| Alcian Blue stewed over a couple of noisy numbers before it managed to get its video projector up and running Thursday at the Black Cat Backstage. But once the flickering images of marine life and assorted psychedelia hit the makeshift movie screen draped behind them, the musicians' dense, guitar-driven dream pop seemed to surge with a new authority.
Taking its moniker from a chemical dye you might have used in your college chemistry lab, the Arlington-based quartet has spent its quiet five-year existence cooking up some very loud guitar ambiance, proudly emulating the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Ride and the Cocteau Twins. Now, with a small catalogue of self-released singles and EPs under its belt, Alcian Blue is starting to send bigger chills through the local music circuit.
Thursday's performance was no exception. When singer-guitarist Jake Reid recited the bellowing refrain to “Everyday Is Fall” over an icy rinse of guitars bathed in cavernous reverb, it felt a lot more like winter. Guitarist Sam Chintha, bassist Matt Welch and keyboardist Kim Dodd each added layers to the band's profuse soundscape — all four members stoically blasting along to a drum machine's unrelenting jabs.
It's hard to imagine the band interfacing as well with the imperfections of a living, breathing drummer, especially when songs such as “Angelica Take Me Down” and “You Just Disappear” spliced shimmering electronic high-hats to sheets of guitar din so handsomely.
— Chris Richards
— The Washington Post |
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