exhilaration of a heart-stopping chord change, the brain freeze of a disassembled rhythm, the toxic shock of the lyric that plunges deeper into the psyche than one should safely tread—but this second time around, the attack is more nuanced, the ‘border crossing’ more seamless, and the songs exponentially sophisticated.
LUCY MICHELLE & THE VELVET LAPELLES
Take a pinch of mountain gypsy, a dash of psych-folk and a combine it with an ocean of split-open-and-melt lyricism, intricately delivered by one of the most unique voices in music, and you have Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles. Since bursting onto the Twin Cities music scene in 2008, the fiery sextet have blossomed into one of the most celebrated and cherished young talents to emerge from Minnesota in recent history.
BLACK BLONDIE
Minneapolis based Black Blondie is a band in the purest sense of the word: the tightly knit four-piece unit, formed in 2006, collectively writes and performs all of their music. Black Blondie's daring frontwoman, Samahra, has the attitude and charisma of a punk rock diva. She has a voice that would serve any American Idol three times over but lyrics that shock with wit and intellect.
