There just isn't a term in the music-geek lexicon to describe the dynamic whoosh of Easybreezy. The Clearwater band's simultaneously pleasing and sinister mood recalls a funhouse ride, and their swirls of chunky rawk, bits of metal and candy-coated refrains are like a DQ Blizzard. It's a mix of far-flung influences that earned Easybreezy CL's "Best 7-Eleven Suicide Blend of Styles" for 2011.
Josh Greenberg (guitar and vocals), Chase Leonard (drums) and Charlie Curtis (bass) take their sonic game of Twister to a whole new level with their self-produced new CD, Blowing Up, which officially releases at an Aestheticized/Thx Mgmt show this weekend at the Local 662. The CD is cohesive and at times, dare we say, epic, with echoes of '70s rock-opera grandeur and sparkly random touches that are a world totally unto themselves. Even though it's cerebrally exhilarating, Blowing Up has at its core a raw, personal resonance, too. Poignant admissions and frustrations can be heard on sing-along-able tunes like "Compulsive Behavior" and "Stale Days" and the more gnashing "False Fathers."
Longtime homie Ryan Metcalf (The Same/Tres Bien and Davy & the Gods) worked with the band on mixing the album, and L.A. friend Luke Wilhite created the stunning and apt volcanic cover illustration, inspired by a rough mix of the album that Greenberg gave him in December. Matt Kannenberg (who sometimes plays with Gentlemen Please) did the equally snazzy layout and arrangement of the artwork.
Overall, Blowing Up goes way beyond what the band usually delivers live with a fuller and more polished sound (but not too slick). Unique instrumentation and recording touches include Greenberg's penny whistles on "Stale Days" (incorrectly identified as recorder in the liner notes), the beating of a trash can on "False Fathers" and a half-improvised organ solo during "Circles in Your Mind." The vocals on "I'm in a Band" (the ahs at the end) were sampled and time-stretched to create "a sort of harmonious cluster chord," according to Greenberg. (Critic's rating: 4 stars out of 5.)
Details: Easybreezy with Gospel Music, Alexander and the Grapes and Gentlemen Please, Sat., Oct. 8 at 8 p.m., Local 662, downtown St. Petersburg, $7, aestheticized.com.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.