Aloha might call Brooklyn, N.Y., home now, but like the Hawaiian word that serves as the band’s name "home" has several different and distinct meanings. Since the band coalesced 13 years ago, the quartet has operated out of Bowling Green (where guitarist Tony Cavallario and bassist Matthew Gengler formed the band in 1997), Cleveland and Cincinnati as well as Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., with stops in Chicago, Rochester and Altoona, Pa.
In Aloha’s larger context, music has almost as many meanings as home. In the studio, Cavallario, Gengler and multi-instrumentalists Cale Parks and T.J. Lipple (the newest member of the band, having joined in 2003) have tended to focus on an Ambient vibe, while their live sets have become known for their more relentlessly visceral presentation, a Prog/Punk/Pop amalgam that touches similarly atmospheric nerves as R.E.M. and Radiohead.
Aloha’s new album, Home Acres, finds the quartet seeking a balance between the relative quiet of their previous studio outings and the more frenetic pace and volume of their live persona. As a result, Home Acres offers a compelling new vision for Aloha in the studio, as they weave in sounds and themes that suggest everything from the Math-tinged madness of Pavement, the Prog/Pop intricacy of Adrian Belew, the classically majestic Rock of The Doors and the keyboard-driven swagger of Spoon.
As Aloha expands their sonic spectrum in the recording environment, it’s safe to imagine that the band’s live show is likely to reflect a similar increase in adrenaline and volume. Of course, if you’ve ever witnessed one of Aloha’s incendiary live sets in person, it might actually be difficult to imagine that they could get any louder or more compelling.
Aloha’s Cincinnati stop at the Contemporary Arts Center is also the 2010 MidPoint Music Festival kickoff event. Along with tons of great music, attendees will also find out the latest developments involving this September’s MidPoint return.
(Get show and venue details here.)
