Music scene vets and former players in ’90s-era outfit The Boats, bassist Todd McBride and guitarist George Eckerle, formed Fowler’s Bluff with keysman Mike Todd and drummer Chad Mairn a few years back, and the experimental/alt rock quartet finally compiled enough original material to release a six-track eponymous debut this summer.
The six-track release deftly balances melody and dissonance. Lead vocals switch between McBride and Todd — from beseeching full-bodied calls to tender higher-toned croons to unruly falsetto-reaching wails that soar, mosey or creep over finely arranged jazz-informed instrumentals. Among the highlights: the riff-righteous hard rock thrust of “Wom3n,” which segues into the insistent off-kilter intensity of “Monte Carlo,” the tempo slowed to a moody crawl that roils and seethes to the song’s end. The most compelling and exquisite cut on Fowler’s Bluff, however, is also its most subdued — “Swell,” its billowing washes of synth sonics adorned with strains of melodica and slide guitar. (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
This article appears in Dec 19-25, 2013.