Von Braun - Folk Devil EP

(Big Red Sky Records, 2011)

Folk Devil EP, the long overdue debut-proper from Von Braun, is an excellent showcase for one of the best bands in Oxford - one that finally captures the band at their nervous, twitchy best and touches upon the reflective, melancholic side of their sound. Previous demos seemed to over-compensate for the band's lack of a bass player by being bass-heavy to a fault. The results, while fine recordings by anyone else’s standards, were slightly underwhelming given the energy of their live performances. Now, under the patronage of Martin Newton's Big Red Sky Records, the band have been able to record their songs completely live in an unused factory to faithfully capture the essence of their sound.

Starting evocatively with the chimes of increasingly distant church bells, as if the band are leading us away from a world of civilisation, they launch into “Folk Devil,” a song that deals with the implications of being led astray by those things that your family warn you about. The result, in Von Braun's ambiguous world, is to be left “[lying] there, struggling to breathe.”

Live favourite “The End of Ecuador” is the song that best demonstrates the band's way with a catchy, urgent melody. There's an underlying sense of romance to the song, particularly in the exchange of Dave Anderson and Adam Bates' voices in the chorus, singing over one another in contrastingly crazed and melodic fashions. Few bands could or would dare get such mileage out of a lead guitar part consisting of four notes but the simplicity of it, bouncing above the fast-shifting minor and major chords, is what makes the song great. Other local bands would do well to take notice.

“Arronax” is joyous white-boy funk that references 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the chorus to illustrate a kind of oceanic nightmare, albeit one that the band seems to be revelling in. The EP ends in understated fashion with “Mr. Seaweed”, a beautiful song featuring a solemn, finger-picked guitar, close vocal harmonies and, as we've come to expect by this point, oblique lyrics. I can only assume that the “Mr. Seaweed” they are speaking of is not the character from Spongebob Squarepants...

But you can never be too sure; Von Braun's lyrics are full of allusions to literature, film, history and culture so any real-life emotions are implied through the guise of these references. Ute recently described how mishearing the line “You are not Annie Edson Taylor” in “Folk Devil” inspired their own “Innocent Tailor” and it's certainly true that Von Braun's lyrical turns-of-phrase worm their way into your subconscious, regardless of how obscure the words may be (seriously, you'll soon find yourself unable to stop singing the chorus: “Oh Arronax, take me back to the Nautilus”).

The Lynchian worlds that Von Braun portray in their lyrics lend the band an air of mystery, an air that is reflected in the curious musical worlds that they create. While it is true that on “Arronax” and “Mr. Seaweed” the Pixies link is hard to ignore (particularly those Joey Santiago guitar bends), it is now only a reference point – the band have long outgrown the Pixies comparisons that were probably the bane of their early career. Yes, Dave Anderson's pained yelps and impassioned delivery recall Surfer Rosa-era Black Francis but Anderson is now his own monster at the microphone. In fact, Anderson's wild outbursts and Bates' flat, melodic delivery work beautifully together as contrasting forces as well as for the close harmonies which are key to Von Braun's dynamic.

The sympathetic way in which these songs have been recorded has ensured that one of the most exciting live bands in Oxford have an EP that captures that same live energy. Drummer Gary Atkinson, who continues to channel Keith Moon, is Von Braun's secret weapon, giving their songs a wild, driving power. The inherent chemistry between the three musicians is the result of five years of playing together which in turn has ensured that the song-writing is tight, efficient and never clumsy (unlike this sentence). It's been a while since a set of songs has stuck with me for so long, repeating in my mind and giving me so many points of interest to return to. Until the follow up (which is due out in February) this is the best EP released by an Oxford band this year.

[Originally published on Music In Oxford, 17/11/11]

http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2011/11/17/von-braun-folk-devil-ep-big-red-sky-records/