Getting back in the van
From Wire to the Pixies to My Bloody Valentine, post-punk bands are hard to kill. Now, on the occasion of its third album (and first in 15 years), From Now to OK, you can add underappreciated New York trio Springhouse to the list of survivors. With its re-emergence, the band asserts its rightful place in the chain of U.K.-inspired, melancholy guitar pop, stretching from Big Star to The Shins. Guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Mitch Friedland avoids the processed acoustic guitar sound that got the band tagged as shoegazers, with Springhouse opting instead for a more varied palette, ranging from slide guitar (“Moving Van”) to lush, mournful trumpet (“10 Count”). With members immersed in day jobs—bassist/guitarist Larry Heinemann touring with Blue Man Group; drummer/vocalist Jack Rabid editing venerable ’zine The Big Takeover—the album was assembled in the manner of weekend hobbyists. But the sporadic construction hasn’t produced a disjointed document: With its complex chord changes and unapologetic love of melody, From Now to OK is a reminder of what made the band deserving of more than a small, adoring cult in the first place.
Listen to Springhouse’s “Moving Van” from From Now To OK on the band’s MySpace page.