Successful music is able to transport the listener to a place outside their world.
It can be a booming EDM jam in which you get lost in the beat. It can be a country song that makes you feel less alone in your heartbreak or more connected to a sense of national pride. It can be a symphony that sweeps you up with its beauty. It can be a progressive rock song that creates and inhabits a memorable world of its own, either musically, lyrically or both.
Cure For Gravity aspires to this level, and on their newest self-titled offering, they succeed admirably in losing the listener. The California trio could somewhat be called progressive rock but not art rock or math rock or any other subgenre. It’s an atmospheric, urgent, engaging sound with its own gravitational pull – so much for the band name – and it’s a record that, even at its short run time, is easy to get lost in and want to return to.
“Sunspots” and “Black Metal” are the easy highlights here, the latter being released as the first single (it’s on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and the actual CD, which I hope gets some kind of wide distribution somehow). “Sunspots” is an urgent yet moody piece underpinned by a simple Dave Walcott guitar riff that blossoms into an intentional solo, the kind where every note cries out and is necessary to furthering the song. Joe Markert’s voice further adds heft; his is a commanding voice, reminding the listener of Violator-era Depeche Mode but less arrogant. His holding of the final note will send a chill up your spine. Chris Gamper’s drums, meanwhile, ride the cymbals to propel the song forward, but rather than stick with the same beat he adds variety after each chorus, adding a layer of drama no matter how many times you hear it.
“Black Metal” follows a similar template but in a slightly more conventional format, recalling the great alt-rock songs of the ‘90s but without the sonic overkill. Markert’s voice goes up three octaves to lead into the chorus and Walcott’s solo is damn near heroic when it arrives. Trying to compare it to great bands of the past seems futile; there’s a little Live, some Depeche Mode, maybe some early Radiohead, but these are disparate wisps of elements that fuel the songwriting.
When the trio goes for a conventional alt-rock sound, the disc suffers a bit. It still sounds pleasant, but moments like “Push” and “Just Like Candy” are not as urgent as the better cuts, although the harmonies on “Push” are lovely. “Tonight” is a fine opener as well, perhaps going a bit thick on the Pink Floydian space-rock prologue and epilogue, but it sounds just fine when the guys get to business.
Compelling and entrancing, Cure For Gravity is well worth seeking out. Pay attention to these guys.