Audio Out Send 'explodes' onto the Bay Area music scene

By Nate Seltenrich

The ongoing digital revolution in the music industry may deify the single, but Oakland, Calif.'s Audio Out Send have crafted a cohesive and complete album in their debut, " -or Does It Explode?"

Invoking a comprehensive experience that is tactile, auditory, and visual, Audio Out Send refuse to cater to consumers who prefer to download or copy new music. "-or Does It Explode?" features 11 interconnected psychedelic-folk pop songs whose full force is felt when listened to in succession, perhaps with the aid of a nice pair of headphones, certainly without any undue distractions.

Even the CD case itself contributes to the affective qualities of the album with remarkable album art containing bleak brown landscapes and colorful rising bubbles on a smooth, warm paper backing that helps transport the listener to another place. The artwork was actually adapted from a 1969 sketch by Robert P. Leach called "Untitled Drawing of Bubbles."

From the first track, "Imagining Things?," through the last, "Of the Luckiest Alive," the album oozes thick mood and atmosphere. Mid-tempo acoustic guitar work and light rock drumming keep a somber rhythm while various synthesized and electronic sounds round off the poignant audio palette.

Lead singer Ben Jenning's cryptic lyrics perpetuate the album's other-worldly feel: "He took expression like a maniac out chopping in the wood / For all intentions he was nothing but misunderstood," he sings at the opening of "The Carver."

While highlights "The Great Lawn Competition" and "Calling on the Girl" stand out for their slightly more upbeat tones and memorable melodies, they are no more accessible and could hardly stand alone as singles.

Formed in 1996, Audio Out Send released their first work, "Introducing the Plastic Fantastic: an E.P.," in 2000 under their previous group name, Lazybones. The six-song E.P. was entirely self-recorded and self-produced and helped set the band in the direction they've embraced with "-or Does it Explode?"

Their debut L.P., released in late 2003 on the A Flashcard Project label, shows Audio Out Send creating complexity by layering multiple instrumental tracks, keeping meaning obscured and indirect, and presenting a thematically unified work. Rather than flaunting their musical abilities with complicated, obtuse licks and melodies, they offer a sort of organic complexity; one that, like life itself, seems to be borne of simplicity.

What's impressive about Audio Out Send is that they've accomplished this as a wholly independent band that is still confined to a relatively small Bay Area market. Their focus and drive seems to have no commercial concerns, which allows their artistic vision to fully blossom both in their recorded material and in their live performances. In this sense they can be compared to other indie pop bands like the Flaming Lips, Stereolab, Grandaddy and Mercury Rev, who conceive of music as art rather than product.

While such acts may be fawned over by critics, rarely do they get much attention beyond their rabidly devoted fan bases. Audio Out Send are still very much a local band, and their market may never grow significantly beyond this area. However, their effort still tosses a stick in the cogs of an industrialized and digitized music business by reexamining what music means in the 21st century.

Their subtle, droning songs advance an aesthetic beauty that may deliver you to dreamland but will nevertheless send a shock down your spine and reaffirm your faith in music. Sometimes it is better not to ask what or whom music sounds like, but rather what it does to the listener. So give "-or Does It Explode?" 40 minutes of your time and follow Audio Out Send beyond the Bay Area.

For more information and samples of their music, check out Audio Out Send's website at www.audiooutsend.com.

û Contact Nate Seltenrich at (408) 554-4546 or nseltenrich@scu.edu.