Published August 14, 2010
By Adam Wujtewicz
Eighteen songs is a lot. You may not think so in the grand scheme of things - my iPod has 14,605
songs on it. However for anyone who’s ever bought a CD or record and especially for
anyone that's tried to record an album... 18 is an extreme amount of songs. In fact, this may be our longest review yet! Guess what folks... Above/Below just raised the
bar on you.... 2 Sides hits on all cylinders from start to finish.
Is Above Below a hip-hop group? Is Above Below a jazz ensemble? Is Above Below a rock band? I'll tell you one thing, 2 Sides will not answer that question. They run the gamut and make no apologies for
it. With a 7-piece band and an MC at the
helm would you expect them to keep a constant style? There are 2 many personalities there.
The lyrics on this record are
constant. Vocalist Gabe Chandler, (AKA MC Stat), spits lyrics like
sunflower seeds all over this record till they're piled up in a neck high heap. Most hip-hop is usually this way but when
you’re doing hip-hop with that old school "double time" delivery you have to
write even more lyrics and this can make them a little hard to keep up
with. Primarily the subject matter deals
with a sociopolitical issue but before you go running in the other direction
because you "don’t like political bands" listen to the songs "Socialist" and "Profits". These songs are clever,
catchy and current... that's the 3 C's of a good pop song. There are some lighter hearted subjects on
the record. "Fly in My Soup" is a story
about Gabe punching out a smart mouthed waiter.
You've got 7 more people rocking consistently on this
record and in some cases that can lead to some self indulgent soloing and songs
that last for millennia. Above/Below is
not all about that. They use the guitar
and bass to move the songs along from part to part and the horns to accentuate
the changes and punctuate the statements the band is making musically. Drummer Jonas Sanchez drives this bus using
jazz riffing, funk high hat and rock n' roll beats to keep everyone
together. This is a mature band. They all know the part they have to play and they
are proud to do it. None of them show
ego on the recording and it makes the listening much more enjoyable.
Mixing all these elements together can be difficult
thing to do in the studio. The rhythm
guitar tends to sound far away and while the reverb sounds cool there are
points when it should punch more. The
horns and vocals are right out front as they should be but that baritone sax
should sound rounder and more full as it is it sounds almost like a synth. One of my favorite parts of the sound of the album
is the turntables. It's not something
I'm used to having seen Above/Below many times live. They could've taken this guest star and
pushed him up to the front to make the point that they're doing hip-hop music
but instead they use it as a texture as an added bonus rather than selling
point. The sound of the record has the
proper amount of polish on it; this is hip-hop/pop/jazz after all. Everything is audible all the time and that's
not an easy thing to do with all those sounds.
2 Sides, 18 tracks, millions upon
millions of words and riffs. This is a
huge testament to Above/Below's song writing ability and the diversity of their
talents as musicians. Get this recording
and listen to it over and over again because you will continue to find new things
each time you do.
LOVE & PRESS
"I just wanted to thank you for all you do for the local music community. I have tonight off so I went to the wailing city site to see who was playing. It’s amazing all the work you put in for all the local musicians and venues and I just wanted to thank you."
- Phil Smith (musician)
"...my new best friend Meghan Killimade, who's site Wailing City, lets me find all the latest local bands -- where they are playing and the times -- has suddenly been a big help in letting me find some events outside of my usual box!"
- Stephanie Shawn "Bar Fly Journals"
(Sound Waves Magazine)
Published December 2024
"Wailing City is this absolutely fantastic local music blog here in CT. They've been the place to go to find out what's happening, what's new and why you should care for well over a decade. Graciously, they interviewed us about the new album, the book, the film and all that. While touring throughout the years, we've sometimes felt like 'one foot in, one foot out' with the local scene, but they've always made us feel right at home. Thanks Wailing City."
- Pocket Vinyl (band)
"There are a staggering 64 documented live music performances in my home of New London county, CT today alone! The population of this county is only 268,805 and it is only 772 square miles. That is an incredible saturation of venues hosting live music and is a stark contrast to places I've lived in the past! You would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country that has so much live music. Amazing really! Thank you for the hard work documenting and promoting Wailing City!"
-Travis Hyll (musician)
"Wailing City appreciation post: true champions of the New London county music scene. Follow them!"
-Dirt Pile (band)
"We wanna take a minute to shout out our friends over at Wailing City for always helping to spread the word about our shows. They've been curating the most comprehensive live music calendar for SECT since 2006. If you don't already, give them a follow."
