This Time With Feeling are: Eliot Cossaboom, Ali Coyle, Matt Craven and Tony Dean. Credit: Danny Tayenaka
When you dig deep enough, you never know what you might find. This has always been my mantra when discovering new acts in and out of the OC area. Admittedly, more often than not, the most obscure bands playing at the most obscure venues on a weekday night are about as inspiring as Clear Eyes… “Clear Eyes… wow…” At these shows I find myself asking the question, “What the hell am I doing here?” Luckily however, the answer to that very question was realized as I captured one of the OC’s best kept secrets in the underground indie rock scene last Tuesday at the Detroit Bar. The name? This Time With Feeling (TTWF).
This Time With Feeling played with a sub-par lineup of other bands and they single handedly took the night to exponentially bigger, brighter, and happier places. The evening went from sour to sweet quicker than a sour patch kid could burn your house down and give you a sticky crystallized kiss on the shin. TTWF is the sticky kiss that you’ll never want to wash off your shin.
Playing as a quartet, TTWF’s sound is Rilo Kiley meets Manchester Orchestra meets Wintersleep (if you don’t know who Wintersleep is, look them up. They are Canadian, eh). Front woman Ali Coyle delivers a refreshing and energetic take on lead vocals and guitar that is sure to keep your head bobbing, ears tingling, and warm fuzzies flaring deep inside your belly. The song structures are layered with complex, rhythmic melodies, which every member contributes to in a very crucial, yet non show-boaty way. The sound is rich with depth, but still very listenable. Unlike most local bands, TTWF makes great use of changes in complementing and transitioning to crucial moments in the music. In tracks like “Take Your Time,” the band harnesses the energy in a momentum-building verse and finds a way to tease the listener with an expected climax by doing something unexpected. Instead, they utilize a simple, yet perfectly placed riff that lures the listener in a very captivating way; it keeps the audience begging for more until the bitter end of the well-orchestrated piece.
Apart from playing great songs, TTWF’s set was complete with shameless banter in between numbers and laughs and smiles from Coyle, as the liquor-ridden male audience members yelled out, “I LOVE YOU, ALI!” (I’m sure she gets that a lot, being that she possesses the looks and demeanor of a blonde Zooey Deschanel). “I love you too!” is all she would reply, which was met by uproarious applause and wishful thinking.
The band is confident, strong, and above all, entertaining, which allows them to capture a very passionate cult following. They played to an exuberant crowd, whose sole reason for attending was to see This Time With Feeling specifically. Each song was met with applause, and by the end of their set, the band was met with demands for an encore. No wishful thinking here as they plowed through one more song and left the Detroit Bar in ruins and the other acts happy that somebody brought a crowd.
It was a memorable night and I look forward to seeing them again. I’m excited for what they may come up with in the future. They possess a lot of potential, and though they are great now, I feel they have barely scratched the surface of where that potential may take them.
Their new EP, We Hope That You Don’t Mind , is available for download on bandcamp for three dollars. THREE dollars. Buy it. Plus, it would be in support of great music by deserving local artists, not to mention, it’s not half bad. Their songs are sweet, their music is aggressively progressive, and they are fun to watch. Check them out, support local music, and don’t be afraid to dig deeper; you’ll thank yourself.
Source:
http://musicinpress.com/2012/08/this-time-with-feeling/