Brick + Mortar: "Heatstroke"

Soon after I moved to the Chicago area in 2005, I saw my first concert in the city--the ska punk Mad Caddies and the reggae rock band Pepper at the House of Blues--crushed against the front of the mosh pit with my good friend Elizabeth Tavares by my side. We were besties before that, but since that moment she's been my favorite concert buddy (outside of my mother). Liz has introduced me to some of my favorite bands (oh hey Black Keys), and this year will be our third Lollapalooza together. I've been wanting her to write for Daijams for a long time, and I am thrilled today to present Liz's debut Daijams review, in which she tackles indie duo Brick + Mortar!

 

Brick + Mortar

There is something about duos that is hard to describe. Perhaps it is the insularity of teamwork contained to a couple, or the kind of tight partnership that a pair necessitates. Mehldau and Metheny. Abbott and Costello. Brooks and Dunn. Duos present opportunities for technical exploration not available to soloists, but between the two of you there isn't exactly a safety net. Perhaps it is this kind of edge that explains the increase in duo acts in the electronica and house dance scene in the last two decades. Jus+ice just dropped a new live album. The Postal Service released a remaster of their greatest hits this year. France is going to implode if Daft Punk doesn't drop Random Access Memories, like, yesterday. I would like to submit to the list a duo primed for the kind of national exposure only a festival like Lollapalooza provides: Brick + Mortar.

   

Brick + Mortar are a predominantly tri-state deal, noted for their high-energy live shows in the region despite the small discography consisting of a trim five-track album and two three-track EPs, all released with the independent label Anchor and Hope Music. After releasing the EP Heatstroke (2011), the act was featured in a number of magazines including Vice, given the special treatment by NPR's All Songs Considered, and invited to participate in the 2012 SXSW "House of Creatives" showcase.

While often described as an "indie rock drum and bass duo," it is hard to group the refined electronic stylings of Brandon Asraf (bass, vocals) and John Tacon (drums, samples, vocals) with the grit of something similarly structured, like The Black Keys--a frequent Lollapalooza participant. I'm a bit surprised, in fact, that Brick + Mortar wasn't scheduled to play at Perry's--the stage under the trees catering to DJ, electronica, and dance acts--but I would bet that organizers imagine that the duo's jazz improvisational techniques will be able to draw a larger crowd to the two o'clock BMI stage slot relatively early on Friday, the first day of the festival.

While the tracks from 7 Years in the Mystic Room (2010) are engaging, the three out of Heatstroke (2012) are what I am looking forward to. I recommend starting with "Move To The Ocean." It opens with a clatter of drums built from a simple kit that replicates out-of-studio rhythm recordings that were all the rage in the early '00s. The bass is more reverb and fuzz than actual pitch, giving you the sense that you are already pressing up to the edge of what your ears can take. Add interstitial vocal textures and then a sweetly affected vocal line to create some contrast against the crush of the rhythm section. But the cleverest piece is a sour synthesizer line that trades time with these other two elements to craft this packed brief and biting track. This kind of instrumental complexity makes the EP ideal to run on repeat. "For Yellow Walls" adds speed to the mix to put their technical chops on display. But the sweetheart of the album is the title track. While the two tracks listed above are about texture and proficiency--elements I tend to privilege in my own listening--"Heatstroke" is a brilliant piece of songwriting. The album version is great, but I strongly recommend starting with the acoustic version included here, as it nicely exposes the duo's tight harmonies and finesse with the simplest of tools.

   

Prepare for Brick + Mortar's 2:10pm set on Friday, August 2nd, at the BMI stage by checking out their music, available from Bandcamp and streaming on Spotify.

-- Elizabeth Tavares