A storm system on its way north is skirting past us today, with weather forecasters predicting we’ll receive a dusting of snow, maybe a smidgen more. The sky sports a grayish hue and the air possesses a bite—i.e., typical pre-winter stuff. There’s no need to fret, yet area schools closed out of an abundance of caution and, due to fears of black ice, will likely have a late start tomorrow. It’s strange. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, my suburban Philadelphia school district closed only on account of armageddon; Klondike Cliff, as my folks called the superintendent, never canceled classes. That’s neither here nor there, I suppose.
Cusp, a three-track EP from the Early—Alex Lewis (guitars, synthesizers) and Jake Nussbaum (drums, electronics)—sounds the way I imagine a weather map would if, indeed, weather maps were translated into notes and chords. It features wind, rain transitioning to snow (and back again), rumbles of thunder cruising uncomfortably close, and god rays—courtesy of pal Patrick Shiroishi’s alto sax on the last number, “Chopaghetti”—cutting through dark clouds every now and again. It’s rock. It’s jazz. It’s noisy. It’s intense. The tunes stem from a studio jam during the recording of their last album, Impatient, that they then sliced and diced into three. Each works on its own, but the best way to experience it is from start to finish.
Lewis and Nussbaum, it should be mentioned, initially joined forces in north Jersey circa 2004, when their band of high-school buddies became entranced by the era’s burgeoning indie rock scene—especially the Chicago variant. While it’s a hike—both literal and figurative—from the land of the Giants to the Eagles’ nest, that’s where they each found themselves some 15 years later, when they reunited. They now, as evidenced by Cusp, craft ambient sound collages that overwhelm the senses. It’s quite cool.
The Old Grey Cat 