"you are a fool / but you can smile now again and again / because you have no chance to succeed / it’s been pre-determined..."
When it comes to all kinds of art I like to dip my head behind velvet curtain, gaze at creations that I may not completely understand but that drops me into another world, inside the fertile brain of others and I get to see things that I would never ever come close to creating in a 1000 lifetimes. In many ways that is what American Pancake is all about. These pieces of sonic art run the gamut and American Watercolor Movement artfully percolate and burn in surreal ways. At least surreal to me. To others what they create may not feel surreal at all. That is the glorious thing about art, right?
When I step into the art rock opera that is "The Fool II" from (appropriately) their massive album "The Shithouse Opera" (full of 22 divergent 'acts') you can feel the conceptual sensibility right away. It might be the wildly inventive, curious, passionate construction with precise patterned guitar, delicate and hammering piano that stretches from pop classicalism to progressive post rock that spark my synapses. The fevered percussion and drums, electric moments that have the kind of orchestral reach that feels drawn from British baroque pop that (to me) has always borrowed (in some vague way) from Medieval music, from 15th century waltz-esque patterns and I feel all that lineage here too. Jason Cieradkowski's passionate vox, like the music itself sometimes feels on unsteady ground (in a good way) divergently oblique and I wonder if (at least initially) the wild fever dream twists and turns stem from dadaistic flurries of improvisation. Jason and the rest of his cohorts, Brian Wilson, John Fesken, Joe Centeno, Tom Barrett, and Mark Townsend have crafted something wonderfully curious and curiously beautiful.
AWM share:
"The Fool was written about the feeling of having a predetermined destiny akin to a jester serving a king… and failing. Does a king dance himself into a fool? The song’s catchy yet melancholy vibe reflects these elements as well as what could happen if and when the dance fades away. So let’s all 'step forward, step right, step back, step left, step up, step down, step now!'"
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.instagram.com/americanwatercolormovement/
https://www.facebook.com/AWMovement/
https://americanwatercolormovement.com/
American Watercolor Movement began in 1998 as an experimental musical concept, evolving out of various musings and eclectic sounds. Their powerful live performances—an integrated fury of music, film, and dance—have seamlessly engaged and captivated their audiences over the years. The band supported artists such as Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), Dean and Britta (Luna), Dragons of Zynth, and Silver Apples to name a few. American Watercolor Movement released 3 full length CDs, 3 EPs and played extensively before taking a hiatus. In late 2020 American Watercolor Movement released three separate volumes of unreleased music entitled, Rooftops, Rifles, and Honey. Their latest release for 2022, The Shithouse Opera is a collection of unreleased and previous recordings assembled as four acts of The Shithouse Opera.
"Today I came across American Watercolor Movement’s new single ‘Release the Pulse’. This track is such a cool psychedelic upbeat indie rock tune with a great lofi touch. I really dig the positive energy in the chorus, when they sing 'Release the Pulse’, it’s definitely a song that makes you want to move. Check it out, you will love it!" Indie Tapes (Review for Release the Pulse)
“The music reveals itself very slowly, like a dream you’re liable to have after ingesting too much caffeine. Things speed up and slow down, with the music barely able to keep up. There’s something about this that invites multiple listens in spite of barely being a song at all. It is what Donovan’s Atlantis would have sounded like if the curly-haired troubadour had had his mellow yellow substituted for some brown acid.” ALT77 (Review for If The Painter Were a Photographer)
“There’s this natural pop sensibility, something you might have heard in early Arcade Fire or even Broken Social Scene. But, I’ve also found this unique sort of post-emo feel to certain bits, with guitar lines feuding and drums rolling in and out as vocals overlap one another. Just imagine if ATDI had wanted to sound gorgeous!” Austin Town Hall
“Release the Pulse is a dynamic song, with some great vocals and raw energy.” Secret Eclectic
"I pushed play on American Watercolor Movement's track "Dangerous Girls" with the Thursday night high school swelling jazz band horns beautifully sad pleading with emotional acoustic guitar and strings sound, I was in a calm place. The pace picks up like something from an 80's action movie but good and sort of Manfred Mann-esque ("Blinded by the Light") and then vocalist Jason Cieradkowski started unloading. I am taken aback by his vocal style, highly art rock poised meets Brit punkery (or 50's movie Mid-Atlantic) spouting curious words." American Pancake
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American Watercolor Movement began in 1998 as an experimental musical concept, evolving out of various musings and eclectic sounds. Their powerful live performances—an integrated fury of music, film, and dance—have seamlessly engaged and captivated their audiences over the years. The band supported artists such as Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), Dean and Britta (Luna), Dragons of Zynth, and Silver Apples to name a few. American Watercolor Movement released 3 full length CDs, 3 EPs and played extensively before taking a hiatus. In late 2020 American Watercolor Movement released three separate volumes of unreleased music entitled, Rooftops, Rifles, and Honey. Their latest release for 2022, The Shithouse Opera is a collection of unreleased and previous recordings assembled as four acts of The Shithouse Opera.
"Today I came across American Watercolor Movement’s new single ‘Release the Pulse’. This track is such a cool psychedelic upbeat indie rock tune with a great lofi touch. I really dig the positive energy in the chorus, when they sing 'Release the Pulse’, it’s definitely a song that makes you want to move. Check it out, you will love it!" Indie Tapes (Review for Release the Pulse)
“The music reveals itself very slowly, like a dream you’re liable to have after ingesting too much caffeine. Things speed up and slow down, with the music barely able to keep up. There’s something about this that invites multiple listens in spite of barely being a song at all. It is what Donovan’s Atlantis would have sounded like if the curly-haired troubadour had had his mellow yellow substituted for some brown acid.” ALT77 (Review for If The Painter Were a Photographer)
“There’s this natural pop sensibility, something you might have heard in early Arcade Fire or even Broken Social Scene. But, I’ve also found this unique sort of post-emo feel to certain bits, with guitar lines feuding and drums rolling in and out as vocals overlap one another. Just imagine if ATDI had wanted to sound gorgeous!” Austin Town Hall
“Release the Pulse is a dynamic song, with some great vocals and raw energy.” Secret Eclectic
"I pushed play on American Watercolor Movement's track "Dangerous Girls" with the Thursday night high school swelling jazz band horns beautifully sad pleading with emotional acoustic guitar and strings sound, I was in a calm place. The pace picks up like something from an 80's action movie but good and sort of Manfred Mann-esque ("Blinded by the Light") and then vocalist Jason Cieradkowski started unloading. I am taken aback by his vocal style, highly art rock poised meets Brit punkery (or 50's movie Mid-Atlantic) spouting curious words." American Pancake
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We get by with a little help from our friends
American Watercolor Movement, Post-Punk, Art Rock, Indie Rock, baroque punk, baroque pop, orchestral rock, "The Fool II", "The Shithouse Opera" concept album, New Jersey, askew, oblique, artful,
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