Anywhere: Anywhere (ATP, 7/24/12)
“Anywhere”
Because the world needs more awesome super-groups, Christian Eric Beaulieu of Triclops!, Cedric Bixler Zavala of The Mars Volta, and special guests Mike Watt (Minutemen) and Rachel Fannan (Sleepy Sun) have coalesced as a project called Anywhere.
Stemming from Beaulieu’s interest in acoustic guitars and an “open-tuning, Eastern raga style,” the project is a sort of Eastern-influenced acoustic/psych punk, rooted in driving rhythms and organic/electric blends. The jangly, falsettoed, self-titled single from this seven-song debut is a beautiful, ghostly number — one that accurately summarizes the project’s sound. But it hardly captures the scope of the debut, which finds Watt, Bixler Zavala, and Fannan all expertly augmenting (but not overtaking) the tracks.
Digital tablas, accordion, toy piano, and other accents pepper the songs, but Beaulieu’s guitar is the driving force. Combining the influences of modern East-West practitioners such as Jack Rose and Sir Richard Bishop with vestiges of Led Zeppelin and even Fleetwood Mac, Anywhere strikes a balance that makes it one of the most exciting new projects of 2012.
OOOOooooooh!