Train de Bits Important
(self-release)
Grade: B-
Healthy local music scenes, like the Portland-to-Seattle indie-rock axis, typically have a common feel, a shared aesthetic. Tucson, although home to a vigorous scene, has no such coherence - while Giant Sand's boho desert rock has attracted the most national attention, Old Pueblo bands are also established in genres ranging from hardcore punk to frenzied slap blues. Interlocking Grip frontman Nick Luca has a front-row seat to this diversity - as an engineer at Tucson's Wavelab Studios, he has been behind the mixing board for a host of local and national acts. Luca also plays in local rock mainstay Greyhound Soul.
It is, thus, a tribute to Tucson's eclecticism that Train de Bits Important, Interlocking Grip's debut album, sounds absolutely nothing like any of the bands mentioned above. Indeed, Interlocking Grip hardly sounds like Interlocking Grip from one track to the next. Train is a musical ten-car pile-up, veering abruptly from hip-hop-inflected G-funk to 70's prog-rock. Thankfully, Luca and his crew are talented enough to pull this genre-hopping off.
Unfortunately, Luca's lyrics are similarly unfocused. And while jumping musical genres works, hopping from "Life is sacred, truth is naked, inner workings of your mind" to "My girl, she's all that/booty-ooty-ooty" is much less effective. This is the danger of eclecticism - while it keeps listeners guessing, it also runs the risk of disintegrating into inconsistency. Interlocking Grip's technical prowess saves the band from this fate - just barely. Luca's zen for musical exploration is acceptable, as long as he avoids losing his way entirely. Next time, Interlocking Grip ought to make sure to pack a map.
-Phil Leckman
