Helms

This is good stuff. Quirky as all get-out but good. Very rhythmic and melodic. If I had to compare Boston-based Helms to other groups or styles, I’d say theirs is an odd blend of Velvet Underground instrumentals and a type of free-form rock, producing intricate and almost delicate musical extrapolations. Making up the trio are brothers Sean and Dan McCarthy on guitar/vocals and drums, respectively, and Tina Helms on bass. The music here has a distinctly "single-take" quality to it, seemingly bereft of overdubs or distracting studio effects, suggesting a decidedly live sound. Kicking-off the CD is "The Kindness of Automatic Doors," the drums and bass setting up a compelling rhythm. This band seems to prefer occasional sonic spaces and lapses into near silence. On "The Television Set," after a gradual and dynamic crescendo, the music falls to near silence, over which Sean McCarthy intones, "We can watch/ TV/ with cowboys/ round the fire/ Like brave men/ with tired hearts. …" Definitely worth a serious first listen.