|
BIOGRAPHY
Chicago-via-Virginia’s Manishevitz create
a glorious racket. Part pop group, part jazz combo,
part art-house rock band, Manishevitz is capable
of taking all of these varying styles and forging
a singular and inspired sound that could cut glass.
Ever evolving, Manishevitz has a storied history
with some of the most venerable and gifted musicians
Chicago has to offer.
After the release of 1999's bluesy-bedroom affair,
Grammar Bell and the All Fall Down (Jagjaguwar)
Adam Busch and Via Nuon sought out a group of
musicians to contribute to what would become the
next album. Gravitating towards a new direction
for the band, the ranks of Manishevitz were deftly
filled by bassist Ryan Hembrey (Edith Frost, Pinetop
Seven, Boxhead Ensemble), drummers Jason Adasiewicz
(Central Falls) and Joe Adamik (Califone) saxophonist
Nate Lepine, and the revered cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm
(Terminal 4, Ken Vandermark, Peter Brotzmann Tentet).
The resulting record, 2000's Rollover (Jagjaguwar)
cast off the bedroom antics and showcased a new,
cohesive group sound that still hung on the romantic
leanings of Busch and Nuon's previous effort.
Critically lauded, Rollover softened the hearts
of even the salty scribes of Pitchfork earning
the band a glowing 9.0 and title of "best
new music."
With this enviable line-up in place and a desire
to change being the only constant, Manishevitz
released two more exceptional pieces of work,
2002's Private Lines EP and 2003's magnificent
City Life (both on Jagjaguwar). The band has abandoned
the sparse arrangements on their previous releases,
and resurfaced as a grand production—in
scale, sound, and vision. City Life is a record
that thematically touches upon tales of urban
anonymity, adolescent awe, and the wide-eyed ache,
which results. Manishevitz craftily enhances these
themes with elegantly arranged strata of sax,
cello, flute, cornet, piano, jazz clamor, percussive
energy, and indelible anthems.
Although Manishevitz was initially a vehicle
for Busch’s kinetic, ear-catching songs,
the band has quickly made its’ name known
based on the strength of their stellar ensemble
playing and dynamic live shows. Hembrey and current
drummer, Jason Toth (Fruit Bats, the Zincs) create
a rock-solid bed of lockstep grooves that hit,
shake and shatter. The rhythms are thrown into
sharp relief by the jazzy squall of Lepine and
Lonberg-Holm. Nuon’s guitars clang in ways
that underscore the melody, yet are so striking
that at times, even whilst the band is in full
tilt, it seems that there is nothing happening
in the room other than the chiming of six strings.
Busch’s vocals sound like they’ve
come unhinged from everything except the melody,
and sting with the bite reminiscent of Television’s
Tom Verlaine in their beautiful, scrabbling desperation.
The furious beauty and exquisite musicianship
of Manishevitz's music has garnered them shows
with the likes of the Fiery Furnaces, Beulah,
Oneida, Michael Hurley, Brother Danielson and
a proper tour with the Mountain Goats. They have
completed several US tours as well as three European
jaunts including the prestigious Crossing Borders
Festival in Holland. Recently, the band was invited
by Wilco to support them at a sold-out show at
the Auditorium Theatre. Always rising to the occasion,
Manishevitz thundered, confounding audience expectations
while breaking up the clatter with slices of humour
and an undeniable air of confidence. Currently,
Manishevitz is embarking on an extended tour with
Edith Frost (Drag City) as both support and as
Edith's backing band, providing yet another testament
to the power of their music.
|
