'Horses of War'
(Gypsy Eyes Records)
What's it take to get your band reviewed in the BMX climate these days? It could be a matter of things, from friends in the band that ride bikes to a band's music being featured in a bike video. Revival takes an alternate route though; one that pushed them to the immediate top of the review pile. Attached with their new album are highlights that said reviewer might appreciate about the album, and apart from the indie credentials (which are not to be undermined), one part rang true with me: "Chaps that can all ride bikes!"
So Revival is a band of bike riders from the Maryland/DC area. They feature members of the band Canyon, the album was recorded at J. Robbins' Magpie Cage in Baltimore, and judging from the likes of their one sheet, they don't take themselves too seriously. The music of Revival though, is not to be taken lightly. It's a vexing blend of Americana, folk and country, but it doesn't invoke the traditional standards of any of those genres. And it meanders between powerful displays of saturation and soft, tempered ballads that detail desperation and loneliness through unexpected turns. I guess what I'm getting at is that, by indie standards, folk and/or country influences don't usually stray too far from what got them there in the first place; broken hearts, cheap whiskey and empty roads. Revival does takes that into account, but the band and their music does not discount the fact that they've all endured collective experiences which may be foreign to the ground they're treading on. Meaning, you can work in an LA bar and still interpret the Americana/country landscape without feeling like a fish out of water. I don't know, it's good and they ride bikes....
myspace.com/revivalx to stream selections from 'Horses of War'
-BT
