of god and science

April 23, 2007

Exclusive! Download "5'7"" from Albuquerque rockers, Of God and Science.


Of God and Science
A band name like Of God and Science seems at first to be an oxymoron, but a listen to this New Mexico-based quartet's music shows how apt it is, considering their relative ease in straddling different (sometimes opposing) sounds. Tracks like "America's Queen" seem steeped in dive bar country rock and blues while more subdued offerings like "Drift Alone" channel a solo Blake Sennet from Rilo Kiley, heavy on charm and nimble plucking skills. Adding to the genre-confounding mix, "5'7"" opens with trance-inducing experimentation (think post-Bends Radiohead), all eerie organs and driving percussion. Of God and Science's eponymous debut arrives May 1 on Detach. BRIANA MOWREY

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Of God and Science - "5'7"" DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:
ofgodandscience.com
Of God and Science at MySpace

- Of God and Science Experiments With Rhythm-Driven Genre-Bending

In more than one way, Of God And Science is a band that seeks to harmonize two seemingly disparate things on their debut: There’s the name (most obviously) and then there’s the group’s sound, which often attempts to reach the same highs and lows of Elbow, Clearlake, Doves, and basically any British band that sounds as though they belong on Astralwerks. But here’s the thing: These guys hail from Albuquerque, an American city that’s better known in indie circles for young artists like Beirut and Ramona Cordova who aim for an entirely different set of clouds. And that’s just on the first song: “America’s Queen”—a barnstormer and presumably not a song about Oprah Winfrey—sounds nothing like “5?7?. - Of God And Science - 2/28/07

Albuqerque band Of God and Science releases what is perhaps one of the best albums in local music history - Local IQ 1/13/11

Brian Lush gets the first Black Rabbit interview - RockWired.com 12/2/10

-D. M. Bush
03/22/07
The artwork that accompanies of god and science shows two figures, each pointing a pistol at the other's forehead. Inside, the vanquished of the two has his skull replaced by a brush-stroke of blood and a fleeing bullet, his revolver lowered halfway to the ground. The victor kneels by the album's credits, his weapon gripped firmly in the posture of a prayer. This scene, the absurd gravity of "of god and science" itself, the levelheaded solemnity of the band's lyrics— all indications of a band that takes its craft quite seriously. Perhaps, you might argue, a bit too seriously. But that all depends on where you fall on pop's spectrum, for this is, without qualm, a pop record: of god and science do nothing if not acknowledge five decades of the genre's development. So, with the dourness of Calla and compositional tendencies recalling the Black Heart Procession, of god and science apply themselves to songwriting.


Fortunately, they bring a lot to this table; you will hear few albums in this arena that use timbre more effectively. Rhodes piano, banjo, a sublime slide guitar— of god and science choose their matches splendidly. It also makes it somewhat difficult to place them: opener "5'7"" follows the aforementioned Black Heart Procession's "Tropics of Love," but it's a red herring. "America's Queen" and "Empty Space" mine alt-country vertigo of the Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's sort, and instrumental "Nations Are Cults" underscores the band's New Mexican upbringing. The latter, outlined by a regular chord progression and absolutely permeated with slide guitar, is particularly affecting; it invokes the aridity of the area as well as Daniel Lanois' work on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack conjures west Texas.

The piece's inclusion also characterizes the release as a whole. It's nearly a device to distance the band from Albuquerque's favorite Billboard-topping sons the Shins; directly in the middle of the album, five minutes of wordless composition, it's a distinctly western declaration of independence. The songs that precede and follow are reconsidered, called back for reassessment in its proximity, and the album is considerably strengthened, for it is also a lynchpin. In a word, it contextualizes the entire affair. What, then, of the total effect? It's not pop mastery on the level of Islands or The Decemberists, but it is a perfectly assembled, if somewhat offbeat, entry into the genre. As a result, it's a release that seems to have been aimed particularly at growing more interesting with successive listens rather than immediate and temporary satisfaction.

http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewID=7732

- adequacy.net 3/22/07

Created essentially a decade ago, Of God and Science is an experiment in sonic abrasion with an emphasis on melody. The stirring renditions laid within this self-titled LP showcase the group from New Mexico’s notion that two opposing forces can actually join hand-in-hand and be as one, much like their moniker might suggest. Their sound is somewhere near old Radiohead and more spacious Bright Eyes tunes. But more importantly, it’s a sound you’ll want to hear.

