Instrumental noise group Expunk began with multi-instrumentalist Jef Collis and his 24-track.
"I played everything," Collis said. "I'd just start with one (track) and roll down the line until I can't anymore."
Collis was eventually joined by guitarist/percussionist Trevor Goldner, drummer Joe Russell and bassist Phil Snijders. Expunk's Facebook page now describes them as a "four man ear explosion."
Explosion implies nothing about noise, and here's where the term noise rock could give you a false pretense. Expunk is not extended jams or a wall of sound. Rather, Expunk is both melodic and dynamic, at times aggressive and at other times pretty. It's obvious that Collis is an intelligent composer and precise drumming and structure give the songs purpose.
"As much as an instrument can, it tells a story," Russell said. "The songs are journeys; they go places. It's easy to tap into the emotion of it."
Or, as wordsmith Goldner explained, "Expunk is loud, then soft, then really f***ing loud."
But don't let that scare you. Expunk is the kind of loud that surrounds you, not the kind of loud that punches you remorselessly in the face. It's loud when it's loud because it has to be, because that's the part of the story you've reached, and it makes the tender moments that much more precious. Expunk is like tough love.
The album, Time as Faust, was recorded by Goldner at Barely Legal Studios in a fashion he described as "built from the ground up."
"The way I like to record is to get the whole live set, capture what it really sounds like, so that the live performance is as honest as it can be," he said.
Time as Faust is available for free on Dec. 18 at Jukes, where there will be no cover.
Expunk wsg. Heavier Than Air Flying Machines, Charles the Osprey, Chugger
Jukes, Grand Rapids
Dec. 18, 9 p.m.
Free
myspace.com/expunk
Expunk
Genre: Instrumental Noise Rock
RIYL: Radiohead, Mogwai, Russian Circles, Hum, Arcade Fire
Album: Time as Faust
Previous Albums: Devastee (2007)
