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Strings glowing with vitality light up the room around us. Soon, they’re joined by a swinging percussive lick that dances around the melody with an immense passion. Tender vocals enter the frame, and before we know it, we’re lost in an ocean of textures that will carry us through the poignant passages of “Vanish” and straight into the explosion of riffs that set off “Executioner’s Song.” This is Significance, the debut album from the newly formed indie rock band Blueburst, comprised of Craig Douglas Miller and Marty Willson-Piper, and if you thought that it was going to be a mere extension of these two players’ previous work, you’d better think again. Glaring riffs and swarthy percussive blasts are all par for the course as we take in these first two tracks, but they’re only a taste of what’s to come as we proceed forward. Considering the former’s attitude and the latter’s wealth of experience in bands like The Church and All About Eve, it’s clear from the get-go what we’re in for here.
“Senseless” keeps up the relentless pace of “Executioner’s Song” but tones down the abrasiveness just enough for us to latch onto its midcentury pop swing. Once we reach the verses, a post-punky recklessness penetrates the cadence of the drums and string section, and the underlying rhythm of the song starts to suck us in like quicksand. “Supernova” slows down the intensity for a minute, only to come raging back to life in a potent chorus that trumps anything I’ve heard out of more beat-centric artists lately. Even at the halfway point, Blueburst has only begun to expose the depth of their skill set and believe me, they exploit every bit of it as we move into “Kick My Tires.”
With a lot of moxie in their step, Blueburst fires up “Kick My Tires,” an almost overindulgent pop-rock song that cries out for us in its yearning lyrics but feels so instrumentally insular and distant that its hesitant tempo takes on an even greater meaning in the larger narrative. “Bravado” sees the band breaking the dam and letting their more eclectic influences take the creative lead, but it doesn’t shift the direction or flow of Significance in the least. “Amplify Me” pours some elastic grooves into the pot before clearing out for the album-closing combo of “Come Alive” and “Finito,” the latter of which could be the most chilling track that could have closed out this collection. It’s a fitting end to a very evocative LP that is as imagistic as it is incredibly surreal and interpretive.
Music fans of all tastes and backgrounds would be doing themselves a big favor in checking out Significance this October, and for the most devoted of audiophiles among us, it signals the release of one of alternative rock’s more interesting releases of late. Blueburst asserts themselves as one of the biggest indie rock bands in or out of underground here, and while they still have plenty of ground left to cover in future records and singles, this is undisputedly a most robustly designed and artistically complete studio offering for sure. Following Significance’s arrival in record stores, I hope to see this band make their way onto the live circuit where they can finally achieve the exposure and success that they’ve sought so hard to receive.
Jennifer Munoz
