Arts & Features;
3^0.20111 The Blue Banner 1 7
Noor Al-Sibai
naalsiba@unca.edu - Freelance
On first listen, “Angles,” the fourth stu
dio release from New York City rockers the
Strokes, was lackluster in the way only a
Strokes album can be—easy on the^ e^s,
but missing the “oomph” of 2001’s “Is
This It” or 2003’s “Room on Fire.”
The album’s first single, “Under Cover
of Darkness,” was promising enough, but
lacked the innocence, the freshness of
“Last Nite” or “What Ever Happened,” re
placing it with frontman Julian Casablan-
cas’ signature world-weariness accompa
nied, as usual, by optimistically jangly and
repetitive guitars.
Upon further listen, however, one thing
became apparent: the sound, that obliga
tory Strokes sound, has never been as rife
with self-acceptance or self-definition as
on “Angles.”
The album delivers a maturity tem
pered by an indifference that can only be
achieved by having been to the heights of
indie rock stardom—the sound they were
going for on 2006’s “First Impressions of
Earth,” but fell short. The single “Under
Cover of Darkness,” is the Strokes barely
legal, Casablancas moaning over the fa
miliar and affirming jangling of guitar
ists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond,
Jr. “Everybody’s been singing the same
song for 10 years,” croons Casablancas, a
tongue-in-cheek jab at the critics and fans
who want the lo-fi “Soma” back.-
It’s not all optimism and light guitar riffs,
though. “Taken For a Fool” stands out as
the album’s greatest achievement, at once
Album review
dark, urgent and resigned. Added bonus; it
sounds more like the Strokes everyone fell
in love with in 2002 than any other song,
while still managing to sound new and
grown up.
They don’t stick to the Strokes sound
throughout “Angles” and, in doing so,
avoid the boredom or forcedness that
would have occurred if they had. “Games
and album opener “Machu Picchu” are
reminiscent of Casablancas’ solo album,
“Phrazes for the Young,” while “Call Me
Back” opens more simply than any Stroke
song with the exception of the demo “I’ll
Try Anything Once,” leaked late 2010. The
darkness of “Call Me Back” is counter
acted immediately by the near-insurgence
of positivity and perfect guitars on “Grat-
isfaction,” sounding more ’70s than any
thing else on the album.
Closing with the lower-tempo, sexy,
“Life is Simple in the Moonlight,” Casa
blancas’ singular depressed insistence is
communicated through the song s vocals,
low-tempo and quieter than normal and
Valensi’s guitar solo, circa 1985. With
“Angles,” the Strokes are back, not with a
vengeance, but with a noncommittal shrug.
Longtime fans will rejoice in the return
to the Strokes sound, while new fans will
be attracted to the refined sound and the in
herent coolness of the album.
“Angles” is the reluctantly triumphant
return of a beloved and often-criticized
band, 10 tracks not of pure gold, but some
thing close to it.
BAND
continued from page 6
really unique, twangy toy piano
sound,” Rafferty, an art student
said.
Burch said their music does
not seem to fit a specific genre.
Also, the band contains two
classically-trained musicians
that add a different flair to their
sound, Burch said.
Fans can agree on the band’s
sound. Zach Monard, a soph
omore at UNCA, saw the Baby
Rattlesnakes play at The Were-
house.
“Their instrumentation made
their sound really fresh and
original. Their style refuses
to be subjugated to a single
geiue,” he said.
The band’s songwriting pro
cess is sometimes collaborative.
“We come up with ideas as
individuals and piece it all to
gether,” Burch said.
Norton is almost like a father
in the songwriting process, be
cause he is what keeps them
working on it, Burch said.
Covers are familiar to the
band. Some of their favorites
include “Tonight You Belong
to Me” and “Little Red Riding
Hood.”
As for inspirations, the band
rattles off quite a few. Burch
and Flynt both said Beyonce.
Norton cited Steve Martin as an
influence and Choe said pianist
Claude Debussy.
