Picking a name like the Future guarantees a couple of things for the band that so audaciously chose it.
One: you will have a clutter of jokes made upon your name. Deal with it.
Two: you're probably not the only band using the name.
Three: people will remember you. Good or bad-it doesn't matter-they will remember your name.
People can't seem to forget the past, and you certainly can't forget the Future. That notion is a running theme with the band, whose every move in the business of making music-from promotion to performance-is executed from an affixation with-what else-the future.
The cover art for the band's first album, for example, is of simple construct: the band's name etched onto aluminum foil-reductive minimalism, using everyday materials. The backside to the album art features a picture of a cathedral one of the band members took during a stay in Germany. It seems like a peculiar coincidence to include German within the band's repertoire, given the country's lust of the future cultivated Bauhaus and Krautrock.
It might also be a little peculiar for area music aficionados to resist having some registration of the band, with the band implanting "The Future is coming" fliers into copies of the City Pages and Pulse last fall at all the hipster hot spots.
Peculiarities as such beg the question, does the band truly think they're the future of everything? While the Future may not adamantly believe they will supersede human life in days and years to come, they do want to be what people see and hear very soon in the...well, you get it by now.
The Future has played together since 2005. Each band member is distinct and pertinent in his own right, and provides his own testament to the band's success.
"Tenacity," answered drummer Matt Johnson.
"It's 'cuz we rock," said bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Greg Sincheff, responding through the built-in mic of his old school Casio SK-1.
"If I heard a band called 'the Future,' I'd go to their show just to see why these assholes were calling themselves 'the Future'," said guitarist/vocalist Tony Firestorm. "I'd go and see 'em just to tell 'em they sucked."
The bands the Future think suck include Tricycle Thief-who they describe as an example of "musical retardocity," and the band formerly locally known as the Hold Steady-who "tarnish the good name of Minneapolis" and "write songs about getting high in Osseo when they were fourteen." But the Future doesn't suck.
The band would probably fare better in a different musical climate-perhaps one like Seattle's-where grunge, epic-lovin', guitar-driven progressive rock bands and Sub Pop give latitude to the local scene. It comes as no surprise, then, that the birthplace of Nirvana's "In Utero," Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minn., would become the destination for recording the Future's second album. Nirvana recorded under the moniker "The Simon Richie Bluegrass Ensemble"-Simon Richie being Sid Vicious's real name-while staying at the rustic recording resort to record the successor to "Nevermind." But Nirvana wasn't the sole purpose for recording at the studio-the Future's friends in the Bridge Club recommended Pachyderm, which offers lower rates for independent musicians.
"Neon Black" was originally slated to sound really live, but then "Duff came in and fucked it all up," said Johnson.
The Bros. Duff recently moved to Minnesota from Pennsylvania after some coaxing by mutual friends the Bridge Club. The duo assisted the Future in recording "Neon Black." The album maintains the energy and grit of being at one of the Future's shows, yet is clearly studio-born. But that's not it.
"And a four track sound," said Firestorm. "The kids could get into it-the kids and punkers."
"Neon Black" is more instrumentally driven, giving sparse lyrical accompaniment to a handful of tracks. But when lyrics are used they count-even if only to intensify the impact of instrumentation."Don't Think" is the first and greatest track, in which Firestorm's melodic verse meshed aside a brash chorus nod towards Gestalt.
Many tracks pack enough momentum and atmosphere to drive the action of a big-budget movie soundtrack. But it's the low-budget music video for "New Modern Situation" that exemplifies the album's cinematic attunement. In it, each member is chased around city streets and haunted-looking houses before meeting his killer with laryngitic scream fests. Still, the Future remains more of a performance-minded band.
The band has played a plethora of shows in the past couple of years, sharing the stage with local favorites like Tapes 'n Tapes, Death to our Enemies, the Plastic Constellations, and the Alarmists. Sometimes, the Future's live shows have mimicked the experimentalism in their sound.
When former vocalist/guitarist Steve Splettstazer left the band five days before the Bridge Club album release/Tapes 'n Tapes show last year, the Future had limited time-two days-to prepare for the show that went on without him.But sometimes, the Future's live shows draw creative risks yielding unpalatable results.
The "Neon Black" album release show featured a trio of backup singers called 'the Futurettes' to add something special to the event. The band received a lot of negative feedback from friends and critics alike. "It was Phil Spector's worst nightmare," ranted howwastheshow.com.
The Future doesn't plan to go down that path of experimentation again. But those are the kinds of risks the Future will have to take. They must keep their press release's promise to perform "an all out assault against the homogenized pop culture."
Cookie cutter indie rock has become the current thing to love, and the Future will have to gather all of the tenacity one band can muster to get past the gauntlet of prefabricated bands infringing the airwaves. The Future are probably just ahead of their time.
Hipsters-be on the lookout strategically placed fliers around town. The Future has more upcoming shows. The band is currently booking an East Coast tour for the summer. The band is currently working on new material.
The Future's recent release, "Neon Black," is available in stores and at the band's Myspace page.
www.myspace.com/thefuture007 |
