Arch Enemies
Welcome to chamber pop
By Tony Engelhart on October 25, 2007
Want another sub-genre of rock music? Thought so.
Chamber pop.
Chamber pop incorporates orchestral movements with catchy hooks and lo-fi rock. Some of the best known Chamber poppers are Flaming Lips and Thievery Corporation. Some lesser known groups who fall into this elite category are Stars, Saint Etienne and the artist I'm profiling now — Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies.
(Sorry guys, the art director turned you Halloweenish, not me.)
Utilizing the endless benefits of the studio, Arch Enemies creates music akin to the Beatles' Revolver or the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, complete with grand scale production. Goldberg's vocals sound slightly British, which is weird; he's from Pittsburg. If you're looking for a show with heavy guitars and pounding drums, skip this at Olympia's 4th Ave Tavern and hang at Hell's Kitchen; this quartet relies more on structure than volume.
The band issued their self-titled debut last summer. As expected from their hometown fans, the album is chock-full of over-the-top construction as Goldberg utilized musicians from Carnegie Mellon University of Music to lay down the majestic string parts. By the time the tape was ready to be mixed, the foursome had added harpsichords and trombones, vibraphones and glockenspiels, flutes and French horns. The result is a polished and thoughtful compilation of songs.
[4th Ave Tavern, Friday, Oct. 26, 9 p.m., 210 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.786.1444]
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