This Friday, Covington, Ky. band Common Center releases a five-track effort titled To Swallow Something Half Your Size, the group’s follow-up to its 2015 full-length debut, Gypsy River. Friday night at 8 p.m., Common Center hosts a release party for the EP at Octave (611 Madison Ave., Covington, theoctavebar.com) with guests Triiibe and Mr. Pointy. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.
The seven-member ensemble’s debut introduced its voraciously eclectic sound, a lysergic swirl of the musicians’ vast spectrum of influences, which range from Modern and Classic Rock and Indie Folk to Classical, Jazz and an assortment of World music. That same range manifests itself again on To Swallow Something Half Your Size, but the EP shows how deft Common Center has become at working those seemingly divergent flavors into its increasingly distinctive musical personality.
Along with the broad litany of inspirational sources, the band’s instrumental makeup also contributes to its unique identity. The use of strings and horns in many like-minded contemporary acts’ music is often limited to decoration, but on To Swallow Something Half Your Size, Jessica Graff’s violin, Sasha Suskind’ saxophone and Lewis Connell’s keyboards serve crucial lead roles. “Sewn in History” (listen below) is a great example of how vital their contributions are to making Common Center so singular — the horns punctuate around the groove like The JB Horns, the strings weave rhythmically like the Mellotron-assisted ones on Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and the piano sparkles and slithers like Ray Manzarek on “Riders on the Storm.”
The music is often psychedelic and the spirit of Prog is evident, but unlike many artists associated with Psych and Prog Rock, Common Center has an anchoring songwriting core that gives the EP cohesion. With a voice that recalls “Freak Folk” troubadour Devendra Banhart, singer/guitarist Liam Hall unspools rich melodies and impassioned hippie-mystic lyrics (like “Sewn in history/The ohms among the trees/Ancient koans caress the rah/Sweetly pleased to release”) that perfectly match the nomadic aura of Common Center’s ocean-sized soundscapes.
According to Common Center’s website (commoncentersounds.com), along with expanding its touring horizons in 2018, the band is releasing another EP later this year. Find more Common Center music at commoncenter.bandcamp.com.