Again, I Reiterate!

Words are not necessarily needed when it comes to music.

I found more evidence of this in the band I saw last night at the 400 Bar, Talkdemonic. Hailing from the scenic Northwest, this duo is quite energetic and lets their playing speak volumes about their emotions. A woman draped in a flowing blue dress, New Balance shoes and no socks played violin, while a casually dressed male in an english-looking hat, short-sleeved dress shirt and a tie with the knot loosened just a bit, played drums and messed with the sounds eminating from his laptop. Their set was intense and beautiful, bringing to mind a bit of folk and a lot of post-rock. What was refreshing, though, is that I could not draw any comparisons to other bands in that genre. Simply put, it was flat-out impressive, fresh-sounding music. The only negative was that the songs were too short.

After Talkdemonic, another Arena Rock Recording band took the stage: the now shortened Swords. They were known as The Swords Project before, when I saw them in 2003 at the 7th Street Entry with the awesome but now defunct morning band, The Gloria Record. My jaw dropped when I saw them then; last night, I smiled more and tapped my feet to their 2 drummers filling the room with their monsterous crashing cymbal rhythms. All 6 members were there, distracting me from the true reality and nature of the world. For you see, this is what this kind of music does for me and does to me. It was pouring outside, but my focus lied on stage. The singer was louder and more focused than last time. The band had a different energy than last time, but it was very positive and perfect for a stormy night.

Swords played for about an hour, mostly from their new album, Metropolis. I purchased the album, even though it's not available to the general public till next tuesday, so there! I'm only kidding...I listened to it en route to work, and it is quite astounding. Better sounding than their previous, as the vocals are more prominent and still subtle when they need to be. I also bought Talkdemonic's album, Mutiny Sunrise, which serves as another refresher for the ears. Both albums are a must-buy for anyone who loves beautiful music. That's all for now; more to come later.