I Knew Brian Erickson in College. Here’s What I Think of His Band’s New Album
By: Matt Pischl
Wanna make a quick $2.00? Find the EP Brian Erickson produced for me back in 2007, and he swears he’ll mail you a $2.00 bill. You don’t know me. But you almost certainly know my old protégé; my mentee.
Life takes its detours and around the turn of the last decade, the two of us began to diverge a bit. I started a family and Brian started a band. And while that band, The Paper Jets, got put on ice quite a few years ago, I remember feeling extremely proud that this kid I met who couldn’t play guitar and could barely slap a bongo drum had become a solid frontman in a really good band.
As it does, family became my priority, so I hadn’t much kept up with The Extensions. But when Brian sent me a copy of High Charisma, the band’s first full-length, I had to stop what I was doing and give it a listen. And when I was done, I went ahead, listened back again, and made some notes.
So here they are. Thoughts from someone who was there 20 years ago; who heard this guy write his very first song. Who taught him more than his fair share of guitar chords. And who couldn’t be prouder of what this band continues to accomplish.
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With a K – From that Prince-inspired opening strum, I thought I was headed for a Party Pop record. Even more so when glancing at the other track titles. But right away, the vibe changed and gave me more Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club energy…a little funkier, a little more Euro. The chorus stuck with me for half-an-hour afterward and the hook and harmonies are fantastic. The bass-playing makes me wanna boogie! I was hoping for a fadeout and got a hard stop at the end instead. But that’s just, like, my opinion, man.
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Charm Offensive – Traded in the Euro party vibe for some Modest Mouse until those sweet choruses ring back in! This song makes me think of Neon Trees or Orson (you know…the “Ain’t No Party” guys?). The bridge is rad, and I love the build to the dropout. Verdict: Still boogeying.
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Follow You, Unfollow Me – The groove of these verses is really working for me, and I love the spacey little flourishes! Chorus, to me, is the closest we’ve come to “vintage Brian” so far. I hear some Killers in the “Make it hard for me to lie” section and I like it! I bet the last minute of this song really soars live.
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Big Tree – I like the percussive chug of the guitar in the verses. The vocal on “Tell me darling, are we happy yet?” hits me, and Lisa’s harmony is a nice touch! Brian tends to sing a little higher than his speaking voice, so hearing him in this range is refreshing when he puts some emotion behind it. This song is also where the record starts to abandon Party Pop in favor of something I might actually like better. I hear Jeff Buckley in the choruses and when the full band hits before the second verse…just take me away, folks! Solid, solid track!
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Isn’t It a Party – I wasn’t expecting a ballad here, but I’ll take it! The song is long, but just as I thought it might start to wear out…Beach Boy swell out of the bridge and into a guitar solo! That section shines so much that I had to rewind and listen again before moving on. Lisa’s vocal, the guitar tones, and the xylophone flourishes take this song back to a different era. Production on this is legit!
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Casual Day – Party Pop is now fully gone in favor of grungy guitar and Zooropa-style U2 guitar on the choruses. Again, the production really wins out, especially from the chorus into the bridge/ending of the song.
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Scene Famous – I love when Brian spikes some falsetto! This song would sound at home with Deep Purple or Edgar Winter; or just name a famous 90s rock album. But despite the heft, I’m still tapping my foot and bobbing my head. Just with more angst.
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My Turn – When did Fleetwood Mac show up? The groove and vocal interplay between Becca and Lisa sounds so good, and the post-chorus build is absolute ear-magic! This might be my favorite tune on the record so far. This is a great, unexpected turn that works extremely well!
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Seeing Ghosts – The guitar parts and production had me thinking the intro was pulled right from a classic 90s record. But the vocals give me shades of Love is Hell which isn’t surprising since that’s probably the album I remember Brian listening to the most when we were in school together. The vocals lay perfectly on top of the melody, and the two together are stellar! Production, yet again, absolutely rules the back half of this album. Another well-built track!
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Typical Amerikan – When everything kicks in…The Decemberists! The drums snake in and out of the song so well. Lisa with the organ is the quiet MVP of the track. This is a perfect album closer and it must sound incredible when they play it live!
I’m not always the best at interpreting how an album fits together as a concept. Instead, I ask myself “Can I listen to this from start to finish and not lose interest?” and the answer here is ‘absolutely!’ Overall, this record set me up for an experience I didn’t end up getting. But what I did get, was something even better. And I hear the band already has a ‘part two’ type LP in the works. If it’s even half as good as High Charisma, we’re still in for something truly special!
High Charisma comes out on Friday June 9th on Mint 400 Records. They will be hosting an album release show alongside Fake Pockets and The Foes of Fern. Get your tickets here.