- J-Sin

- smother.net

Of God And Science's debut sounds dark, deep, unique
3/17/07

The Albuquerque-based band, Of God and Science, has brought forth one of the more progressive indie rock albums in recent memory with their latest self-titled album.

With music based on keys and spacey programming, the band pieces together some promising tracks. But then again, what else should be expected from a group of guys who are veterans of a thriving music scene such as Albuquerque's?

With influences from Spoon to At The Drive-In to Bright Eyes, this album comes off as very deliberate with its melodies, yet is not stale and contrived as many albums in its genre tend to be.

The opener, "5'7", is one of the band's more intriguing songs. Opening with a repetitious drum cadence underneath a transparent guitar, the song eventually builds into a crescendo after vocalist Matthew Dominguez's voice crawls through the speakers.

Suddenly the music cuts out, leaving only Dominguez and a soft keyboard.

"In a state of passion, you're in a state of peace. You're not one of these shotgun suicidal politicians out on the street," Dominguez whispers.

It is this type of dark imagery that is the band's forte throughout the album, and it isn't only the lyrics. Even something as rudimentary as an ambient guitar part or the playing of a single note on a keyboard comes off as dark and deep.

The track "Emef" is a great example of this. The melody comes off a little disjointed because of a very ambient, lap steel guitar somewhere in the background of the production. By the end of the track, there are so many layers of sound, it is difficult to focus on just one. To complicate this further, the band slowly speeds up the music and by the end, "Emef" becomes a very jumbled - yet controlled - montage of sound. It might seem unappealing, but it is unique and powerful.

One of the more interesting songs on the album is the instrumental track, "Nations are Cults." The track features Dominguez wailing on a lap steel guitar. Beginning with a very simple piano part, the song becomes one of the lushest and most full-sounding tracks on the album.

The production of this album is second to none. The band produced it themselves and it sounds simply stunning. It is clear the goal was to create a spacey rock album and that goal was achieved 10 times over.

The focus for the production is also clearly placed on the instruments and how they sound. Not to say the vocals are not essential to this album, but when the musicians are as good as these guys, it only makes sense to make sure the guitar tone is perfect and the drums are deep and resonating.

Of God and Science is headed for big things. With performances throughout the southwest, including a showcase at SXSW Music Festival in Ausin, Texas, it is clear that these guys will become household names sooner rather than later. - The Lantern by Alex Drumm

Thank God there are still underground pop bands around that rely on real drums and real guitars. When the introductory throbbing beat to the opening track began, we had a feeling we were going to be very impressed with this band's music. The fellows in Of God and Science are based in Albuquerque, New Mexico where they also help manage and run the Detach Records label. The band's tunes are guitar oriented underground pop with unusual shifting melodies and moody arrangements. A word of warning. This band's songs will not clobber you over the head the first time you hear them. Instead of instantly catchy feelgood pop, these fellows write unpredictable mature guitar pop that is difficult to describe and difficult to compare to other bands. The subtle beauty of the band's melodies will surely grow on you over time. Excellent dreamy vocals merge with articulately crafted guitars to create a rather intoxicating sound indeed. This 40 minute album features eight killer tracks including "5'7"," "A Lesson In Decay," "Into the Light," and "Drift Alone." Great stuff we will be spinning again and again and again. Recommended. (Rating: 5++) - Of God And Science - 3/2/07

Of God And Science
Of God And Science

[Detach; 2007]
OOOxx

Styles: indie rock, alternative
Others: Radiohead, Doves, Snow Patrol

Sidling out of Albuquerque on a dusty cloud of charm, Of God And Science play poignant, dreamy rock with just enough Southwestern flair to betray their roots. Although this is their first outing as a band, the members have had various attachments to other projects, including drummer Ryan Martino’s tenure in the pre-Shins band Fluke, and the experience shows. The quartet patiently builds songs around the winning melodies of lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Matthew Dominguez, and only after creating a solid foundation do they add the subtle tweaks that give them a slight quirkiness.

A lot of the tweaks come from Julian Martinez’s multi-instrumentalism. His parts are never overbearing, and add the perfect sense of ethereality to transform the music from staunch earnestness to something subtly more fantastic. His Rhodes piano aids the opener "5’7"" and later "EMEF," bringing out their shimmery, shoegazing qualities without hindering the overall urgency of the songs. The lead pedal steel line that guides the instrumental "Nations Are Cults" is just gorgeous, and helps imbue the album with that southwestern flair that sets them apart from similar bands like Doves or Snow Patrol.

