SLIGHTEST OF TREASON by ELDRIDGE RODRIGUEZ
- Country and Western -
- Your Dead Boyfriend -
- Miami Dade -
- Another Boy with a Broken Heart -
- Psychic Darts -
- Count Me Out -
- The Girl Who Made God -
- The Last of the Strongmen -
- There’s No Control -
STREAM
*** colors are random ***
CD - $12.00
MP3 - $8.00
MDRF037 | FEBRUARY 2020 |39:46 | CD, MP3 and VINYL
Moody post-punk that is broadly political and decidedly intimate. Sonically familiar while pushing pop's potential to be noisy. Looser and more accessible than prior releases. Never dull.
Cameron Keiber- guitar, keys, vocals
David Grabowski- bass, keys
Clayton Keiber- guitar
Dennis Grabowski- drums, percussion
Joe DeGeorge- saxophone on Psychic Darts
Sarah Borges- vocals on Your Dead Boyfriend and The Last of the Strongmen
Recorded and mixed by the band at Bluetone Studio, Somerville MA.
Engineered by David Grabowski.
Mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering, Newtonville, MA
Album Art:
Design- Greg Lyon, Cameron Keiber and Clayton Keiber
Layout- Greg Lyon and Bea Talplacido
Cover photo by Cameron Keiber
“Eldridge Rodriguez Deliver New Alternative Masterpiece, Album Of The Year Contender With Slightest of Treason.” — Rock and Roll Fables
“There is energy to be found in the unlikeliest of places. In anger and fear an sadness and doubt. Slightest of Treason does not so much as harness this energy as unleash it.” — Various Small Flames
“Purely electric with an intense Vigor” — Medium
“Serving up a sound that is both enjoyably noisy and deliciously poppy, it’s a fine showcase for the bands latest album — Analogue Trash
“Eldridge Rodriguez Deliver New Alternative Masterpiece, Album Of The Year Contender With Slightest of Treason.” — Rock and Roll Fables
“There is energy to be found in the unlikeliest of places. In anger and fear an sadness and doubt. Slightest of Treason does not so much as harness this energy as unleash it.” — Various Small Flames
“Purely electric with an intense Vigor” — Medium
“Serving up a sound that is both enjoyably noisy and deliciously poppy, it’s a fine showcase for the bands latest album — Analogue Trash
OTHER RELEASES BY ELDRIDGE RODRIGUEZ
REVIEWS
"It’s too early into 2020 to declare a record one of the best of the year, yeah? Well, if it’s not uncouth to do so then I’d like to submit the long awaited new full-length from Boston’s Eldridge Rodriguez as worthy of those kinds of accolades. It’s been five years since Eldridge Rodriguez delivered a new full-length and in that time personal conflict, as well as living in a world with a political climate that is so absolutely toxic that one is constantly gasping for air, has provided the necessary fuel for a fire that burns bright throughout Slightest of Treason. It’s an emotional sonic rollercoaster of a record and a journey that music fans of all kinds will gladly take.
Barely 30 seconds in, and before vocalist/guitarist Cameron Keiber even opens his mouth to croon, “Country and Western” is already buzzing. Propelled forth with a sense of urgency by Dennis Grabowski’s stunning and powerful percussive assault as Clayton and Cameron Keiber’s guitars put up a wall of sound that is both monolithic and melodic, the track captures a modern Americana feel which screams “Boston!” (Think Modern Lovers in particular) mixed with that 2004-2005 British new wave of Indie (Was there an official title for this movement???) that yielded instant classic debuts from the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Maximo Park, and Bloc Party.
“Your Dead Boyfriend” has more of the feels and adds local (And national!) favorite Sarah Borges to accompany Cameron on the mic with David Grabowski’s playful plucking on the bass swelling into a decidedly morbid yet undeniably grand chorus. Elsewhere, “Miami Dade” is dreamy, seven-minute Alt masterpiece that you didn’t know you needed in your life while “Psychic Darts” is like the greatest Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band classic never recorded. You know those coveted bootlegs where your favorite artist has that one song that they always jam out to live but never put to tape? That’s this little ditty…and they even got their own Clarence Clemons with Joe DeGeorge providing those smooth saxophone sounds.
“Count Me Out” crosses hemispheres with glistening guitars and harmonica flourishes bringing to mind Porno For Pyros’ “Tahitian Moon” combined with Bob Dylan-style storytelling and later, “The Girl Who Made God” was made to be played in the Bang Bang Bar or in some other Lynchian world. “The Last of the Strongmen” brings in the string accompaniment as well as Borges’ uncanny pipes once again with Cameron Keiber’s sultry baritone laying it all bare before “There’s No Control” ebbs and flows through a final track that has the Keiber and Grabowski brothers delivering an iconic new Alternative anthem for the Kurt Cobain-wearing kids of today who’ve yet to discover R.E.M. or Pixies.” — Rock and Roll Fables
“Originating as the solo moniker of Boston’s Cameron Keiber, Eldridge Rodriguez soon evolved into a full band with Keiber (guitar, keys, vocals) joined by David Grabowski (bass, keys), Clayton Keiber (guitar) and Dennis Grabowski (drums, percussion). Together, they crafted a sound pitched somewhere between post-punk, dance rock and country, a versatile vehicle for their weighty and often politically-charged writing.
