New Home, Same Old Animal
Before leaving their home town of Charleston NC for the west coast, A Decent Animal had only one EP released. They were a local band that followed suit by playing heavily in town and building a great report with the local Charleston indie crowd. So when the town heard that the band was moving to the west coast, I’m sure you can assume that there were a lot of people already requesting a going away show. They played one last show at “The Pour House” and made the move to to the bay, San Francisco.
The now four piece have only released Demos and EP’s. Rabbit Hole is their first effort. Really showcasing the bands multi-instrumental ability, Jonathan Nicholson (singer/songwriter) and R.G. Weld (Bass) experiment with horns and keys developing a truly unique sound. A sound that would begin to develop throughout. The horns flutter throughout the title track like a elephant with wings, the song takes you to the middle of a swamp in the south.
The majority of Nicholson’s lyrics seem to always have an alarming yet interesting mystique to them. The band lists the childrens poet Shel Silverstein as an inspiration which would explain his playful, yet dark stories. Their second release is a 3 song EP, Find a Decent Animal and Love it. Intriguing lyrics, and lots of bass distortion later you start understanding the actual potential this band carries. Its not a surprise, although it is depressing, to see that the quatro has not released a full length as of yet. It obvious the band and the songwriting have not reached the potential that they would like. Rough chords and transitions slightly plague this EP from time to time, but nothing glancing.
Since March of 2008, A Decent Animal have grown two members and have made a careful meld of “southern gothic-inspired secular gospel, with big vocal harmonies and dark, prophetic narratives.” Consistent throughout their records you can expect a groove unparalleled by many, piercing vocal harmonies married with crunchy distortion and church bell like keys. There are glimpses of very beautiful acoustic brilliance by Jonathan Nicholson (singer/songwriter) Although they seem to come together well on both levels, their persona comes out full force when the distortion is on.
The band is playing 3 dates in California with The Hold Steady. Check their for venues and two new tracks.
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[mp3] A Decent Animal – Western World from Find a Decent Animal and Love It (2008)
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[mp3] A Decent Animal – Money for the Corpse from Find a Decent Animal and Love It (2008)
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[mp3] A Decent Animal – Rabbit Hole from Rabbit Hole EP (2006)