Eulogies - Eulogies

Genre rock Publisher Dangerbird Records External Links Official Eulogies Website Official Dangerbird Records

The self-titled debut of Los Angeles based Eulogies shows tremendous promise for an Indie Rock band formed in the back of a van in 2006. Eulogies began when singer Peter Walker was on a solo tour and met Tim Hutton and Chris Reynolds, who became his backup musicians. As their bond grew, a transformation occurred and they became a group rather than a solo act and his sidekicks. As Walker put it, "We all realized that the sound we were making was very cooperative. We found ourselves with an album’s worth of songs that were ready to be recorded as a band." Hutton (bass/backing vocals) and Reynolds (drums) were now allowed more freedom in creating the sound thus, allowing Walker (guitar, vocals, keyboards) to focus on his lyrics of love and loss. Soon they had enough songs, and the release, Eulogies was recorded.

Eulogies utilize a straightforward approach to their instrumentation on their debut. They use guitar, base, drums, and keys to set the constantly changing pace and tone of the recording. From upbeat and happy to sad and depressed, Eulogies explore the range of emotions with their music alone. To add emotion during introspective songs, they seem to kick up the bass and drums and add some fuzz and distortion to the guitar. You can see their Neil Young influence by the way they utilize reverb to create chaos in their sound. "Useless Amends" really seems to show their use of distortion and reverb. The band can quickly change to a pure sound that is much more delicate when simplicity and beauty is the key. "Can’t Relate" is a perfect example of this. Just as the song approaches the depressed state, it picks up the reverb, the volume, and the pace. By the end of the song you’re bouncing along to the beat, following that typewriter-like bass beat.

Eulogies also control their music’s emotion and flow by utilizing Peter Walker’s beautiful, powerful voice. He does this in much the same way as one of his favorite musicians, Chan Marshal of Cat Power, does. He and Marshal utilize their voices to create emotion. Walker can bring you to emotional highs through his lyrics and voice inflection. He can also inspire thought-provoking lows as he uses his pace and tone to slow down a song. "Useless Amends" is a perfect example of this. It starts with quick outbursts of drum, bass, and guitar that create a rowdy tone, when all of a sudden Walker’s pensive, slightly anguished voice brings the music back down.

With Eulogies being the bands first effort, it seems like they are destined to get better and better. They like to tour so they’ll keep learning new skills. Who knows what their next release will bring? But I can’t wait to hear it.