Dominguez’s voice is also the perfect balance of insistence and restraint to be able to pull off these songs without ever being overwrought. The touches of vocal harmony interspersed throughout are sweet and tasteful, and on "Drift Alone" give the otherwise sad ballad a lovely undercurrent of hopefulness. If there’s a criticism to be leveled here it’s the brevity of the album. At a mere eight songs, it would have been great to have some of the more experimental moments expanded a bit, but being left wanting more from a debut album probably isn’t a bad thing.

1. 5’7" 2. A Lesson in Decay 3. America’s Queen 4. Nations Are Cults 5. Empty Space 6. Into the Light 7. EMEF 8. Drift Alone
by Dave Gurney
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Of-God-And-Science - 6/15/07

by Tom Murphy

Befitting its namesake, Albuquerque's of God and Science has a somewhat convoluted musical identity. While some of its songs recall the polished garage pop and psychedelia of the retro-leaning Elephant 6 outfits that emerged during the '90s, others conjure a detached, spacey ambience that owes a debt to OK Computer-era Radiohead or have a whispery quality that evokes the languid peace of winter, like snowdrifts blowing on a sunlit day. As divergent as Of God and Science's sound is, however, at its core lies a rhythm-driven minimalist pop that anchors it all. The resulting dynamism is pleasantly surprising, and far more interesting than the work of most artists who cover similar ground. Catch Of God and Science at the Lounge this Friday, when it shares a bill with Joshua Novak and Landlordland. - Westword

Illinois Entertainer

Of God And Science
Of God And Science
(Detach)

The cover art of this debut album depicts a duel (the winner of which is revealed inside), but any struggle the band are experiencing gets swept up in lollygagging acoustic love songs.

Being from Albuquerque, the closest musical relative Of God And Science have are The Shins, who have since relocated to the Pacific Northwest. That leaves miles and miles of sand and highway, and the band use all of it to spread out and get comfortable. "Into The Light" slowly awakens and can't tell if it's dusk or dawn. Some of the electronic noodling and thick reverb runs adjacent to My Morning Jacket's nighttime backyard treasure hunts, but mostly Of God And Science dream of the West Coast with road dust caking their eyelids shut. "America's Queen" taps into a sleazy, '70s guitar line and "5'7?" may have just taken the needle off OK Computer, but it's not until they "Drift Alone" do they sound at home.

– Steve Forstneger

http://illinoisentertainer.com/2007/05/09/of-god-and-science-reviewed/#more-1960

- 5-9-07

3/14/07

Of God and Science; Of God and Science

The cover, which is very nice by the way, shows two cowboys locked in a duel. Pistols aimed, ready to fire. They may be drawn in a cartoon like manner, but the image sufficiently hints at the tension that exists within this album. This isn't a very aggressive album, it's not angry, but every song seems to feel like it wants to be bigger than it already is. It's like the whole album is trapped in a box and trying to kick its way out. America's Queen, track three, is a prime example. The guitars are crisp, the vocals are nice, clear and warm and the keyboard work is rather quirky. There are some lovely, if underplayed somewhat, backing vocals too, but then there are the drums. The drums don't so much create a rhythm, instead they just seem to crash, bang and wallop their way through to the end. Even Nations Are Cults, which is a sweet instrumental number, comes complete with a drum beat that resembles nothing more than somebody trying to kick a door down...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />



Having said all that, it's worth pointing out that I actually think the drums help the album a lot and lift it from being something pretty good into something pretty great. They add a bit of blood and thunder, a bit of passion to what would be a pretty sweet album without them. Sweet is nice and everything, but the drums add a bit of a kick, of bit of spice to it and it's all the better for it. The drums often help to change the texture of the songs, sending the tunes careering off in another direction and always for the better. They help to create that tension that I mentioned earlier. The inside cover of the album, by the way, simply shows what happens when all that tension overflows. Let's just say that only one cowboy is walking away from that scene.



Of God and Science is a great little album and I suggest you do yourself a favour and get a hold of it now, before they send the drummer round to kick your door in.



Words: ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Damian Leslie

http://www.incendiarymag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1136

- www.incendiarymag.com