Long-forgotten band. Joggle my memory perhaps?

March 28, 2008 9:08 PM

Can you name this band? note: very sparse details inside.

I was introduced to this amazing band about 4 years ago, but I can't remember for the life of me what their name was. Sadly, to add to it, the only two songs I had of them were on my old-old-old-old computer which is sitting somewhere in my parents' house on the other side of the country, and completely inaccessible.

Here's what I remember:

-They are a rock band, sort of indie rock, I believe, but have a fair amount of notoriety with more than 4 cds released.

-The band includes a classically trained piano player and a classically trained guitar player, but they have drums in some of their songs, so I'm pretty there are at least 3 members

-One of the songs I had was about 10 minutes long, and included many key and time signature changes, and showed a true understanding of all things music-oriented. It was also sort of space-sounding (kind of sci-fi in a way with synthesizers, but the synths were used in a very skilled way)

-The second piece was purely electric guitar, and it started out really slow, and then built and built to a great climactic finish.

I know these are sparse details, but I also know that if I SEE the name, I'll recognize it immediately. So please, just throw band names out! Thanks :)

posted by Planet F to media & arts (44 comments total)

The mention of funny time signatures suggest you could conceivably find their name here
posted by aubilenon at 9:20 PM on March 28

Do you remember if it was a Canadian band, a US band, from a particular region? Do you remember where you heard of them?
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:24 PM on March 28

Questions:

Are they instrumental? or male or female singer?
Drums in only some of their songs?
When you say "only electric guitar" do you mean ONLY electric guitar, no vocals?
Can you compare them to any other bands?
posted by loiseau at 9:30 PM on March 28

ok um... male singer, I believe the whole band is male

drums in MOST of their songs, but as i said, there were classically trained musicians, so they had some solo songs

I heard about it from a Canadian, but I think they're probably American (definitely N.A. though)

Can't really compare them to other bands, because I've never heard ANYTHING like them before.. Mind you, i tend to listen to classical music so that might have something to do with it.
posted by Planet F at 9:41 PM on March 28

and aubilenon: I don't think they're math rockers... They just had a really good understanding of music, so knew how to incorporate the rhythms without intentionally saying "i'm going to write a piece of music in 7/8!" Also, I didn't see any name I recognized on that page :(
posted by Planet F at 9:43 PM on March 28

Bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Mogwai do great instrumental numbers that build to climaxes. Not sure about the classically trained pianist part, though. The 10-minute long song made me think of the epic Elbow number "Newborn" (including an organ solo!) but they're from the UK, not North America.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 10:00 PM on March 28

Just a guess: Ester Drang

Or maybe The Six Parts Seven?
posted by extramundane at 10:14 PM on March 28

Blonde Redhead?

2 of whom went to Berklee together, but they're 2 lads and a lady and I don't think they've any 10 minute songs.
posted by zaphod at 11:04 PM on March 28

Is it The Album Leaf?
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:05 PM on March 28

Oh man, that's broad...but:

Yo La Tengo?
posted by pilibeen at 11:47 PM on March 28

Menomena?
posted by missjenny at 11:52 PM on March 28

you are not talking about steely dan, are you?
posted by krautland at 12:29 AM on March 29

longshot: The Tea Party?
posted by davey_darling at 12:49 AM on March 29

This might help: List of post-rock bands.

Your description of the music sounds like it may be The Necks, but they don't fit most of the other details you remember.
posted by goo at 2:22 AM on March 29

God, might. I need coffee.
posted by goo at 2:23 AM on March 29

My guess: Battles...
posted by benzo8 at 2:35 AM on March 29

Muse?
posted by freya_lamb at 3:11 AM on March 29

First band I thought of was Mogwai, second was Guillemots, even though neither completely fits the description.
posted by iconomy at 4:26 AM on March 29

Can you remember any lyrics?
posted by futility closet at 4:39 AM on March 29

estradasphere?
posted by Mach5 at 6:33 AM on March 29

Fiery Furnaces?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:10 AM on March 29

Dresden Dolls?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:12 AM on March 29

Explosions In The Sky?
posted by docpops at 7:49 AM on March 29

Sorry - you said singer, and as far as I know there's no one in EITS singing.

Radiohead, I know, consists of classically trained musicians, and are known for their unusual time signatures, but aren't a US band, of course.
posted by docpops at 7:58 AM on March 29

I don't have any band names to suggest, but I'm interested enough in the topic, and the band names being suggested that I'm going to give a listen to some. I wonder if posting the question on MOG might help.
posted by lookoutkitty at 8:02 AM on March 29

Alejandro Escovedo? He's got some classical influences, although his Orchestra had more than three people.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 8:02 AM on March 29

Jump, Little Children?
posted by lizzicide at 8:04 AM on March 29

Perhaps Sigur Rós?

"Icelandic post-rock band with melodic, classical, experimental, and minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound and lead singer Jónsi’s falsetto voice."
posted by hybridvigor at 8:09 AM on March 29

Is it Zelda Pinwheel? their drummer is always asked if he is classically trained, although he isn't. They have several songs that exceed 10 minutes, and are from New Jersey, a hotbed of post rock.
posted by JamesMCS at 8:25 AM on March 29

Thanks for all the suggestions, but sadly ... nothing :( (i've faithfully tracked down each suggestion too, so that I could rule it out) I knew it was a long shot, but I thought I'd try anyways.

If there are any more suggestions, please keep them coming, and I'll hopefully find it!
posted by Planet F at 8:52 AM on March 29

WEll they arent a us based band but they do have alot of synths and keyboards and guitars, check out dragonforce.
posted by DJWeezy at 8:56 AM on March 29

More guesses: Macha, Film School, Dreamend, Gregor Samsa
posted by extramundane at 10:20 AM on March 29

Tortoise, Slint, .... longshot: Built to Spill ?
posted by ihope at 10:29 AM on March 29

Calcutta?
posted by (alice) at 11:02 AM on March 29

OK I FIGURED IT OUT!!!!!
extramundane, your suggestion of dreamend was almost perfect. The band is Dream Theater and the 10 minute song (actually just over 11 minutes) is "learning to live"

THANK YOU so much guys, and especially extramundane for getting me on the right path.
posted by Planet F at 11:10 AM on March 29

Glad to have helped, Planet F :)
posted by extramundane at 11:23 AM on March 29

Planet F: The band is Dream Theater

Dude!?!?! "Indie rock"??? I feel so misled.
posted by loiseau at 1:38 PM on March 29

Yeah, FYI, Dream Theater are what's usually called prog rock.
posted by ludwig_van at 2:29 PM on March 29

HEY i didn't say "indie rock" i said MAYBE :P as in I've never heard them on mainstream radio stations (sorry loiseau!)

and I've never heard of prog rock, so thanks ludwiv_van for that title... that will help me find similar sounding stuff.
posted by Planet F at 2:34 PM on March 29

Yeah, that's about as far from indie.....congrats, tho, and great job everyone!
posted by nevercalm at 2:35 PM on March 29

or, rather, i said "sort of"... BIG difference... in my world... in my head... if I hadn't said indie, would it have made a difference in the answers?
posted by Planet F at 2:41 PM on March 29

if I hadn't said indie, would it have made a difference in the answers?

Yes.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:43 PM on March 29

if you like long, noodly, songs from classically trained folks, sort of in a rockish vein, you'll love: prog rock. (for "progressive")
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:13 PM on March 29

gg.
posted by ihope at 8:05 PM on March 29