A symphony of noise birth.
author: The Lyle Machine
Shortly after the fall of the down trodden south end of High Street in Columbus, not only did a lively new retail city center rectify itself, also a symphony of noise birth commenced, known as the Lindsay.
Their debut album, Dragged Out, has been listed by many critics as an exploration of ripping off the not-so-important aspects of Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd, and others, while using LSD.
Although some of this could be factual, there is a plethora of details being left out. No one has really questioned what makes this album so prolific. These grid-iron Northeast Ohio kids, born subjects to the winter's icy blow, roll-up their sleeves on this trek to develop mainstream pollution rock, which is a hard task.
Following a review of a series of home demos created by the band's frontman, John "Lex" Olexovitch, additions were made to make things ultra sonic, all within the walls of Columbus Discount Records. In a matter of very little time, Dragged Out was ready to be fed to the masses.
Breaking ground with a newly established label, Manup Records, "Your Contemporaries," was the first single to hit the ears of C-Bus'-in-the-know.
The dishwalla of cycling guitars and feedback left an assortment of malnourished hipsters demanding more.
"Billy Boots" and "Every One Is Getting Married" may have not made the album, but those two songs single handily created a hubbub of a following at Larry's Bar, right around the time that the bar was as hip as it could possible be.
The following began to mount as the band progressed and tightened some of their licks. Drummer, Jimmy Lavery, who still holds the all-time record for most quarterback passing yards in a season at Medina Senior High School, was conditioning himself into a more personable member of the band.
His skills shine on two songs brought to the table late in the creation of Dragged Out, "Ready to Run" and "High Heavens."
Soon enough it had happened. The band was no longer just a group of people who had nothing better to do, they became THE LINDSAY.
Gretchen Tepper is often compared to Kim Gordon, however, she is best infused with Stevie Nicks and the bands future will depend on her ability to reflect the many talents of the Fleetwood Mac-era-golden-ballads.
The overwhelming production quality of Dragged Out links most delicately to guitarist, Tom Schmidt, who fine-tunes each guitar part on a number of effects pedals.
Overall, Dragged Out is not directly synonymous with Sonic Youth or Pink Floyd. Each second of each song is its own breath of somebody else's music. We could all review it by listing all the artists that Lex incorporates into each measure of each song, but then you would know the secret to his mayhem.
Be prepared for all to come from the Lindsay.
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Near-perfect distillation of comfort and abrasion that demands adoration.
author: Chris DeVille
The Lindsay has pulled off quite a feat with Dragged Out, the first release for both the band and its locally based record label Manup. Not many groups can wear their influences so unashamedly and still sound original and essential — even fewer can pull it off on the first try. But The Lindsay has done it, creating an album that stands out even in a monumentally solid year for Columbus rock. It’s hard to imagine a stronger opening statement from the band or its label.
Pixies and Sonic Youth dominate the sound, but slivers of psychedelia and Britpop (especially Blur) paint the album’s sonic canvas like its multihued cover art. To start, “Life Is Fair” creeps in with insidious drums, then suspicious guitar melodies that wind up the track with tension. Soon John Olexovitch’s narration kicks in, leading the song to its inevitable release, a thunderous slaughter of noise.
His singing is aided by backup vocals from bassist Gretchen Tepper, who, as Kims go, is more Deal than Gordon. Her vocal interplay with Olexovitch is a hallmark of the band’s style, lifting the acid dirge “High Heavens” to its titular destination and pushing triumphant alt-rock achievements “The Back of My Hand” and “Iranian Eyes” over the top.
The album’s centerpiece is “Your Contemporaries,” a sugary chord cycle infused with droning keyboard, driving drums and biting instrumental breaks. Like the rest of the material here, it’s a near-perfect distillation of comfort and abrasion that demands not only attention but adoration.
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