The Deadly Syndrome - "Armrest"

The Deadly Syndrome - "Armrest"

August 11, 2010

little-videos.com

It was a random Wednesday in August when Allen and I ventured up into the hills of Echo Park to Will's place, an amazing old craftsman apartment with insanely intricate wood and iron detailing over just about every inch of the interior. The inside was kind of reminiscent of a nineteenth-century clipper ship, except of course for the large window and deck overlooking the 5 and the LA River. We were greeted by Chris, Will, and Will's dogs, Snickers and Andy (who eventually settled down enough to let them get through a few songs without interruption).

Personally, I'm a huge fan of bands that have beautiful artwork and a careful aesthetic (but shouldn't it be "all about the music, man?" Sure, bro. So I guess I mean I like bands even more when they do). Well apparently these guys are quite multi-talented in this regard (just check out their videos, posters, photo-blogs, etc).

But all the superficial graphic-design-bias aside, there is some brilliant music going on here. It's an impressive feet when a band can rock your socks off one minute and hold you on a pin drop the next, especially doing two versions of the same song. At their most dance-friendly-indie-pop moments, beneath the intricate layering and uptempo drumming, the strength of the songs all comes down to the fundamental songwriting and the earnest lyricism (okay, some rad instrumentation doesn't hurt, though). But even stripped almost entirely of these arrangements, these songs hold up beautifully, and there's something almost intoxicating and mesmerizing about their vulnerability.

Chris and Will played seven songs that night, and Will was kind enough to let me use his camera for the photo.

Find out more about The Deadly Syndrome at thedeadlysyndrome.com

Camera: Elliot Glass & Allen Kelley
Sound: Elliot Glass
All Rights Reserved. Member of Ocean.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Deadly Syndrome
• Chris Richard
• Will Etling
• indie
• rock
• acoustic
• live
• elliot glass
• little-videos