Noise Pop 21: Ramona Falls, Social Studies, Harriet, Mahgeetah

RAMONA FALLS
Like most of us, Brent Knopf watches a lot of YouTube videos, only he’s not watching kittens playing piano. Rather, his tastes err on the more experimental side of things—like people who attempt perpetual motion machines using magnets. “I love that they’re trying to harness an endless supply of energy,” says the Ramona Falls frontman, “and that they go against conventional wisdom in the hopes of true discovery.”

Which is exactly what Knopf did last year, when he decided to quit the… Show more acclaimed art rock trio Menomena and devote his time to one epic, personal vision. “False freedom is the ratification of pre-rigged choices,” the musician paraphrases the philosopher Noam Chomsky, “while true freedom is the agency to shape the choices themselves.” But as Knopf is learning now with a full-time focus on a former side project, freedom comes with greater risk. Prophet, the second Ramona Falls album, is sonically, lyrically and thematically brighter. It’s also more organic and personal than anything he ever contributed to Menomena, or as the singer/multi-instrumentalist explains, “it’s more of a rapid transit line between my sleeve and my heart.”

“With Ramona Falls I am exploring what I stand for which makes it more personal to me,” Knopf admits. “I’m less worried now about being made fun of, than I was before. I can now say things I believe in, and some people may think it’s stupid or cheesy…but that’s kind of fun. I would much rather speak from the heart than hide behind impenetrable obfuscation.”

That emotional honesty and creative fearlessness is certainly paying off. Prophet is an album that recalls the experimental beauty of Laughing Stock by Talk Talk, and the unabashed earnestness of his old labelmates Death Cab For Cutie. Knopf appreciates those highly regarded comparisons but when pressed for the true inspirations that fed into his overall vision, he cites Martin Gore of Depeche Mode’s dark chordal elements, a production style halfway between Tears for Fears and the Homosexuals, and lyrical themes that channel a dyslexic Jorge Luis Borges if he starred in Flowers for Algernon.

Recorded with bandmates Paul Alcott (drums, and also, ironically, Knopf’s replacement in Menomena), Matt Sheehy (guitar), and Dave Lowensohn (bass) and featuring guest appearances by four other friends, the stunning album begins with “Bodies of Water,” an emotive and rousing anthem about how intimacy bundles together both nourishment and peril. “Spore,” a heartfelt highlight of Prophet bears a substantive core: “I like the idea of someone refusing to feel lonely, despite how utterly alone they might actually be,” Knopf explains. “It’s a form of rebellion.” But the 11 tracks are not all exercises in introspective fragility; “Brevony” is Knopf’s most unleashed moment with gnarling guitars ambushing the listener at the chorus on all sides.

Prophet, the album’s title, is an homage to Knopf’s religious upbringing, a titular reference to a worldview that reveres exalted seers who assert meaning despite the chaos. But as the newly empowered songwriter has discovered with Ramona Falls, it’s a better strategy to embrace the chaos. And then refashion it into a beautiful noise.

SOCIAL STUDIES
San Francisco’s Social Studies are best described as explorers, creating music that is compelling and profound, taking broad ideas and emotions and expressing them in alluring and dynamic ways. Their anthems of regret and triumph reveal an essence of pulsing, dark pop that belie their complex themes of life, love, pain, and pleasure.

The band – led by Natalia Rogovin (vocals, keys) and Michael Jirkovsky (drums), who were joined in 2009 by bassist Jesse Hudson and guitarist Tom Smith and in early 2012 by second guitarist Ben McClintock – has won a loyal fan base thanks to their arch take on modernist pop as heard on 2010 release Wind Up Wooden Heart. Social Studies has become a force to be reckoned with in concert as well, transfixing audiences at the CMJ Music Festival, SXSW, and Noise Pop, and bringing their unique energy and spirit to stages shared with tUnE-yArDs, Wye Oak, Lotus Plaza, Thee Oh Sees, Dodos, Dungen, and Au Revoir Simone just to name a few.

With much of 2010 and 2011 spent on the road, the band returned to the studio in early 2012, enlisting the skills of ascendant Oakland engineer Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, Deerhoof, Thao & Mirah) to streamline their sound and refine their approach. With the stated goal of remaining as true to their hypnotic and driving live show as possible, the band dug deeper into texture, mood and repetition, stripping away some of the ornate flourishes that were a past hallmark to leave an anthemic core. The result is the album Developer, a bold push for the band and their best work to date.

HARRIET
Alex Casnoff was the keyboard player for some serious LA bands, Dawes and PAPA, but he was really a songwriter. Casnoff needed to do his own thing so he introduced the world to Harriet in the fall of 2011. The band's debut EP, Tell The Right Story, is filled with murder ballads, dreams and memories about messed up people pushing forward no matter what. There is an anxious optimism and a deep dark sense of humor that bleeds through each of the five songs. There is no way out. You will never get there. But there is no excuse for giving up. A fate, accepted and then ignored.

The EP straddles the line between classic American songs and the sonic experimentation of electronic music. The band continues to delve deeper into this contrast, and that's what's most exciting about Harriet. At every show, and with every new song, they get closer to codifying the Electronic-American sound.

Harriet's music is evolving into something familiar, filtered through a dream. Songs that strive to live comfortably within the distorted memory, and take no stock in chasing the past. The anti-nostalgia. The music's repetition, groove, and build come from minimalism and dance music, and that mixed with their slightly crooked American rock songs and alluring hooks, equals something that is both emotionally and physically satisfying. Harriet is a band that starts with a good song, but makes f~~king it up a priority.

Go see them live. They take chances, precisely altering any and every song completely, making their experience as fresh as ours. Expect the unexpected. Hear the unheard. See the unseen, and be the unbean...

Alex Casnoff, sings and plays Guitar and Keyboards. Aaron Folb plays electric and synth bass. Henry Kwapis plays drums, percussion and SPD. Adam Gunther plays Guitar.

MAHGEETAH
Magheetah is Ryan Fisher, J.J. Mellon, Alex Swain, and Tim Tyson. “If there is a word to describe Mahgeetah it would be “cohesive.” For a band whose formidable years were spent performing cover songs in a garage, both their songwriting and performances feature an astounding amount of maturity and originality. This is not to say that they do not wear their influences on their sleeve, nor do they shy away from acknowledging those they admire most. What they are doing is continuing a legacy that great artists have always presented to the masses, and that is to blend a modern interpretation with what has come before. In other words, move music forward. Within a group setting, the rewards are even more profound because the individual personalities become intermingled and contrasted so readily that the lines between uniform and chaos get blurred; and the result is usually a refreshing new style of music and form.

Mahgeetah’s debut album, Heavy Baby, combines the richness of early blues and American roots with not only the large rock sound from the 1960s and 70s, but the integrity of a modern day indie act. It is a promising effort from a group of guys at the early stages of their career, and who appear to have the wherewithal to understand the type of dedication needed to become successful. Through their impassioned live shows and their keen insight to produce an amazing sound, Mahgeetah is poised to be one of the great acts to come out of San Francisco". – Dig In Magazine, August 2012

In their young duration as a group formed in 2010, Mahgeetah has joined bills with Colorado sensation The Lumineers, as well as Bay Area rockers The Stone Foxes, Sleepy Sun, The Soft White Sixties and Tea Leaf Green.

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