IWD brings new music from past experiences

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I love music and everything that surrounds its creation and performance.  I can’t play a lick or carry a tune, but boy do I admire those that can.  I guess that’s why I gravitate towards musicians and artists as friends.  It’s the creativity that boils within and the desire to formulate something in their head into tangible art.  Music is endearing and there is nothing more special than finding that song, that album, that band that speaks to you.  Then, in the rare chance that you get to meet that artist, they turn out to be beautiful souls as well… it’s magical.  This is what happened when I met the band Inclement Weather Department, but it was in reverse order. 

I met Cam, Joey, Trevor, Brian, Connor and TJ before even knowing that they were a band. I co-owned a small batch brewery in north Seattle, in a neighborhood know as Ballard (don’t let anyone tell you it was Fremont).  About 2 blocks up the road, in Fremont, sat an unmarked building, with no windows and no plaque out front even though it was once the home of Reciprocal Records until the early 1990’s.  Why is that important?  Well, it is where Nirvana, along with producer Jack Endino laid down the band’s first album, Bleach.  Other bands like Soundgarden, Death Cab For Cutie, Green River and Tad, among others, would also record here.  I didn’t know this at first and I soon realized that I near a pretty special place in music history. 

IWD at Bad Jimmy’s

I quickly learned that the community that I operated in was home to several recording and practice spaces for bands.  So, musicians became an integral part of our clientele.  Band members would come to hang out and grab a beer before or after a session.  This is where I met the boys I mentioned earlier and learned that collectively, they were known as Inclement Weather Department. I say “boys” because they looked so young, and they were (legal drinking age though, I personally checked).  We quickly became friends and Bad Jimmy’s Brewery became their hang. At some point, they (specifically Cam), started referring to me as “Dad”.  At first, I thought it just a fancy way to call me “old”, but then I learned that it was out of respect.  At least, that’s what I am going with.  I say all this to clarify how important music is to me.  It is more than just listening.  It is understanding and connecting. 

With that, IWD, has a new EP out on June 3^rd, and I could not be a prouder father of these men who have created this gathering of songs.  However, this album was in the making years before we met. From the band: 

“This collection of songs was originally written in Connor’s bedroom almost fifteen years ago. We lived together in a house in the University District in Seattle after college where the first iteration of Inclement Weather Department was born.” 

The record is called, “Feel Better, Man” and according to the lads, the songs are all about Joey Pettersson (bassist/vocals).  Full names for all the members are Cam Agnew (guitar/vocals), Trevor Sodorff (Guitar, Vocals, Kazoo, Bass), Connor Cahill (guitar/vocals), TJ Pettersson (synth/vocals) and Brian Tourville (drums/vocals). What they have compiled is another journal entry in the timeline of their friendship.  I wrote about their latest full-length album, Doomsday, last year.  It is a concept album about the end of days, yet it has a playfulness and gets you excited about a possible apocalyptic catastrophe and dystopian society.  That is what makes this band fun, special and unique. 

Every song by Inclement Weather Department is well thought out and conceived with the intent of perfection.  I have seen them toil for hours on one idea, or one line in a song.  Pint, after pint, after pint, after pint… well, you get the idea, until they are in full agreement or too “tired” to argue anymore.  They are a band and do nearly everything together.  Their expedition in the process translates into a journey within the song and then a whole album becomes an adventure that you never want to end.  Doomsday, was like that and now Feel Better, Man, forms a pathway for our next musical destination. 

“We dug up the original demos from old hard drives and laptops, and recorded them in their original arrangements for the very first time. We’re proud that these songs are finally seeing the light of day, and excited for you to listen.” 

I see more of this tactic in groups “going back” and finding hidden gems in plain sight.  Stuff that they already had yet didn’t put out for one reason or another.  Maybe it didn’t fit what they were going for or the timing wasn’t right. Whatever the rationale, it is usually great to get back to your roots and relive a space that you once occupied, for better or worse.  IWD is here now.  Where they were.  Looking back and moving forward with more amazing tunes that make you close your eyes, reflect and jump on that bus that they are driving to a place only they know.  However, through their descriptors and incredible playing, you feel like this could be your home too. 

