Quiet Ones Nite You Surprised Me CD

These are dark days. Days of conflict, but also of complacency, of uninspired cultural expression. The Days combat complacency the only way they know how-music. Their sound nods towards the days of their predecessors while energetically pushing forward to a future they hope to influence. After nearly a decade as one half of the songwriting duo that made up NW pop darlings Marigold (Outpost Records), Travis Ferguson extends his hooks beyond the instant gratification of pop. Joining Ferguson on songwriting duties are Tom Thorson, formerly of Eugene noise pop trio the Shatter Signal, and Sylvan Goldberg, who spent the last few years as a solo singer/songwriter. Drummer Brian Head perfected his craft in Athens, GA, with a number of bands-most notably experimental rock group SciFu, where he cemented his reputation as the Keith Moon of Athens. Since moving to Portland, he has reined in his drumming (a little) and plays now with a controlled energy that sits on the edge of abandon. 'When I left Athens, I was looking for a band where I could sit back and really be the driving force behind strong songwriting,' says Head. Their debut 5-song EP, Celebrity/Pregnancy/War, gives a glimpse of the band's range. The EP starts off with the driving energy of 'Adoration,' which showcases both their penchant for riff rock and their restraint as the song simmers just below the point of boiling over. 'I couldn't get '60s car chase scenes out of my head when we were first working up 'Adoration,'' says Ferguson. 'It had Steve McQueen written all over it.

' But the Days, far from a straightforward rock band, are unafraid to explore more textured soundscapes. 'The Pink Shard' sweeps through wavering e-bow lines, explosive guitars, and wailing synthesizers, with Thorson's falsetto carrying the song into the ethereal. 'Lost You (Low),' one of the first songs co-written by Thorson and Ferguson, builds from the echoing breathy vocals at the beginning to a dense climax calling to mind the shoegazer ethos of bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride. And 'From Day One,' the band's unofficial anthem, calls to mind the psyched out rock from the 1960s and 1970s. Since finishing the record-mixed by Wayne Miller (Derby) and mastered by Tony Lash (The Dandy Warhols, Elliott Smith, among countless others)-the Days have returned to their basement, where most of the EP was recorded. Their new material has seen the band exploring different sounds, falling somewhere between Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks, shoegazer pop and the driving rock that has helped them develop into an energetic and in-demand live band. They've already secured spots on bills with local favorites like Derby, The Divorce, Tea For Julie and the Imprints, and bigger fish including the Decemberists, Cake and the Violent Femmes. These are the Days. The phrase may be tired. The band is anything but.