- 33 Golden Street (venue)
"Wailing City should be your first check in for all local music schedules. Thank you so much for all your efforts in promoting the scene!!
- David Schena (musician)
"Wailing City has been keeping the calendar up to date since I first started going to shows 20 years ago. We’re lucky to have Meghan volunteer her time to help keep the scene going!"
-James Burke (musician)
"With a little footwork and a short drive I managed to visit three live music shows on Bank Street last night... New London ROCKS...and all made possible searching out local music on Wailing City... thanks Meghan."
- Don Diederich (musician / local music fan)
"If you don't have ears, then it's possible you're not aware that southeastern Connecticut - specifically New London County - has an incredibly vibrant music scene. Over the years, it's gone from a hotbed of indie rock to an area of musicians, fans and venues that support a complex and varied number of artistic styles. The wailingcity.com web site - newly and lovingly redesigned - is a tremendous resource. A labor of affection and devotion conceptualized in 2006, wailingcity.com boasts artist bios, reviews and interviews, a club and band data base and calendars, videos, audio streaming, and cross-referenced links on all of the above - as well as lists of music services such as instrument instruction, record and retail stores, related media and periodicals, festival information, and so on. It's the brainchild of musician/artist Meghan Killimade, (and contributors), and they do a terrific job."
- RICK KOSTER (The Day) Published April 03. 2014
“Wailing City, is, as of now, probably the most successfully comprehensive listing on local and area shows in Southeastern Connecticut on the Internet; the folks at Wailing City are doing an excellent job of making sounds from the underground.”
-Ben Johnson (The Day) Published July 27, 2006
- Phil Smith (musician)
"...my new best friend Meghan Killimade, who's site Wailing City, lets me find all the latest local bands -- where they are playing and the times -- has suddenly been a big help in letting me find some events outside of my usual box!"
- Stephanie Shawn "Bar Fly Journals"
(Sound Waves Magazine)
Published December 2024
"Wailing City is this absolutely fantastic local music blog here in CT. They've been the place to go to find out what's happening, what's new and why you should care for well over a decade. Graciously, they interviewed us about the new album, the book, the film and all that. While touring throughout the years, we've sometimes felt like 'one foot in, one foot out' with the local scene, but they've always made us feel right at home. Thanks Wailing City."
- Pocket Vinyl (band)
"There are a staggering 64 documented live music performances in my home of New London county, CT today alone! The population of this county is only 268,805 and it is only 772 square miles. That is an incredible saturation of venues hosting live music and is a stark contrast to places I've lived in the past! You would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country that has so much live music. Amazing really! Thank you for the hard work documenting and promoting Wailing City!"
-Travis Hyll (musician)
"Wailing City appreciation post: true champions of the New London county music scene. Follow them!"
-Dirt Pile (band)
"We wanna take a minute to shout out our friends over at Wailing City for always helping to spread the word about our shows. They've been curating the most comprehensive live music calendar for SECT since 2006. If you don't already, give them a follow."
- 33 Golden Street (venue)
"Wailing City should be your first check in for all local music schedules. Thank you so much for all your efforts in promoting the scene!!
- David Schena (musician)
"Wailing City has been keeping the calendar up to date since I first started going to shows 20 years ago. We’re lucky to have Meghan volunteer her time to help keep the scene going!"
-James Burke (musician)
"With a little footwork and a short drive I managed to visit three live music shows on Bank Street last night... New London ROCKS...and all made possible searching out local music on Wailing City... thanks Meghan."
- Don Diederich (musician / local music fan)
"If you don't have ears, then it's possible you're not aware that southeastern Connecticut - specifically New London County - has an incredibly vibrant music scene. Over the years, it's gone from a hotbed of indie rock to an area of musicians, fans and venues that support a complex and varied number of artistic styles. The wailingcity.com web site - newly and lovingly redesigned - is a tremendous resource. A labor of affection and devotion conceptualized in 2006, wailingcity.com boasts artist bios, reviews and interviews, a club and band data base and calendars, videos, audio streaming, and cross-referenced links on all of the above - as well as lists of music services such as instrument instruction, record and retail stores, related media and periodicals, festival information, and so on. It's the brainchild of musician/artist Meghan Killimade, (and contributors), and they do a terrific job."
- RICK KOSTER (The Day) Published April 03. 2014
“Wailing City, is, as of now, probably the most successfully comprehensive listing on local and area shows in Southeastern Connecticut on the Internet; the folks at Wailing City are doing an excellent job of making sounds from the underground.”
-Ben Johnson (The Day) Published July 27, 2006