w/Blood Thirsty Lovers,
TK Webb
Sat Aug 17,
Graceland, $8.
"I have my little suitcase [of effects], a lot more pedals, and Gary Coleman makes a few guest appearances from time to time to spice it up," says guitarist John Schmersal from a cell phone in Tempe about the changes in Enon's live show.
Um, Gary Coleman?
"Sometimes he can't appear so we just pull out his other kidney. Sorry about that--that wasn't funny. This Arizona heat is doing horrible stuff to my sense of humor."
Schmersal was the guitarist in Brainiac, a bunch of hyperactive twentysomethings from Dayton, Ohio, whose tincture of angular guitar clang and analog synthesizer abuse was the talk of the American underground rock scene nearly a decade ago. After the band's tragic and untimely end, Schmersal--unlike his bandmates--wasn't ready to give up on music just yet. So he packed his bags for Brooklyn, found an ally in noted producer/Barkmarket founder Dave Sardy, and continued to write music. At the time, Sardy was coordinating SeeThru Broadcasting, his new imprint that was being funded by the Belgian label Play It Again Sam. Sardy liked Schmersal's work enough to release two records, a woozy, lo-fi, cough-syrup exercise under the name of John Stewart Mill, and Believo!, the debut album from Enon, Schmersal's post-Brainiac band that also included Skeleton Key members Rick Lee and Steve Calhoon.
After PIAS pulled its funding, causing SeeThru to fold, Enon found a home at Touch and Go. Released in early June, High Society is significantly more subdued than the gloriously unhinged Believo!. The disc's sonic shape-shifting contains traces of synth-driven pop ("Salty"), ambitious arrangements (the title track), and run-up-the-wall rock abandon ("Pleasure and Privilege"). If Believo! was the overactive dog at the animal shelter that's trying twice as hard to secure a home, High Society is the same charming pet showing off what new tricks he is capable of doing--even if he's clandestinely killing squirrels and rabbits out in the yard by night.
"Oh, it's a flip-flop, that's true," Schmersal says. "We think it's a pretty dark record. Believo! is kind of a manic party record and this one was supposed to be the poppier summertime record that's darker underneath. The next one will probably be a manic party record again." When asked to discuss individual tracks off High Society, Schmersal bristles before relenting. "All of the songs on the record have a selfish theme to them. The idea of High Society isn't about living in some sort of hoity-toity culture, but about people actively wanting to embody those things more. I had a job that was around midtown [Manhattan]. I was around Wall Street a lot, and let's just say I found the experience highly inspirational."
After the release of Believo!, Calhoon left the band for personal reasons. Schmersal enlisted drummer Matt Schulz (old-skool tie: Brainiac drummer Tyler Trent is his cousin) and bassist Toko Yasuda (formerly of self-righteous NYC art coquettes Blonde Redhead) as the rhythm section. Lee, the schedule-challenged multi-instrumentalist, played a diminished role in the creation of High Society and gracefully bowed out of the band. The hand of fate made the devil-horn shape, so Enon traded their centrifugal-force art-damage for rocking out.
"It's pared down and it's a bit more rock," Schmersal says about the tightened-up trio's new noise. "When we became a three-piece, people would frequently tell us we sound like Black Sabbath, which is something that I can't concur with. But it's definitely a heartfelt compliment. I think it brings in the new phase of the band."
In addition to this extensive tour, Enon, with the help of some faith-keeping indie labels, will be releasing some aural artifacts in the ensuing months. Singles are slated to appear on the Troubleman and Frenchkiss labels, as well as a split-single with the Blood Thirsty Lovers, the new band from former Grifters major-domo Dave Shouse. Even with the release of various forms of music, though, Schmersal is smart enough to realize that "former member of Brainiac" legends on club fliers aren't going to draw a crowd like they should.
Of the shifting fan base for the band, Schmersal admits, "I feel like it's just different now. When Brainiac got on Touch and Go, I noticed an immediate difference in the size of the audience. But it's hard for me to keep perspective on it. Brainiac would play shows with hardcore bands, and it seems that now, hardcore has been replaced with this emo kind of thing, which I personally relate to way, way less."
Okay, John, point blank: Why should people pull themselves away from their laptops to check out Enon?
"Why shouldn't they?" he yells in mock anger. "We put on an electrifying show, and I know your eight-bit MP3 isn't going to represent that very well."
