The Review Zoo

RUDELY INTERRUPTED

In our increasingly Google-happy world, “liking” a band can be as surface an activity as mild thumbs up on Facebook, or as substantial as a collection of rare artist b-sides you snuggle at night.  When truly moved by a band or an artist, the likelihood increases you’ll research its members, their stories, and the inspiration for their offerings.  But to what end does this impact the listening experience?

Seemingly worthless trivia like “Jenny Lewis was the little red haired girl in The Wizard!”, or that her band mate Blake Sennet was the gangly kid from Salute Your Shorts doesn’t change anything about the music melodically.  Stevie Wonder’s blindness doesn’t change a single note or the emotional impact of Songs in the Key of Life, at least in the technical sense.  But it certainly lends itself, if only on a subconscious level, to enrich the listening experience.

In the case of Australian sextuplet Rudely Interrupted, Rory (23), Sam (25), Marcus (30), Constance (46), Josh (23), and Rohan (38) fill out a lineup of musicians who present with unique physiological and psychological challenges – from Autism, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome, blindness and (I’m sorry, most impressively) deafness.

The handicaps are more than just back story – they make an overt impact on the lyrics and the band’s sound.  Tragedy of The Commons is, at first listen, pure synth-rock which at times seems to dip into geek-rock territory by way of the lead singer’s nasal croon.  The band’s lyrics range from typical fare like relationship strife to the seemingly inherent coolness of green lights (or warmness of orange lights)… to zits.  And popping them.  Beyond that, there is a repetitive quality to the album that will work either to the band’s detriment or favor – you’re going to like it all, or nothing.

The record is enjoyable as a whole, but it begs the question of whether I’d feel the same if I were oblivious to the undeniably uplifting back story.  Back-up singer and guitarist Rohan teaches music therapy in his off hours, and the band are already the subject of what I’m sure will be a fascinating documentary.  It’s the back story itself that deepens the listening experience.  Luckily for Rudely Interrupted, the music is capable enough to stand on its own.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 1:33 pm. It is filed under Music and tagged with Music Review, Rachel Toro, Rudely Interrupted, The Musebox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.