Why Electric President is the best band this week

There is something to be said for subtlety, the quiet, the unassuming.  Too much of our world around us is loud, garishly bright.  It is no wonder that children these days are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when there is so much drawing their attention to so many different spots at one time. 

A great example of this is in video games.  Growing up, I enjoyed two dimensional games which featured monkeys, plumbers, and barrel jumping or alien ships falling through a cascading sea of stars as your ship blasted them from the sky, or some permutation of such theme.  The action was limited and focused. 

Video games these days are anything but focused with all kinds of things flying at you from every direction.  The games are in three dimensions with scenes cluttered with as many items the programmer can get into the scene in order to make the game as realistic as possible.  I admit that I own my own video game system but cannot play for long periods of time because I physically become nauseated by the movement on the screen. 

Music is somewhat the same way.  There is so much engrained into music today.  It seems like one pop artist finds a gimmick, and then other artists hop on that band wagon, putting their own spin on it.  Vocals seem overproduced and screechy, the bass distorted, the beats too regular and uninteresting.  At best, pop music these days is uninspired, at its worst, pop music is simply inane and mind numbing.

Electric President seems to be a cure for the mind numbing and inane, operating within the subtle and low key.

Electric President’s subtleness can be heard in the voice of its vocalist, whose voice, soft and velvety, purrs through songs.  The effect is that rather than be the focus of the song, upon which everything else is built, his voice becomes another element in the song meant to complement the drums and the guitar work. 

Their subtle nature can also be detected in the small bits of sampling which get added into songs, little noises that remind you of windup clocks or the clicking of machines, little tics in the music which move the music along, and have the ironic effect of making the music quieter.  I liken it to the sounds of a old house at night when there is nothing on, only the house itself, moving in its own subtle ways, floorboards creaking and the wind howling outside.  There is a comfort in the noises that move about in the songs, a kind of warmth that reminds you of safety and home.

To say that Electric President is a folk band is to suggest that Radiohead is an alternative band or that the Beastie Boys is a rap group.  Sure, the label fits, but only just so.  There are acoustic guitars emitting delectable chords playing the kinds of songs you might hear around a campfire on some summer night, beats that might be captured in a regular clapping. 

But then there is also the haunting guitar propped up in the back, a kind of scenery upon which plays out the other action in the songs, a recognition that folk has transcended the kind of coffee shop bards like Bob Dillon.  Electric President fit well among Bon Iver and Iron and Wine, but not behind them, because they are a separate force all their own.

One of their more beautiful songs, “Insomnia,” a ragged piece, metronomic, crafted like a carpenter might craft furniture, whittling at the textures of the song, not perfect, but not meant to be.  It is charming in its rustic character, and harkens back to a more natural time through the use of modern instruments. 

Electric President’s music transcends that the folk designation in the odd way that the different pieces are put together.  In the background of “Insomnia,” a chorus of haunted voices guides us through the song, spirits that are the last to fade away as the song ends.  A rhythm, irregular pushes the song “Ether” forward, and yet reminds the listener of a clock work, ticking or traveling in an antiquated train car, the clacking of the rails.

Electric President tap into the ancient roots in us.  Anyone listening cannot help be drawn into their dreamy warmth.