The Days of Lore

Get close to Far from far away

Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | musiX | No Comments

We’re just a little more than halfway through 2009, and things are already surpassing 2008 … no, albums still aren’t selling (unless you’re Green Day), but I am excited about some of this year’s current/upcoming releases.

The short list: The Strange Boys, Beastie Boys, All Smiles, Viva Voce, Screaming Females, Jay Reatard, Dirty Projectors, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Slayer, Wilco, Reigning Sound …. And there’s one that myself and a handful of other weirdos are eagerly anticipating—the new album from proto-emo band Far. Wait a second … maybe you’re the weirdo, weirdo! Are you the weirdo? OK, so I’m the weirdo.

Of course, much of this stems from good ol’ nostalgia. Upon its release in 1998 Far’s Water & Solutions didn’t leave my side for an entire year. I recently dusted it off, and it still holds up—the songs, and the production/guidance of D. Sardy that pushed the members to try different things while giving the record its big, booming sound.

After a decade apart, the members of Far made amends in late 2008, which led to some dates (I saw them here in Portland it was great) and ultimately to the band recording a new record, due out sometime this summer on Vagrant Records. The band is currently in the studio putting on the finishing touches, including vocals—by you, the kindly weirdo.

Vocalist Jonah Matranga recently posted a video on the band’s Web site where he screams the vocals to one of the new songs, “This Is What We Do.” The band is looking for people from all over to scream along to Matranga’s vocals, record themselves, and send the members a link to the audio/video via YouTube etc. The idea is to get hundreds or thousands of people on one track. As the ever-charming Matranga put’s it: “When the album comes out, the most far-reaching, diverse, punk-rock DIY choir EVER will be on it.” Cool idea.

The band is hoping to complete the track in the next couple of weeks. Get more details at Far’s Web site. And view the video for the scream-a-long here.

The band even encourages people to get friends and family in on the fun—so, you can tell grandma and grandpa that before church on Sunday they’re going to be screaming the lines “We! Will! Fight! Through!” into a digital recording device. On a side note, Sunny Day Real Estate is reforming for some dates. Suddenly I’m overcome with emotion.

Tags: 2009 releases, Far, This Is What We Do: Scream-a-long Project, Water & Solutions