Review Summary: Plus The Bear.
Sargent House is a young record label. At only three years old, the label helmed by Cathy Pellow has managed to amass a roster of diverse and critically acclaimed bands such as RX Bandits, These Arms Are Snakes and Russian Circles. The youngest band, figuratively and literally, in the Sargent House lineup is Indiana based quartet Native. In a label filled with well establish acts that have progressed themselves, and music in general, Native fit in perfectly. Just attempting to describe Native's sound is a difficult task, as the band accumulates stylings from post-hardcore, indie, math-rock and progressive music. In a sentence, Native sounds like Minus the Bear being strangled by These Arms Are Snakes. The band self-released and toured for two years off their debut EP
We Delete; Erase, before hitting the studio with highly praised producer Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, Pelican) to produce their first full length
Wrestling Moves. Sargent House redistributed Native's
We Delete EP which gained the band a lot of buzz in the music community, only adding to the anticipation of critics and fans alike for the band's debut full length. Does
Wrestling Moves live up to the hype and cement Native as the next big thing for the label? In short: Abso-***in'-lutely.
Native wastes no time introducing themselves as a single synth key unfolds to an energetic drum beat followed by anxious guitar strums. Anyone who has listened to
We Delete; Erase will immediately hear the transformation within the band. Native is still Native, but the progression here is a massive one. The song follows a seemingly non-existent structure, going from one odd time signature to the next, all while staying easily listenable, unlike many math-rock influenced bands. Gone are the sing along choruses of the EP. Instead long verses segue into extended instrumentals, leaving only a couple lines of lyrics repeated. The vocal melodies are unique to say the least. Lead singer Bobby Markos screams out his lyrics in a way that sounds like someone stuttering through reading poetry, which surprisingly fits the music incredibly well. Comparing Bobby to another vocalist would be impossible; his style is all his own, only making Native even more unique. Many times Bobby will step away from the microphone and scream off mic with the band, which I can only imagine leads to many crowd sing-alongs at live performances. Bobby's lyrics are also very impressive, bring out such gems as: "We’re blind to singing songs; we’re deaf to sarcastic tongues", "We plagiarize thinking", and the final line of the album, "Let’s invest in libel we’ll progress." In the beautiful centerpiece 'Five Year Payoff', Markos pens the story of the band, from leaving their homes to tour, to the conception of this very album. It is at this point in the album that the band matures before the listeners ears, composing a slow soulful song that progresses within itself. From the start of the album to the end, Native pushes themselves in new directions with each song. The first three songs show a highly post-hardcore/math-rock influenced band, while the final string of songs display Native being only Native.
Native is a band that is truly unique in many ways. Sargent House took a gamble by signing an unknown band from a small town in Indiana, but their efforts in promoting and supporting this band will undoubtedly pay off,
Wrestling Moves proves that Native have a very bright future ahead of them.