Five songs make up the EP that comes out next week or already released, depending on when you are reading this.  The tracks are the title song ‘Feel Better, Man’, ‘Joey’s Limit’, ‘You’ll Be Fine’, ‘Free Time’ and the already dropped single ‘Indie Girls’.  Knowing Joey and knowing these songs are about him makes me try and formulate a backstory from their titles.  They are great tales, but they will stay in my mind. The band is giving us two versions of the record at once.  There is a Red Version and a Blue Version, and no Taylor’s Version. According to the group they could not decide which mix to put out into the ethos.  I am guessing this was a decision that took a long time and a lot of beers.  In the end we get a double dose of the self-proclaimed “Psychedelic Indie Pop Rock Variety Show” in Hi-fi (red) and lo-fi (blue) variants. 

IWD CIRCA 2011-ish

If you don’t know these terms, Hi-fi and lo-fi recording refer to the quality of the audio recording, with “hi-fi” meaning high fidelity (high quality) and “lo-fi” meaning low fidelity (low quality). Hi-fi aims for a clean, accurate reproduction of the original sound, while lo-fi intentionally introduces imperfections and a less polished sound. Lo-fi also adds a texture to the sound and creates a grungier and tactile sound that can be beneficial.  I have listened to both versions, and I am on the fence as well.   

‘Indie Girls’ rings out with a poppy synth line and is quickly matched by bouncy and crisp guitar riffs.  The drums jump in with a clean rhythm to complete an overwhelming happiness and whimsical beat that culminates with Trevor’s delightful voice.  It resonates in the way that Donovan or The Lovin’ Spoonful does, but with slightly more edge and the lyrics are again fantastic.  It is clear story telling with this song.  Our lead character (I think we know who) is distraught because a girl doesn’t act as fondly towards him as she does others. It might sound like a classic tale but the way that they tell it keeps you in suspense for the outcome.  The result doesn’t necessarily matter, but rather the life lessons learned along the way are what shape us. 

I’m going out of order but ‘Fell Better, Man’ is the next track that I am exploring, and it sounds a little darker as the title might dictate and again the tone leads one into a mystical soundscape.  The soulfulness of all the players is particularly present here. The groove is enlightening and healing and again the band remains in unison as the chorus stands in solidarity “We’re all stuck in today/ We’re all stuck in today/ We’re all stuck in today/ We’re all stuck in today”.  

‘You’ll Be Fine’ is actually track 3 and the mantra we have all lived our lives by at some point.  If you haven’t, I don’t want to be friends with you.  This ever-present feeling of questioning our decisions and wondering if the direction that we have chosen was the right one. Joey bursts into a mega-phone effect at one point in the song and seems to be chasing his thoughts in a gorgeously orchestrated church-like chant. The song culminates with: 

My heart races as I start to feel my body flee 

Could be the end, oh could this be the end of me? 
I must be dreaming 
Yes I am dreaming, oh what’s  

Wrong with me  

It’s alright (it’s alright) 

It’s alright (it’s alright) 

You’ll be fine (you’ll be fine) 

You’ll be fine they tell me 

To settle down or you’re going to lose control 

It will all come to an end before you know 

We then get to ‘Joey’s Limit’ which I have seem at the brewery, but not the point of the melody.  We are into up-tempo beats and hints of remembrance in the words.  I love the tonality of this piece.  The cadence is effervescent, and the hard tapping drums drive a pulse of life into the heart of this groove. All the players can be heard in the thump of the well-structured piece.  This is another reason to heart this band. If you noticed in my introduction to the members, they all have “vocals” listed.  They all gather and add and complete together – a truly remarkable feat in music. 

Then it is ‘Free Time’ (technically the 4^th song) to close out this review of the record. The song is soothing and gracious in its delivery and light and airy until it isn’t.  As it starts the inflexion is understanding and the lyrics seem to be empathetic with: 

I don’t mind what it is you do with your time 

When I am gone 

I don’t see how you never have any time 

When it’s all free 

Those same thoughts seem to change into an angrier ring, and we get heavier guitars breaking the lovely appreciation and beginning to shake these words into the brain of the listener.  

I am blown away by the direction and production of this Seattle group.  They have taken on a forceful identity and moved in a course that suits them very well. This record flows with gorgeous pace and while some bands try to force a format, theirs seems to happen more organically.  Inclement Weather Department is exuberant and if you get to see them play live, try not to smile, I dare you.  There are friends that you will have for a lifetime and bands that you will follow until the end of day – I get to have both with these guys. 

HERE ARE TWO VERSIONS OF THE NEW EP:

FEEL BETTER, MAN