Authored By Joshua Pickard
It’s becoming more and more difficult for bands to slide by on simple nostalgia and goodwill when approaching indie rock’s angular rhythms. While there are bands like Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy who are able to capture and redirect that classic indie aesthetic without sacrificing their own identity, there are infinitely more musicians obsessed with the sound but unable to do anything with it, letting it sit there and roll around in its own blandness. Chattanooga trio Ark Sakura, however, find themselves among those artists quite capable of paying tribute to these sounds without diluting their impact or character. Comprised of singer-guitarist Michael Armitage, singer-bassist Ethan Hardison and multi-instrumentalist Graham Hardison, the band digs deep into the chaos and independence of classic indie rock, finding new ways to repurpose their collective influences without resorting to rote imitation. The guitars feel chunky and weighted, the drums martial and enveloping. Theirs is a sound rooted in the past but willing to evolve as their inspirations take on different shapes and textures. On their new record, “Nowhere in Mind,” they funnel scathing guitar riffs, loping basslines and bouts of unpredictable percussion into 10 tracks of rock euphoria. From the anticipatory opening rhythms of lead track “Treat Me Cold” to the Superchunk-ian density of album closer “Horizon,” the band creates a thriving atmosphere where memories and music collide with startling results. They dig into a fascinating punk swagger on “Rain” while “Persephone” begins as an acoustic romp that feels lovely and lively before showing its teeth with the occasional bit of electric guitar. This is a record less concerned with volume (although there is plenty of that) than it is with tone and direction — the band crafts these songs deliberately and with purpose but still allows them to go off the rails from time to time. This is a lean and lithe collection, though, with little room for extraneous movements; what you see is what you get. The guitars shred and retreat while the drums pound away and the bass slithers through your periphery. This is indie rock that doesn’t feel sedate or listless. There is life here and familiarity and a nervous energy that infuses every second with the excitement of what’s to come.
Joshua Pickard covers local and national music, film and other aspects of pop culture. You can contact him on Facebook, Twitter or by email. The opinions expressed in this column belong solely to the author, not Nooga.com or its employees.