This month saw the release of the latest Eldridge Rodriguez album, Slightest of Treason, via Midriff Records. Described as “looser and more accessible” than previous releases, the record retains the brooding post-punk style but balances it with a human spirit too, leading to a collection of songs caught up in the tension between disenchantment and longing.
Opener ‘Country and Western’ offers the perfect example of this vision. Though balancing a runaway, near-celebratory rock momentum with Keiber’s downbeat vocals, the track has no sense of contradiction. Rather, the triumphant energy feels like the product of leaning into the discomfort and desperation of the lyrics—catharsis not as some promise to change or become something else, but rather through an embrace of where, and who, you are.
Such a spirit is shot through the entire album, be it in the assertive Walkmen-esque indie rock numbers or the slow-burning post-punk creepers. The peppy ‘Dead Boyfriends’ brings to mind Todd Goldstein’s ARMS with its pressing impetus, Keiber’s frantic vocals surfing the insistent beat and cracking and breaking with breathless feeling. ‘Count Me Out’ might not pack the same tempo but there’s a notable earnestness in the delivery, while closer ‘There’s No Control’ is far more chaotic and a little playful too—burning through the post-punk murk to offer something more uplifting.
This energy is always matched by a lingering darkness, though it is a darkness of many shades. ‘MiamiDade’ is a smouldering slice of wistfulness, rising to certainty and falling again as the marching drum beat rolls on, while ‘Another Boy With a Broken Heart’ channels the wry despondency of The Smiths in a more self-deprecating manner. The grungy opening of ‘Psychic Darts’ has a mean edge, though the track shows a hopeful heart as it progresses, and ‘The Girl Who Made God’ combines classic post-punk gloom with an almost unhinged, theatrical feel, like a preacher from a Western demented by drink and desert sky.
The song captures the Eldridge Rodriguez aesthetic within its four minutes. Moody and stark and prone to escalation, be it in noise, in rhythm, in desperation or feeling. There is energy to be found in the unlikeliest of places. In anger and fear and sadness and doubt. Slightest of Treason does not so much harness this energy as unleash it, letting the deluge follow whatever tributaries it finds, trusting in the intuitive connect that comes from such an authentic outpouring. — Various Small Flames
“Let’s face it, the world is a bit of a mess these days. People are pissed off and rightfully so for the most part. Either they’re working too hard for a paycheck that isn’t enough, they’re tired of being treated unfairly because of their race, gender and/or orientation or they’re just on edge because they don’t know what the next day is going to bring. We live in scary times, so frontman Cameron Keiber from the Boston alternative rock act Eldridge Rodriguez put this angst into art with the band’s fourth full-length album Slightest Of Treason. It’s due out via Keiber’s label Midriff Records on February 7 and it’s purely electric with an intense vigor.
Rounding out Eldridge Rodriguez’s lineup is David Grabowski on the bass and keys, Keiber’s brother Clayton on guitar and Grabowski’s brother Dennis on drums. The quartet recorded everything at Bluetone Studio in Somerville, Massachusetts with Grabowski doing the engineering. Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice also handled the mastering duties at Peerless Mastering in Newtonville, Massachusetts. The audial quality of the album is fantastic with the guitars having a big presence. It’s sonically reminiscent of Bob Mould as it echoes a lot of Husker Dü’s raw tones.
It has been said that anxiety and pain can bring out the best art and often that is true. It doesn’t have to be centered on the artist either, it can also be existential in an empathetic way. With Slightest Of Treason, Keiber explores a bit of both. The result is a great rock record with a no nonsense approach that’s also abundant with riffs. Lets check out my top tracks of the Album Of The Week for the sake of further examination:
With saxophonist Joe DeGeorge lending his talents, “Psychic Darts” has tight rhythms while the sax in the background adds a nice, avant-garde touch. I’m a sucker for songs that start with a cool bass line and “Your Dead Boyfriend” is a great example of why. There are driving rhythms while fellow Boston musician Sarah Borges sings on backing vocals during the chorus. “The Last Of The Strongmen” also has Borges in the fold while exuding a celtic vibe. If you like The Pogues, then you’ll probably love this number.
As of press time, Eldridge Rodriguez doesn’t have any shows announced for the forseeable future. They are a fixture in Boston’s music scene so be sure that they’ll be performing around the city sooner rather than later. Until that happens, grab a copy of the new album. It’s the kind of music that rock purists crave for. It’s also the kind of music that comes from the heart, even after it has been ripped to shreds.
— Rob Duguay, Medium