Susan Frances
01/17/08, 11:18 PM
The March Hare - People Dressed as People
Record Label: None
Release Date: January 2008
For their latest release People Dressed as People, The March Hare cross art-punk with spazz-rock forked by experimental inclinations. The record is a self-released 5-track EP that is available at the band’s official website. Band members Zach Guy - lead vocals, lead guitar, John Hafer - backup vocals, keyboards, Alicia Ritter - backup vocals, violin, Ryan Hyde - bass, and Charlie Heim - drums, come from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but this isn’t the Philly sound that most are accustomed to like Boyz II Men and Will Smith. The March Hare have chord distortions that have a lot in common with hardcore punksters like XBXRX and the spazz-tastic movements of Maps & Atlases. The music borders on art and irritating noize-rock modulations. Guy’s vocals squeak sharply and the strings of his guitar and of Ritter’s violin create a freakish chamber-pop mixture. The tunes are quite theatrical with lyrics that lay out lines for different characters like a rock opera. For instance, the song “Sunsetter” has lyrics for five different parts represented by Hope, Denial, Regret, Hero, and Pilot. Hero and Pilot are recurring characters in the songs, although I found their plot to be very obscure.
The record opens up with the irritable “Overture” harking high pitched chord rotations and squeaking vocals. The March Hare act like five friends who fiddle around with their chord dimensions, reaching well beyond the limits of what other artists produce. Not only is the music esoteric and radical but it goes way past the barriers of standard chord notations. “Through the Attic” starts off normal with a soft rock tempo and theatrical keyboards that turn into crooked chord movements adorned with lyrics that are totally abstract like “Well, you’ve done it again / Still starboard prayers define my will / Deep within this vast foxhole / Radio my barcode soul.” The track is a discourse between the characters Hero, Pilot, and Amelia, but what their story is about is well beyond my comprehension. The music has so much disorganization, and yet, for the band it seems totally organized in their minds and the lyrics make such complete sense to them that they hit their places right on the mark.
“Sunsetter” is driven by clicking sounds bedded by palisades of synths and guitars. The number begins soft and then goes wild with sky high vocal squeaks and billowing bass drums. The hardcore punk tunage of “Skeleton Opera” clanks with tension and distortion galore like a blitz from The Blood Brothers. The string assortment creates savage assaults with haunting shades on “Assembly Line.” There is a gypsy-punk rattling with chingy keyboards and demarcations made by Guy’s high pitched vocals and alternating vocal harmonies by Ritter. The tune is like a mad tea party with lots of screaming and chaos circling around a focal point. The lyrics are still abstract with phrases like “You said it was raining when the shell became human / Then his eyes turned off / He’s all alone.”
The best description of The March Hare’s record is that it is like being at a mad tea party. Things are happening around you that don’t make sense and it all freaks you out. There are moments of softness, but they are superseded by the factions of chaos and disorganization in the atmosphere. The album is for a very specific audience, but as a play, it may actually start to make sense.
Website (http://www.themarchharemusic.com) (download People Dressed as People for free) | MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/themarchhare)
Record Label: None
Release Date: January 2008
For their latest release People Dressed as People, The March Hare cross art-punk with spazz-rock forked by experimental inclinations. The record is a self-released 5-track EP that is available at the band’s official website. Band members Zach Guy - lead vocals, lead guitar, John Hafer - backup vocals, keyboards, Alicia Ritter - backup vocals, violin, Ryan Hyde - bass, and Charlie Heim - drums, come from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but this isn’t the Philly sound that most are accustomed to like Boyz II Men and Will Smith. The March Hare have chord distortions that have a lot in common with hardcore punksters like XBXRX and the spazz-tastic movements of Maps & Atlases. The music borders on art and irritating noize-rock modulations. Guy’s vocals squeak sharply and the strings of his guitar and of Ritter’s violin create a freakish chamber-pop mixture. The tunes are quite theatrical with lyrics that lay out lines for different characters like a rock opera. For instance, the song “Sunsetter” has lyrics for five different parts represented by Hope, Denial, Regret, Hero, and Pilot. Hero and Pilot are recurring characters in the songs, although I found their plot to be very obscure.
The record opens up with the irritable “Overture” harking high pitched chord rotations and squeaking vocals. The March Hare act like five friends who fiddle around with their chord dimensions, reaching well beyond the limits of what other artists produce. Not only is the music esoteric and radical but it goes way past the barriers of standard chord notations. “Through the Attic” starts off normal with a soft rock tempo and theatrical keyboards that turn into crooked chord movements adorned with lyrics that are totally abstract like “Well, you’ve done it again / Still starboard prayers define my will / Deep within this vast foxhole / Radio my barcode soul.” The track is a discourse between the characters Hero, Pilot, and Amelia, but what their story is about is well beyond my comprehension. The music has so much disorganization, and yet, for the band it seems totally organized in their minds and the lyrics make such complete sense to them that they hit their places right on the mark.
“Sunsetter” is driven by clicking sounds bedded by palisades of synths and guitars. The number begins soft and then goes wild with sky high vocal squeaks and billowing bass drums. The hardcore punk tunage of “Skeleton Opera” clanks with tension and distortion galore like a blitz from The Blood Brothers. The string assortment creates savage assaults with haunting shades on “Assembly Line.” There is a gypsy-punk rattling with chingy keyboards and demarcations made by Guy’s high pitched vocals and alternating vocal harmonies by Ritter. The tune is like a mad tea party with lots of screaming and chaos circling around a focal point. The lyrics are still abstract with phrases like “You said it was raining when the shell became human / Then his eyes turned off / He’s all alone.”
The best description of The March Hare’s record is that it is like being at a mad tea party. Things are happening around you that don’t make sense and it all freaks you out. There are moments of softness, but they are superseded by the factions of chaos and disorganization in the atmosphere. The album is for a very specific audience, but as a play, it may actually start to make sense.
Website (http://www.themarchharemusic.com) (download People Dressed as People for free) | MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/themarchhare)