#abattoir

Playing around

Wednesday, September 18: Abattoir, "Screams from the Grave"

Abrams: Blue City (2024)

Through little fault of their own, Denver, Colorado's Abrams got off on the wrong foot with me because their moniker challenges AC/DC's fixed and non-negotiable position at the very front of my alphabetically- and chronologically-organized record collection.

I mean, what would possess any band to choose a name starting with the letters 'A' and 'B'?

All kidding aside (note: I'm really NOT kidding), 2024's Blue City is Abrams' fifth long-player since their debut in 2015, and that's evident in the confident wall of sound unleashed by Zachary Amster (vocals, guitar), Taylor Iversen (bass, vocals), Ryan DeWitt (drums), and recent addition Graham Zander (guitar, vocals).

But there's a catch: despite their association with iconic stoner rock labels like Small Stone and, in this case, Blues Funeral, the quartet's, precise, densely layered, interwoven guitars owe just as much to '90s alternative rock, in my opinion.

Expertly recorded and produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge, High On Fire, etc., etc.), typical six-string symphonies like "Fire Waltz," "Wasting Time," and the tectonic title track actually remind me of the Smashing Pumpkins and Hum, as well as Floridian thunder-pop purveyors Torche (who also happen to be Ballou clients).

For their part, the dissonant guitars of "Turn it Off" and "Etherol" mimic Nirvana and Soundgarden, respectively, while "Death Om" and "Narc" integrate space rock textures, but that's frankly about as close as Abrams get to bona fide stoners like Kyuss or Monster Magnet.

All this being said, far more important than these sonic comparisons is the impressively high standards of Abrams' songwriting, which may not innovate much but recycles influences into consistently engaging material that rarely falters from start to finish.

Heck, if I were younger, still consuming a lot of brand-new music (almost impossible to process in today's all-you-can-eat streaming era), and could be bothered to make lists and bold pronouncements, this would probably be an 'Album of the Year' candidate for me!

Not bad for a band whose name I objected to from the outset, but don't worry, I'm not an amoral Alphabet Tyrant ...

Having sampled and confirmed the quality of its alternative/stoner rock, Blue City will simply have to join fellow alphabetical "offenders" like Aardvark, Abattoir, Absent in Body, and Absu in my vinyl shelf no-man's-land between AC/DC and Accept.

Surely, there are worse fates than that!

Emil Robinson’s paintings for Interiors, on view at Abattoir Gallery in Cleveland, are a meditation on space. The doors, slightly ajar, closed, or allowing glimpses of the outside world, invite the viewer to think about their own interiors.

From the press release-

The work stems from conversations about the history of interior paintings which serve as both records of domestic spaces as well as vessels for psychological profiles. Robinson, a classically-trained painter from Ohio, spent the past year studying local spaces, ranging from abandoned university buildings to the personal spaces of home and studio. With this show, the artist has focused his virtuoso brushwork onto smaller scale compositions in order to capture the essence of place.

Robinson has exhibited in institutions and galleries throughout the Midwest as well as in San Francisco, New York, and London. He is the recipient of grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, among others.

Interior spaces invite a range of associations. Their open spaces welcome reflection and their spatial interludes are indicative of the various thresholds we encounter throughout our lives. The function and formal simplicity of the built environment is synonymous with psychological complexity in my paintings. I want the viewer to recognize my subjects while simultaneously losing a grip on the comfort of utility which rooms doors and all other functional spaces invite.

– Emil Robinson