Umm ... Drop

MUSIC

By Doug Wallen

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jan. 23, 2008

photo credit: Michael Persico

It took the exit of four different drummers for Philly five-piece North Star Infinite to start anew as Brass. "We felt like each new drummer sort of eroded more and more what we thought we were creating," says guitarist Jason Bucci. "Ian Murray began playing with us in April, and things felt very, very different to the point where being North Star Infinite felt old and tired."

Which brings us to Brass, named partly in tribute to Bucci's great uncle Jimmy Schultz, an accomplished brass and woodwind player. Following two EPs as North Star Infinite, Brass have checked in with one of their own, the self-released Set & Drift. The band's new direction is less of the lean punk and post-punk of NSI and more of a syrupy, dreamy take on math-core. The eight songs on Set & Drift take their time, unfolding sometimes in a tidal sway ("Exhales") and sometimes in full-body grappling ("The Optimist").

These songs seem more radio-ready than those of North Star Infinite, perhaps because radio has only recently caught up to heavy, atmospheric rock inspired by math-y punk and hardcore. It helps that most of the EP is thoughtfully slow, and that singer/guitarist's Joe Webber's vocals are crystal clear at all times. The grabbiest tune, though, is the fiery opener "Autumn Hex Signs," which spills over with angst and gets nicely shout-y at the end.

After the initial adrenaline rush of that song and "The Optimist," Set & Drift settles into a more adrift, exploratory affair. Not that there's anything wrong with that. "Tall Ships" makes the most of its pretty guitars and nautical hang-ups, "The Sky Electric" burrows intently into itself, and "Separate Bodies" uses open space and instrumental tension to suggest that Brass could explode again at any given moment.