From the onset, the wistful alt pop / indie rock "Gondolier" by Brooklyn's +/- {Plus/Minus}, from the band's new album "Further Afield", on Ernest Jenning Record Co., feels like a beautiful shiny puzzle. There is a lyric in the song, "stasis only drags me down", which made me smile because the song is in constant motion and like an intricate time piece made up of many parts that interconnected. Even when the song feels less dynamic, when it quiets down you can feel those gears turning. This is the thing, often times, songs are built by layering and I am sure that the same is true of "Gondolier" but it feels less like layering and more like many musicians facing each other in a recording studio bouncing musical / emotional thoughts off of each other. Likely that is not the case but the important thing is that it feels like it was. This ability to produce and end up with what feels cohesively organic or improvisational is an art in and of itself.
In the end "Gondolier" has no extra flesh on it's musical bones and I appreciate this aesthetic. On a previous +/- {Plus/Minus} write up, and in reference to their sound, I wrote:
"I cannot readily find any other artist comparisons here but maybe an amalgam of Tokyo Police Club, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Throw Me the Statue, early Smashing Pumpkins and Polaris from The Adventures of Pete & Pete feels right."
For now, I stand by that observation, that descriptor and I will add that it is nice to hear a band that sonically has a gentle nature.
FROM LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[“Gondolier”, the second single from the upcoming album Further Afield is quite a stretch for the band: it’s a “dance” song with a four-on-the-floor beat that takes an epic journey from the band’s electric guitar indie rock home to an intergalactic spacey ambient pop planet and back to an almost future-past folk campsite. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes, it’s a curious choice for a single – oh, and it’s about fatherhood. Singer/guitarist James Baluyut explains, “I bought this little keyboard and showed my son how to use it one day. The initial passage you hear in the song is something he came up with. I took it from there and expanded it. It seemed like a weird little story: I gave something to my son, he gave something back to me, I expanded that. Maybe he’ll do something similar with his children. As I was writing the lyrics, it made me think about sons becoming fathers and teaching their sons to become fathers in this eternal loop.”]
[Self-recorded in the band’s Brooklyn studio and a friend's house in Saratoga Springs, "Further Afield" incorporates a wide array of unconventional elements: AI strings from Sounds.Studio (an AI music platform co-founded by Chris), the ethereal harmonies of a high school choir, the endearing voice of Chris' grandfather, and an eclectic mix of newly learned instruments including the singing saw, pedal steel guitar, Omnichord, clarinet and vibraphone.]
OFFICIAL VIDEO:
[The video, shot by the band with help from Doug Choi, ups the ante even further. Filmed in a single location, it captures the members of +/- {Plus/Minus} (and their doppelgangers!) over three seasons to match the three distinct dynamic musical shifts in the song.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/pluminu
https://twitter.com/pluminu
https://plusmin.us/
https://plusminusnyc.bandcamp.com/album/further-afield
For more than twenty years, +/- {Plus/Minus} has stood as a captivating fixture in the indie rock scene, defying simple categorization while blending futuristic odd-time signature pop with electronic elements and traditional rock instrumentation. The band's origins trace back to the friendship of childhood friends Patrick Ramos and James Baluyut, who would go on to play with 90s New York indie stalwarts Versus. Following the (temporary!) dissolution of Versus in 2001, Ramos and Baluyut welcomed seasoned drummer Chris Deaner, hailing from the Austin music scene, into the fold This fruitful collaboration led to the creation of five full-length albums, several EPs, a video compilation DVD, and extensive tours across the United States, Europe, and Asia, alongside acts including Death Cab For Cutie, The Wrens, Mates of State and more.
As the band members transitioned into parenthood, they continued to write together. Weekly recording sessions became a cornerstone of their routine, slowly redefining their sound and sonic palette. This work culminates with the release of their sixth full-length LP entitled "Further Afield." The band's first LP a decade, it showcases a more propulsive approach while still leaning into the epic hooks the band is known for. Among the ten tracks, standouts include the first single, Borrowed Time, a sparse synth-driven frenetic pop song; Calling Off the Rescue, a plaintive yet raucous slice of jangling guitar and massive builds; and Gondolier, a seven minute 4-on-the-floor exploration traversing multiple musical styles. Experimentation, catchy melodies, and dark lyrical themes persist but are re-energized by the new rhythmic approach.
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