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Fort Worth-based band Ransom pays homage to the fragility of the perfectly orchestrated alt-rock song.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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The Show
Ransom
By Anthony Mariani
Ransom is a recently formed Fort Worth-based rock group whose songs are perfect examples of yin and yang — the often tender lyrics, sung by frontman and band namesake Ransom Rhodes in his equally tender and young-sounding voice, are set in some pretty aggressive and in-your-face yet melodious music. The way the contempo-punk attitude and arena rock-ish musicianship orbit each other in perfect harmony is radio-ready gold. We guess you can just add Ransom to the growing list of North Texas-based alt-rock outfits that should be getting airplay on The Edge but just don’t have huge Rolodexes of industry players and, as a result, aren’t.
The band’s next big gig is on Christmas Day with Incendiary, a Cowtown group that’s all yang. Based on some studio recordings, Incendiary’s tunes are mostly dissonant, meandering, and piercing. No matter how amped-up and loud, the angular electric guitars sound hollow, the tribal percussive effects are totally out of left field, the odd shifts in tempo and arrangement add absolutely nothing, the lyrics are relatively senseless, and frontman Robert Meave’s whining, off-key singing is jarring.
Somehow, Incendiary makes all of this work — brilliantly. As wild, wide-eyed, and indie-punkish as the band gets, it never strays too far from its purpose: to engage the listener on emotional and intellectual levels. As Ransom makes you appreciate the fragility of the well-crafted, well-orchestrated alt-rock song, the dudes in Incendiary make you wish Lou Reed ran every radio station in the country.
Visit www.purevolume.com/incendiary or www.myspace.com/ransom. — Anthony Mariani
Sun at the Aardvark, 2905 W Berry St, FW. 817-926-7814.
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