Friday, May 30, 2014
The Wonder Revolution collective releases their 4th album, WOW, a collaboration between David Lord and Les Easterby. The album release will be celebrated with musical performances by Wonder Revolution members David Lord (Francis Moss), Les Easterby, Thayne Coleman, Lindsay Bowling and Allison Olassa, and wonder set installations by Lindsay Bowling.
7-10 pm
suggested donation: $5
all ages
More than a band, The Wonder Revolution is a collective that features musicians and visual artists, all seeking a return to wonder.
Based in Wichita, Kansas The Wonder Revolution brings together some of the Sunflower State’s most talented and imaginative players who explore the nature of wonder across a series of diverse musical settings that can only be described as wondermusic. More than just an amalgamation of post rock, indie, jazz and progressive styles, wondermusic is a genetic code shared by the collective’s diverse membership.
WOW is the latest release from The Wonder Revolution and finds guitarist David Lord collaborating with brilliant cult pop artist Les Easterby (The World Palindrome, The World Palestine, And Academy). The story of wonder established on earlier albums such as Dots and The Forest Meeting continues with this new collaboration. Lord expands his musical vocabulary by focusing on alternate guitar tunings across the release, his melodies and lines filled with a new beauty and brilliance. Although he’s long been considered a guitar master in his native Kansas–and accolades from Alternative Press, Surviving the Golden Age, Drunken Werewolf, Magnet, Under The Radar and Beats Per Minute further this belief–this new material firmly establishes Lord as an exciting and unique voice in the world of music. Gone are easy comparisons to artists such as Pat Metheny, Jeff Parker and Sam Prekop. Here, Lord arrives as a voice other artists will seek to emulate.
Teaming with Easterby, Lord says, was a natural fit. The longtime friends both possess singular voices in their hometown but their blending on this new release is remarkable. Fans of Easterby’s acclaimed Particularly Hello (recorded as The World Palindrome) will marvel at his abilities on WOW while others might ask why this collaboration didn’t happen sooner. Both musicians approach wondermusic with a sincerity and reverence that is refreshing in an age of shock and irony and which enhances the music’s timelessness. Drummer Nathan Wilder (The Appleseed Cast, Paper Airplanes) joins the duo on several tracks, adding to the album’s impressive array of musicianship.
Veteran engineer Micajah Ryan (Bob Dylan, Guns N’ Roses, Black Angels) teams up with Lord in producing a sonic palette of intoxicating wondermusic, adding to an impressive string of releases from up and coming indie label Air House Records- including a recent benefit compilation featuring Thee Oh Sees, Elf Power, Cave Singers and The Shine Brothers (ex-Black Angels).
The last Wonder Revolution LP, Firefly was a CMJ Top 200 success and WOW promises to continue that trend with its remarkable tunefulness and memorable–and wonder inspiring–songs.
