Abilene - Two Guns, Twin Arrows

Two Guns, Twin Arrows came out in 2002 on a small label 54º 40' or Fight! based out of Michigan. There is a great in-depth review of this album over at Hardcore for Nerds, which I highly recommend. I'll go ahead and throw my two pennies in here anyways, mostly because I find myself listening to Two Guns, Twin Arrows tonight and really digging it. Abilene was one of guitarist/vocalist Alex Dunham's many bands (Hoover, Regulator Watts, Radio Flyer). Like most (well probably all) of his bands, Abilene's sound is distinctly driven by his guitar sound and play. What set's Abilene's sound on this album apart from Dunham's other bands is Frederick Erskine's presence. Erskine played in other post-hardcore bands such as the mighty June of '44 and Crownhate Ruin. Erskine did not appear on Abilene's first album (s/t) and his role in this album, though not changing the underlying mood of Abilene songs, added a new wrinkle that must have been surprising even to the band themselves. Erskine's influence on the band's music, on the whole, resulted in one of Dunham's most experimental sounding (not unlike some of the June of '44 material Erskine was a part of) creations. So it is with these two creative figureheads in one band, coexisting and allowing each other's creativity and improvisation to flourish, at times complementing, at other times simply getting out of the way of each other, we all end up benefiting. Even if only for this one album's worth of material. I've only hinted at Abilene's sound on this album thus far, as there isn't really any need to try and compartmentalize their sound with any other label than say post-hardcore, which in itself gives little of what to expect.


Abilene - "Twisting the Trinity"

All of the songs on this album, there are eight in total, sit around the five minute mark in length. "Twisting the Trinity" was a solid choice for the first song on the album because it allows for the introduction of each instrument distinctly. Additionally it presents a seperation between the instruments and vocals, as if you can picture each piece sitting in different corners of your bedroom, living room, car, wherever the hell you are listening to this song at the moment. After the initial loud entrance into the song, things are calmed down and the mood takes a darker, cooler feel to it. The song features trumpet and guitar parts that alternate leads. Here we see, maybe more than anywhere else on the album, how these two instruments (and to an almost equal degree the drums) support each other. The secondary instrument, whether guitar or trumpet at the moment, progresses in a way to provide a steady rhythm and basis pulling or grounding the listener. It's not jazz, but you get a similar feeling, just rolled into a rock song.


Abilene - "Fellini"

The trumpet here is used to accent more than anything else in the beginning of this song. When things breakdown a bit about a minute into the song, I find the simple open chord guitar strums as perfectly placed amid Dunham's calls out. About two and quarter through the song, the chords change and a steady pounding pace takes over, which once the vocals subside, the trumpet runs away with the rest of the song. Controlled while still unique.

This album looks to be out of print. You can find a few hard copies of the cd at Amazon. I also came across the whole album available for digital download through a media fire account if you feel so inclined.