All participants in the group
came to UNCA for a vari-
^^^Baby Rattlesnakes^^^
Founded in: December 2010
Members: Luke Norton (banjo
and guitar), Andrew Choe (piano),
Rebecca Fiynt (vioiin and backup
vocals), Moily Burch (ukuieie and
lead vocals), JP Fumes (tuba),
David Grubba (clarinet)
and Glenn Yoder (drums)
Next Show: PEOPLE Pest, Thursday
on the quad
Battle of the Bands, Saturday
L
on the quad
J
ety of reasons. Burch said she
did not know much about the
school. After her mother moved
to Wilmington, Burch chose
UNCA for its in-state tuition.
Norton came here to be in the
mountains where there was a
city.
Choe said, “It was the only
state-school I liked.”
The Baby Rattlesnakes do not
have set plans for their future
together.
“We are going to take one
thing at a time,” Flynt said.
Norton said, “Hopefully,
we’ll be playing shows togeth
er.”
The band has a demo CD ex
pected to be out by the end of
the semester. Their next per
formance will be at 5 p.m. on
April 2 at UNCA’s Battle of the
Bands on the quad.
To learn more about The
Baby Rattlesnakes, check out
their page at facebook.com/
Babyrattlesnakes.
PEOPLE ^
continued from page 6
PEOPLE Fest as an opportu
nity.
“Religious organizations
aren’t necessarily judgmental,
and they aren’t all trying to
change your religious views.
It’s just an opportunity to grow
or not grow and just listen, and
it gives the religious groups an
opportunity to step back and see
what their actions truly mean -
are they truly inviting as people,
or are they judgmental?” San
ford said.
Sanford said she hopes most
of the attendees will be students
who are not affiliated with the
campus ministries.
“It’s just a fun activity, some
thing to do on campus that is
different. It can also act as a
learning experience for those
who choose to visit the tables
and find out what they want to
know,” Sanford said.
Sanford said the campus min
istries are often very different
from the perceptions students
may have of them.
“It’s not like (what) people
usually experience in their
home parishes or churches
growing up, having to go to
church and that kind of thing.
It’s understandable that people
might be against these groups
because they might not get what
it’s about, but that’s why con
necting is key,” Sanford said.
According to McGaha, this
event is tailored for everyone in
the UNCA community, not just
those with religious affiliations.
“I want this festival to be in
viting to everyone. I don’t want
it to be all the Christians or reli
giously affiliated students com
ing out on the quad. I want it
to be the entire UNCA campus
community coming together
and chilling,” McGaha said.
McGaha also said she is hop
ing for cooperative weather so
her intricately-planned events
can go on uninterrupted.
“We are having two bands
on-stage from 8:30 p.m. to 10
p.m.. Piedmont and Baby Rat
tlesnakes. I’m going to have
games set up on the quad start
ing at about 7 p.m. assuming
the weather cooperates. We will
have volleyball, ladder golf,
frisbee and comhole, and there
will be food provided for every
one too,” McGaha said.
Rebecca Flynt, 20-year-old
music student at UNCA, is a
member of Baby Rattlesnakes,
one of the two bands perform
ing for PEOPLE Fest, and she
said she supports the event.
“I fully support diversity
in all aspects, especially with
music and people. This is a re
ally important event to bring the
community together through
music, to celebrate everyone as
they are,” Flynt said.
Flynt also explained what
type of music their audience
can expect from the Baby Rat
tlesnakes on Thursday.
“We have five members, all
UNCA students, and we play
old-timey jazz and folk with
hints of doo-wop and soul. We
play several instruments, banjo,
guitar, ukulele, violin, clarinet,
viola, piano, tuba and drums,”
the music student said.
McGaha said she has worked
incredibly hard to pull off
PEOPLE Fest, and she hopes
students will come together, be
themselves and enjoy the set
up.
“I don’t want people to be
scared into thinking this is an
event for religious people only.
It’s meant to be fun and promote
equality. A lot of work has gone
into this and we are confident
that it will be an awesome time,
so come hang out and enjoy the
setup,” McGaha said.