| In its own decidedly downsized way,
"Lo-Fi" has become a descriptive catchphrase on the order of
"Alternative." A blanket term to suggest rock music more muted and expansive
than the aforementioned "Alternative" variety, "Lo-Fi" is perhaps
overused. But it nonetheless applies quite nicely to the music of Henderson Inches. A
local quartet, the Inches embrace pop, jazz, funk and psychedelia in equal measures, but
somehow manage to cram it into a polished – but inimitably lusterless – package.
Competence and virtuosity often get confused in the rock
world. But – for even the most casual listener - there is really no mistaking one for
the other; needless to say, the former is preferable in almost all cases these days.
Clearly, each of the Inches (guitarist Justin Strackany, bassist Ryan Behling, keyboardist
Dave Wagner and Drummer Oboe d’Amour) is more than competent on his respective
instrument. But they all subvert their musical prowess for the sake of letting the
songcraft shine through, with only stylish harmonies for punctuation.
And the songs do indeed shine, though not necessarily in
the context of your typical verse-chorus-bridge song structure. The Inches have a
rambling, vaguely narrative way of presenting their songs. Hence the feeling one gets is
that of a journey, or rather, a panoramic glimpse at all the Inches’ influences.
Listen:
There’s a snippet of sunny pop which, before
you’ve had a chance to take it in has morphed into . . .
A faux blues jam underscored by Strackany’s tasteful
solo, which melts into . . .
A Phish-esque jazz number that hinges on the ingenuity of
the band’s modest rhythm section.
Henderson Inches have names for their songs. But I
didn’t catch any of them and, in truth, the names really don’t matter all that
much. By heaving all kinds of different styles out there without introducing them, the
Inches aren’t so much letting you choose what to like and listen to, but rather
demonstrating how much and many musical genres have influenced them. And, moreover, it
shows how they have made each of these styles a little bit their own.
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