Western Shame

All Nite Skate’s debut full-length album, Western Shame, begins with an appropriate explosion before spinning into layer after layer of epic guitar work. No, this is not your average Fort Wayne band, not in the slightest.  

Upon the release of their self-titled EP  (more specifically the opening track, “Bear Claw”) All Nite Skate became a band to watch. Usually, when a young band releases a “teaser” EP, everything feels half-realized. Such was not the case with ANS. No, they came out of the musical womb as teenagers, one half-step away from beauty and bronze and, to the everyday listener, a world away from everything else going on in Fort Wayne’s burgeoning music scene. Western Shame is Fort Wayne’s most original product all year, a sound to cherish and an album to play for your out-of-town friends who don’t believe it when you tell them that your hometown has a band every bit as good as Explosions in the Sky. Yep, they're already that good.

Such early mastery doesn’t come without a lot of work and a clear understanding and knowledge of your craft. Clearly, Cole Strader (bass, Rhodes), Bob Haddad (guitar, harmonica), Darcy Flanagan (keys, bells, piano, accordion), Kay Gregg (drums, percussion) and Omar Afzaal (guitar, bass) have done their homework and spent their share of time practicing. Sonic Youth, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Pelican, Explosions in the Sky, Can, Slint and even the Smashing Pumpkins are all somewhere in the mix of the 10 songs that make up Western Shame. And while ANS have a way to go before they can be named alongside such accomplished bands, Shame is – Pumpkins aside – better than any of said band’s debut releases.

Despite utilizing a decent number of instruments and a slew of guitar layers, ANS keep it simple on Shame. With no singer in sight, minimal production, beautiful hand-made album artwork and word-of-mouth promotion, Shame’s approach is the kind that inspires. With above average talent, a whole lot of hard work, persistence and a good record collection, it’s possible to put out an album that transcends the term “local,” and these guys (and gals) have done it.

“Battlestations,” “Bearclaw” and “Darcy’s Song” are all reworked from the EP into less flashy, more intricate mini epics that thrive on both the tight chemistry of the band and, notably, Haddad and Afzaal’s modern Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd-like guitar chemistry.

As Lou Reed once told The Strokes’ guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., “I know what you guys are doing with those two guitars because I used to do it, and it sure wasn’t easy.” The same can be said for Haddad and Afzaal’s tangling guitar work. With their juxtaposed riffs and solid-as-a-rock rhythm section, ANS add the bonus flourishes that every good instrumental band needs to take their sound to another level. These flourishes come, usually, by way of multi-instrumentalist Flanagan, who adds all the right moves at all the right moments, further proving that ANS are well-studied.

The sprawling “Darcy’s Song/White Wire” builds to climax around the 3:30 mark, then drops its bags, relents and picks right back up with a whole new knuckle sandwich of ideas. ANS are, if nothing else, very capable of dreaming up impressive 10-minute songs that show their compositional skills. They don’t noodle around like a jam band, and they don’t sway in their skivvies to the tiny prick of ambiance; rather, they build saturated epics made especially for “advanced” listeners. Listeners who used to love King Crimson and Brian Eno but anymore find them to be boring or predictable. Quite the feat, I must say, for a band so fresh.

For an A.D.D.-plagued generation that’s too modern for Beethoven, All Nite Skate’s Western Shame is a fine example of modern composition at it’s most fulfilling (see “Andre the Giant” for a quick, easy fix). Sure, they aren’t for everyone, but to the folks who’ve spent 100 times more money on records in their life than clothing, this is (once again) it. Western Shame is guitar-textured proof that Fort Wayne isn’t the “stupidest city in the U.S.,” as previously reported by some attention-seeking rag a couple of years ago. The album, as well as the band’s EP, is available at Convolution Records on Wells St. or via www.allniteskate.com.    8.5/10

Written by G. William Locke