Jesus on the Moon | Wednesday, March 29
It’s been established, again and again, that the idea of a singular artistic mind and voice being entirely responsible for a band’s sound is bunk – making an album is a collaborative experience, no matter who you are. Still, that notion lingers, which lends a bit of extra juice to one-man bands, where a person locks themself away to create magic on their own. Jake Frye would undoubtedly bristle at this image, but as the operating brain behind Jesus on the Moon, his music project since 2005, Frye has been quietly writing and recording songs in tucked-away spots like basements and bedrooms. Like it or not, his authorial stamp is all over every guitar-spiked, synth-soothed note of his music.
While Jesus on the Moon was mostly a recording project, it was given corporeal form when Derek Reed joined to provide bass and backing vocals. Suddenly, a wild band had appeared, allowing Frye and Jesus on the Moon the room to explore what they were capable of. On the whole, the band is a reflection of the lightly experimental pop-rock of the ‘80s and early ‘90s – giving solid hooks the gift of unorthodox instrumentation and strident sounds.
When Jesus on the Moon hits the stage at the Spanish Ballroom, they will be supported by acts that gleefully meet them in the realm of grabbing pop music by its throat and molding it to their own purposes. Vox Rea’s pulsating sense of movement is both hyperactive and grounded; Bodywash, by way of Montreal, rinse their sound with a wash of haze, painting shoegaze with a layer of persistent drums and nervy guitars; Tacoma’s own Cellophane Eyes, meanwhile, do away with any notion of pop, crafting whole worlds of weirdness in their experimental songs.
This show will be a wildly indulgent trip for the ears.
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