Tues Sept 12, Crocodile, 8 pm, $10.
The cover of the Rogers Sisters' first album bears the disturbingly blank visage of President Bush. It's titled Purely Evil. So it's natural to wonder what the hell these New York-via-Detroit sisters will do if W. wins the upcoming election.
"Move to Sweden," answers Laura Rogers (drums, vocals).
"I really don't know," sighs her sis Jennifer (vocals, guitar). "I'd love to move, [but] it's just not practical for me. I will again protest his inauguration."
Though they may feel somewhat impotent about electoral politics, the Rogers Sisters (including bassist/vocalist Miyuki Furtado) sound anything but feeble on disc. Purely Evil abounds with tightly coiled, slightly abrasive guitar riffs that split the difference between early B-52s' revved-up surf twang and Gang of Four's clipped angst. Beyond those reference points, "Song for Freddie" recalls Joe Jackson's "Look Sharp"; "I Can Tell You How I Feel About You" harks back to Bush Tetras' boxy, unconventionally sexy funk; and "Purely Evil" faintly echoes Modern Lovers' adrenalized "I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms" and Iggy Pop's scathing "Five Foot One."
Yeah, you could surmise the Rogers Sisters are perhaps a bit too enamored of their influences. But what they lack in originality the Sisters make up for in fervor. Their music feeds off the energy shooting through much late-'70s/early-'80s new wave and post-punk, which was all about partying while feeling a pervasive tension, so even the most festive music had undercurrents of stress, and even the funkiest dance bands carried an ominous dread.
The Rogers Sisters' new album, Three Fingers (Troubleman Unlimited), proves the three have enlarged their sound. The drums are much punchier, the low end possesses more girth. The playing has more authority and oomph, the guitars kerrang with more acidity. They shake out of the restrictive new wave rock template at times, adding cello, violin, and sax to the mix. On "Five Months," the Sisters even delve into prog-rock, evoking early Throwing Muses. But, rest assured, the band doesn't totally abandon its familiar knotted funk with irresistible vocal call-and-response between Furtado and Jennifer Rogers.
"Our objectives on Three Fingers were to grow and participate more creatively in the music production process," says Jennifer. "On Purely Evil we purposely tried to record everything as live as possible." "We tried to make a record that intentionally sounded different than our live show--to make it more of a creative project," adds Laura. "If people want to hear our live show, they can go see it."
The Sisters wisely appointed Essex Green drummer and Quakebasket label boss Tim Barnes to produce Three Fingers.
"We never worked with an actual producer before Tim," Jennifer observes. "He has a vast knowledge of all kinds of music and is an extremely musical percussionist. He lent tons of inspiration and great ideas to our project."
"We had a great time listening to records with him, and he took all of our completely insane and different inspirations, mixed them up in a pot, and somehow came out with a record," says Laura.
The common threads running through Rogers Sisters songs are catchy vocal interplay and tense song structures. Are the band's tightly wound songs reflective of their personalities and/or the environment in which they live?
"Absolutely," Jennifer concurs. "I am incredibly highly strung, neurotic, and tend to be a somewhat nonproductive workaholic. But, mostly, I don't have the voice to sing ballads."
"We're hyper," Laura concedes. As were the B-52s, to whom critics can't stop comparing the Rogers Sisters. Are they the Sisters' biggest influence?
"We appreciate the B-52s," Jennifer admits. "They are not our biggest influence. We tried everything possible not to sound like the B-52s on Three Fingers--not out of disrespect, but because it's weird to be compared to another band so much--but we're still compared to them. Most things we are influenced by generally don't come out in our sound: reggae, hiphop, goth, world music."
"I think we probably were originally influenced by some of the same things as the B-52s, though--surf and soul music, and having a good time," says Laura. "It was a giant coincidence."
