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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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The Debut: Not for Elvis fans
Wednesday 31 January @ 16:45:50 |
  by NATHAN DEAN
When the four college buddies who make up local rock newcomers The Debut decided to make the move from their scholastic digs in Madison, Wisc., to Minneapolis they made the logical decision to move in together since only singer/guitarist Ben Gurstelle was native to the area. Clearly, this was a great move all around. It allowed the group to rigorously adhere to the kind of relentless practice schedule that leads to tightened chops and meticulous melodies, all of which are evident on their forthcoming debut This Record Is About Cars. Just don't go and try telling their neighbors the good news.
"I'm pretty sure our neighbor hates us; he put up a fence between our properties," says Gurstelle, who actually moved out of the house this fall when he decided the environs might be a little too rock and roll for his first year of law school.
"It's a pretty classic passive-aggressive Minnesota situation," offers drummer Ben Mulhern.
"I actually asked him about our practices once," chimes in guitarist Jordan Kohler, clearly relishing the chance to share this band anecdote. "He was like, 'Yeah, you're pretty good about being quiet by 9. But I'm more of an Elvis guy myself.'"
Although those in search of a band who can knock out a killer rendition of "Suspicious Minds" might be let down, plenty of others will likely be delighted by The Debut's radio ready power pop formula. When polished pop with occasional punk leanings is your stock in trade, there's a fine line between Fall Out Boy (bad) and Fountains of Wayne (good) and throughout the majority of This Record Is About Cars, The Debut find themselves fighting the good fight.
 Like any young band still finding their footing, there are occasional moments when the Debut's ambition outstrips its ability to execute: the horn-fueled and bluesy "The Big Bang" doesn't mesh with the rest of the album, and Gurstelle's clear, pleasing tenor doesn't suit the nasty crunch of "Calm Objective Opinion." These are minor quibbles, however, as in their best moments ("Photograph Song," "Floods In Prague") the band deftly mixes curveballs into their propulsive pop formula, occasionally slowing their insistent rhythms and allowing the songs to stretch out in interesting directions. Guitarist Jordan Koel shows off some seriously impressive fretwork throughout—the "reaching for the stratosphere" guitar breakdown in "Photograph Song" sounds like it was lifted from one of Built to Spill's finer moments and the cathartic controlled feedback that brings "Floods In Prague" to a close approximates the moody genius of My Morning Jacket. This is not a coincidence.
"It's funny because for being pretty much a pop band, all the stuff that we're into is much more the moodier and strange music," admits Gurstelle. "Stuff like My Morning Jacket and Wilco."
Given this penchant for moody listening perhaps it's only appropriate that when The Debut finally got around to recording their first album, they enlisted expert mood manipulator Darren Jackson to produce, mix and master the project. Over the course of his near-decade on the local scene, Jackson's proven particularly adept at impacting the disposition of his listeners—equally effective at darkening one's day with his Kid Dakota project or brightening it with the playful pop of the Hopefuls.
"The thing that was great about working with Darren was that there was nothing on the record that didn't get questioned; we had to justify every part, and right up until the day we sent the record off to the plant, it was changing," says Koel, the member who logged the most hours with Jackson over the eight months the group spent at his Shortman Studios. "Ultimately, he was very good about letting us have the final say," says Mulhern. "I think Darren's biggest strength was helping us tidy the songs and tighten them up. It was a good relationship—we took him and his wife out to dinner when we finished."
This hospitality is typical of The Debut, who frequently host after-parties at their house after gigs. If the local music scene had a beauty pageant, The Debut would be Miss Congeniality hands down. Although only 18 months removed from their Madsion days, the band has already forged tight friendships with fellow youngsters White Light Riot and the Alarmists, in addition to music scene veterans like Chris Dorn of the Beatifics and Robert Wilkinson of the Flamin' Oh's.
"In Madison we didn't really have any good friends that were in bands," says Gurstelle, gushing over his band's newfound community of fellow rockers. "It's cool that there's a community vibe and there's no shortage of people who you respect that you can talk to."
"I still remember the night we met the guys from the Alarmists," recalls Mulhern of the group's bond with the band that recently topped City Pages' Picked to Click poll. "It immediately felt like we had known those guys forever. We were drinking cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon together in the parking lot of the Turf Club within minutes of meeting. It felt like kismet. It's been a good relationship because each band has kind of gone through a similar cycle. White Light Riot sort of helped the Alarmists form their plan of attack and business model and the Alarmists have helped us. Inevitably, for our big release show there will be people who come out based on White Light Riot and the Alarmists, and that's OK, because if we put on a great show I think we'll get a share of that spotlight as well." ||
The Debut play the CD release show for This Record Is About Cars on Sat., Feb. 3 at the Varsity Theater with White Light Riot, The Alarmists and Revolver Modele. $7. 9 p.m. 18+. 612-604-0222. For more information on The Debut visit their MySpace page at myspace.com/thedebutrocks.
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