Apparently Nothing

It’s hard to believe that a band as good as Apparently Nothing has been falling through the notoriety cracks. Sprawl is their third album of adventurous, melodic rock-and-roll and has the band sounding fresher than ever. Perhaps it’s because none of the band members are of legal drinking age yet and, for the most part, are relegated to underage performance venues. Despite this being our third review of Apparently Nothing, it goes to show how fine music can be overlooked and the talents of underage musicians down-played. Hell, when I was their age I was still figuring out a cool way to spit.Sprawl is a masterfully recored disc with drum tracks recorded at DNA and the rest done by the band in their own studio. Mixing and mastering were done by Eric Katte (who works with Rick’s Cafe as an assistant copy editor and is also employed by Full Compass). Katte’s work is splendid and he and Apparently Nothing have consistently put out great-sounding rock records. Many of Sprawl’s tracks run together treating the listener to an exciting and professional listening experience that can stand up to your favorite rock-and roll albums. In fact, the CD runs like a two-sided piece of vinyl with silence between tracks six and seven only. Great rock bands of yore are frequently called to mind: Foghat, Cheap Trick, Grand Funk, Led Zeppelin, as well as current favorites like the Foo Fighters. They pay homage to Tom Petty by lifting the “freeway running through the yard” line in “Sprawl” and imitate the country/blues side of the Rolling Stones on “A Life Undone.” Most impressive of all are the arranging skills of the band. Each track boasts a killer hook, either vocally or instrumentally and frequently both. The title track benefits from some sweet-toned slide guitar while “Reason For Leaving” has just enough imperfection in the guitar solo to insure true rock authenticity. Layne Knutson’s drumming is solid throughout Sprawl, giving these highly charged tunes even more energy. AN’s lyrical content has matured as well. For example, “Being Saved” sounds as if it might be aimed at the music industry: “just sign on the line…/You’re a hand-shake away from being saved.” Main man Aaron Shekey’s singing just gets better as well, hitting falsetto on “All I Need” and “Thirteen,” a stand out track with Radiohead overtones. Hidden track #13 boasts some Beatles-esque harmonies and, while sounding like a demo recording, is very catchy. Apparently Nothing’s formula is far from rocket science: Good singing, good playing and great songwriting. Their crowing achievement is that they sound damn good while doing it. They’ve already produced more original music than many musicians do in a lifetime and one can only surmise at how far their considerable talent could take them. -Rick TvedtRick’s Cafe April, 2006

Here’s a short piece written about our newest disc “Sprawl” in Maximum Ink Magazine! Be sure to check the past few news postings for even more reviews!

“Apparently Nothing’s excellent new release Sprawl has some Blind Melon moments at first blush, but it’s supported by some hot metallic guitar riffage that never lets the disc slip into being too retro grungy (”All I Need”). They hit all over the rock map, from the radio-friendly palm muting of “Being Saved” to the uptempo boogie on “I Don’t Get You.” “A Life Undone” is country by way of Black Crowes and CCR, and is a tad self-indulgent in its big jam ending, but when you hit the two minute mark and they turn up the juice, there’s some real soul there. Memorable songs and solid musicianship without indie haircuts or too-tight pants. Please God, send more.” -Mike Huberty Maximum Ink Magazine (1/16/06)

Here’s a little review we got in Rift Magazine, a music zine here in the Twin Cities.”On the inside cover of Apparently Nothing’s album ‘Sprawl,’ a picture shows the band rocking out at some festival in Wisonsin with the audience lifting their arms in the air, giving the appropriate devil horn salute; it generally looks like a rockin’ good time. And that is exactly what ‘Sprawl’ sounds like: a rockin’ good time. I can’t say these guys are the next big thing, but I can say they pack a lot of hard rocking riffs for four lads from Wisconsin. There’s a lot of Foo Fighters/Darkness-type songwriting going on, part pop and part hard rock, which makes for some nice head-bopping tunes. But like the Foos, the vocal performances are basically just average. This is not to say Aaron Shekey can’t sing, because he can, it’s just not a very distinct voice. But I think the music would suffer if he had a voice that outshined the rock ‘n roll romp of the band, particularly the performance of drummer Layne Knutson. As far as stand out songs, I totally dug the power chord and wild lead guitar opening of “On and On.” I got a good chuckle out of “I Don’t Get You,” which took me on an adrenaline cruise through the Midwest. The sleazy peaked at 11, New York Dolls-esque guitar solos on “I Gotta Be” rocked my socks off and “A Life Undone” concluded the disc with a nice bluesy Black Crowes-like feel. Yes, these Wisconsin boys have the energy and talent to bring the masses to their sound. My hope for them is they keep up the intensity, continue to challenge themselves as songwriters and never lose the spirit they embody on this kick-ass disc.” -Nelson Heise

We’ve been included in a story in the Badger Herald about the benefits of having a MySpace profile. Pretty interesting read… this girl can write.There was also a quick summary of all the bands playing at tomorrow night’s battle of the bands at the Whole in Coffman Memorial Union on the U of M campus in the Minnesota Daily. Road trip? Hell yeah.

Everyone check out this Thursday’s (2/23) Minnesota Daily if you’re in the area. I did a quick interview about the battle of the bands coming up on Friday the 24th. Hope to see all of the lazers there, dammit. Promote times ten.