Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
While guitar-led music doesn’t quite hold the mainstream cultural cachet that it once did, it remains true that ear-catching riffs and stratospheric solos—when done by a band that strikes the right balance of taste and scuzz—have never really gone out of style. Luckily, Tony From Bowling’s debut Appear is slathered with such guitar work. Appear is one of those technically impressive records that avoids falling into the trap of technically impressive (but otherwise lackluster) records by embracing the idea that this kind of rock music should both be fun and, well, rock.
The riffs on Appear are massive in both scale and abundancy, truly making them the star of the show. At points, they seem to push into a menacing, almost sinister territory. After the ringing single chords of the opening of “One,” the riffs turn the tune into a pounding rager, while the off-the-rails energy of “Pyramids” creates a kind of eldritch atmosphere for the lead lines to slice through. This type of swirling guitar work within the smoky atmosphere of the tracks also lends to a kind of deranging of the senses similar to The Divine Madness of Spring by Pittsburgh rockers Sleeping Witch & Saturn. The final third of the hard-rocking “Bonehead” is a good example, as is the relentless attack of “Appear.”
This is not to say Tony From Bowling keep their foot on the gas for all of Appear, though, as the record is wonderfully paced, with songs like “Found Out” and “Disappear” adding some acoustic haze to the electric psychedelia of the rest of the record. The seven-minute centerpiece of the record, “Disappear” captures this varied pacing in microcosmic form, working as a rundown of what Tony From Bowling is capable of with organs joining the battling guitar solos as the group takes their time allowing the song to naturally crescendo to its impressive final couple of minutes.
(Video credits: Lighting by: SOS Lightshow (Billy Gruber) assisted by Ryan Nichols; Directed by: Taylor Raye assisted by Alyssa Waldron; Video Filmed & Edited by: Eric Stevens)
After the high of “Disappear,” the pace slows again for the stoned-out rocker “Reappear,” and then from there it’s a run of ragers to the end (with the goofy country rocker “Well” feeling kind of like a hidden track and the record’s arc coming to a satisfying close with the overpowering “Hell Is Real”). A little menacing in its churning forward march, “Bendy” is the track here with the most swagger, while the action-movie bass line and unorthodox guitar lines make “Pink” one of the highlights of the record.
There’s a rawness to Appear that is tempting to cite as indicative of a debut record, but it doesn’t quite feel right to say that. The rawness isn’t a “rough around the edges” rawness, but more like a hungry energy. Tony From Bowling sounds like a band absolutely itching to rock and with the chops to stake their claim in today’s landscape of shredders.
Appear is out on Bandcamp today (and wider streaming services tomorrow) with tapes available through Michi Tapes.
Disappointing / Average / Good / Great / Phenomenal
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Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
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