You don’t have to love punk rock to enjoy some West Coast awesomeness Friday night at Rudyard’s British Pub.
If you’re looking for great music that burns a little brighter every time you put it on, you owe it to yourself to come out and see San Francisco resident Kelley Stoltz, and while you’re at it, grab a copy of his fourth exceptionally executed release in four years.
With Circular Sounds (Sub Pop), suburban Detroit native Stoltz breaks through to the times while holding onto his classic roots and sentimentality, proclaiming himself a graduate from the lo-fi school.
Circular Sounds doesn’t have to demand you turn it up and give it your all, because it’s chock full of singularly surprising moments that hit you in small waves a little at a time. Stoltz reaches for cleaner recording quality on his own, as he laid down and mixed much of the tracks at home, playing each piece accordingly, and he doesn’t overdo it like some might in the hands of modern-day technology.
Stoltz gets by with a little help from his friends, Shaydee Sartin (Skygreen Leopards) and Kevin Ink (Frank Black), who add some light finishing post-production touches, but the songs manage to maintain their integrity minus superfluous studio frills.
Between Rolling Stone, Harp, Under the Radar and other popular music reads, Stoltz has been compared affectionately to The Beatles, Brian Wilson, The Kinks and The Velvet Underground.
But more important than the perceived influence is the effortlessly timeless sway of each breath of song contained within his tracks. Modern fans of Neva Denova, The Good Life’s post-Black Out days, Of Montreal and Ambulance Limited, would love this album. It is mellow, twangy, worldly, bluesy – whatever it seems to call for in the moment.
His sparse layers of instrumentation, beautiful harmonies, fingerpicking and soft vocals (that remind me of Beck’s Sea Change) are so intimate and quaint you could imagine him singing in your living room.
Rudz, located in Montrose, should suit the living-room vibe just fine with it’s low-key atmosphere, while still leaving plenty of floor space for a rock-your-socks show to include The Dirtbombs (famed for live performances alongside Blondie as well as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and local post-punk act Dead Roses, also on the night’s bill. Doors open at 9 p.m., 21 and up only. For more information, call (713) 521-0521.
