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Thursday, November 20, 2008
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Still kinda charming Get electropunked for the third time with Avenpitch's 'Cast Off' Entertainment Editor Minneapolis' Avenpitch used to play at the Eclectic Cafe so often that Brainerd was practically its second home. But the band hasn't played here since January, so content yourself with blasting "Cast Off" at your next house party.
Todd Millenacker, the shaggy frontman who struts on bartops like a male "Coyote Ugly" dancer, doesn't behave like a musician following a mapped-out career path. You'd assume he's just winging it, but Avenpitch's production-laden discs suggest otherwise. "Cast Off," the band's third album, is catchy and layered, and Millenacker pens amusing rhymes.
Avenpitch is mostly having stupid fun, as the videos for two songs at www.avenpitch.com suggest. They're not exactly TV-ready, but they will make you smile.
If you spin
Artist: Avenpitch.
Album: "Cast Off."
Genre: Electropunk.
Label: Dance School Records.
Highs: Like eating a bag of cookies, it's hard to stop with just one Avenpitch song. All 10 tracks have a hooky foundation.
Lows: Todd Millenacker's vocal range is narrow, so sometimes the songwriting is better than the execution.
Grade: B
Spin for Yourself
Avenpitch song samples from their CD "Cast Off" (2008)
full length audio files
All files used with permission.
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In "Desperado," Sarah France waves toy guns at her bandmates, leaving no one to tickle the ivories; Darren Siaw, strumming away, wears an Old West costume that looks like it was thrown together 10 minutes before a Halloween party; Paul Hudalla dodges flying beer cans as he pounds the skins; and Millenacker rides a horse for no reason other than that the song is called "Desperado."
"Sweet Summertime" is played on a rooftop a few blocks from the Metrodome, and I imagine the band got in about three takes before the neighbors complained about the noise.
The tune itself is electrified pop gold: "If you think you might fall/For a telephone call and fresh flowers/You got your whole life/Just give me an hour."
When listening to this song, I wonder if Avenpitch would sound better if it wasn't so locked into the heavily computerized electropunk genre. I'd love to hear a traditional band's take on "Sweet Summertime."
Millenacker isn't a strong vocalist, but his lyrics match perfectly with the music. Sure, it's the type of stuff you'd find in the margins of a moody ninth-grader's English literature notebook, but that's part of the band's appeal.
Consider this segment, sung lightning-fast, in "Pregnant Pause": "I had a moment to escape/I didn't know what to do/So I locked the window and shouted like a fool. I was yelling for my mom/I was yelling for my dad/I was looking for friendship with friends I never had."
And from "Shadows of Giants": "When you're standing in the shadows of giants/It's hard to see the light."
Avenpitch might be in the shadows for now. But when future electropunkers talk about their inspiration, they can say they stood on the shoulders of early giants like Avenpitch.
www.avenpitch.com
JOHN HANSEN, entertainment editor, may be reached at john.hansen@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5863.
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