Twilight Broadcast

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Twilight Broadcast
On Thursday, Twilight Broadcast breathed life into their first EP, “Vital Signs” scoring what's considered a larger venue for such a local act at Stubb's on Red River. The band, consisting of two Wisconsin-bread now Austinite converts and a skillful drummer they picked up here in town, describe themselves as an “emo industrial lounge core” group. Whether Drew Thomas, Nick Drozdowicz and Jason Crosby are on to something with refusing to remain in one genre, it's evident that they can craft intrinsic compilations wherever they end up.
The first track of this taste-of-what's-to-come, Poetry and Prozac, consists of upbeat, plugged in guitars accompanied by witty wordplay that's reminiscent of a less polished Jason Mraz [before commercialism got the better of him]. Start Fresh, the second track, offers a better look at Twilight's range with the addition of female vocals from Liz Dannemiller and her piano but by track three I was concerned that the band, like so many before them, were stuck in a singular sound. Think festival fun tunes ramped up with electric versions of what was possibly at one time a beautiful acoustic melody – while the sound is well developed in part, the song tends to fall flat by the end. It's as if they simply ran out of steam to sustain themselves beyond the typical College-Kids-With-Guitars garage band.

Have you given up on giving them a chance?

You shouldn't. Involved with local producers 2222 Productions and recording locally in A-Valve Studios, Twilight's willing to push the limit and experiment especially with the addition of Drew Thomas playing cello on the final and title track of the EP, Vital Signs. I was surprised to find a soft, introspective composition that allowed the band to truly show off their skills. There's an epic crescendo in the middle that literally made me drop everything else I was doing at the moment. Somehow, this emo band managed to include a chord progression akin to that found in the strange collaboration between hip-hop guru Sean Combs and Robert Plant – and made it work for the sound they were trying to create. It speaks clearly to the notion that this young band could produce some amazing songs given the time to develop this creativity.
It's sad that an EP is meant to showcase what a band is capable of when it's so limited in it's display – there simply isn't enough room in four tracks to really get an idea of the skills Twilight Broadcast has mastered since its inception during their college days. Their full-length album is something to look forward to and besides, the guys never disappoint during a live show. The energy, effort and commitment they afford their fans speaks for itself. Check them out.

Michelle Iglesias

http://indiemusicpress.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html - Michelle Iglesias for Indie Music Press

Upon entering the small Latitude 30 club on the corner of Sixth Street there wasn't much of a set up from a band standpoint. The club has only a small platform and low lighting like a true dance club. But as the sound check finished and the music started, the energy of the boys in Twilight Broadcast covered up all indication that they were playing to an always-rotating crowd of ten.

With the voice of Brandon Boyd and the music reminders of Dave Matthews Band without the extra members, this band completely blew me away. Their first song, "Start Fresh" was a new bluesy rock sound accompanied with plenty of complimenting harmonies that Austin should get a larger taste of. After all what band do you know that writes their own theme song with their own twist on funk?

Also, these boys are the real deal in originality with their lyrics. Any band that references girls' underwear, Johnny Knoxville and binary coding is just fine in my book. Even as pushy clubbers heckled them with their chatter they still finished strong with a cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army".

As for the band, it sprouted from two founding members Drew Thomas and Nick Drozdowicz seven years ago in Madison, Wisconsin. The band originally started out as an acoustic duo called Arcadia but Duran Duran already had claims on the name. Forced to change the name, Twilight Broadcast was born. The two original band mates started their musical adventure in high school, eventually picking up a bassist and a drummer. Throughout college they rotated through many other band mates, but still stuck with each other.

After graduating they decided to move to Austin to give music a shot because of a few roots down in Texas. They found Jason Cosby, who learned his talents from his church, as their drummer and have been playing as Twilight Broadcast for six months. With influences such as Radiohead, John Mayer and Cake these boys really know how to mix it up.

Though their crowds may be small, these boys really give it their all on stage and in song. Their stage presence is phenomenal and their new EP, Vital Signs will surely get plenty of attention. Catch them at their CD release party on April 12 at Stubbs Bar-B-Que on Seventh Street and Red River Street. The festivities start at 9 p.m. and it'll be an experience you won't soon forget.

-Sarah Peterson

http://media.www.theaccent.org/media/storage/paper1074/news/2007/04/13/Style/Twilight.Broadcast.Finds.Pulse.With.BluesRock-2833130.shtml - The Accent (Austin Community College Student Paper)