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Those of us who live outside the confines of mainstream music and the accepted star-making formulas experience music in a completely different manner than most. Take Los Angeles-based instrumental space-disco-dance outfit Particle for instance. They are certainly one of the hottest bands on the touring circuit and have been selling out rooms on both coasts for close to three years know, yet their debut album doesn't hit the streets until the end of the month (in stores nationwide on March 23). From the other side of the music world this is an anomaly; bands don't "make it" without an album on the shelf at your local Wal-Mart. But Particle isn't from that world--as their name suggests, they are more prone to space tweaks and late night extravaganzas (in fact in many circles the band is synonymous with very late nights and very long sets pushing past sunrise).
So the question begs itself: What does a band like this do in the studio? And when I say "a band like this" I mean a group of road warriors who have built their palace on the run, a band that has shown no need to even record an album in its more than three-year existence, (a group in some ways like the forefathers of our scene--the Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, etc--yet only in road mentality, clearly not musical content). So again, what does a band like Particle do in the studio? But alas, before we can get there it's important to note that whoever is calling the shots behind the scenes for Particle is doing, and always has done, a marvelous job. Regardless of what you think of Particle's music they have done it. They have made it in one of the most difficult business paradigms imaginable. They have constantly been in the right place at the right time, playing for the right people on the right night. So back to the studio, what do you do with a road band that needs to record an album? Well if you have the resources you hunt down Tom Rothrock who has recorded highly successful albums for Beck, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and Badly Drawn Boy to name a few.
Should the studio be a new direction for the band, should it open up new areas of exploration and be used as an instrument in and of itself? Or should the studio become almost invisible and simply act as a controlled medium to harness the sound the band has already established? If you're Rothrock and Particle the answer to this almighty question seems to be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
For those who are even vaguely familiar with the band's sound it is hard to mistake, and when you put on Launchpad there is nothing too shocking inside... unless of course you stumble blindly into Wal-Mart, or Tower, or wherever you buy your music and happen upon the cute little girl on the cover and decided, "Hmm, Particle, I've heard that name, let's give it a spin." If you had never heard Particle and somehow ended up with this CD on your stereo at 3 a.m. while the party was pushing, you could perhaps be crowned king of the evening. This is party music. This is late night, keep 'em dancin', head throbbing music. But it's not very different from what you could garner from a soundboard patch at one of their shows. Rothrock must have figured that whatever Particle has done to take them from tiny 100 person bars like Winston's in San Diego to the world renowned Knitting Factory in New York, and Bonnaroo in Tennessee is not something you want to mess with too much. And in many cases knowing when to alter the sound and when to maintain the sound is what truly makes a producer valuable. There are areas on the disc that show variation to what you hear live, perhaps most notably having guitar shredder Charlie Hitchcock a bit further back in the mix and not quite as dominant as he is live.
In many ways Particle has always been keyboardist Steve Molitz's band, and on Launchpad we find his crafty key work shining, but not stealing the show. Again, this may be a credit to Rothrock as the band does sound more unified than we often find live where the songs shift from Molitz to Hitchcock and back on soaring solos. The ten-track offering gives you a clean slice of Particle and hints at further progress.
Kicking things off in true Particle fashion, the title track begins with a quick vocal sample that immediately puts you in the cockpit and before you know it it's four-on-the-floor, pumping Particle. The over eight-minute "Kneeknocker" receives nice treatment as Molitz mixes his special brand of key funk over a staggered drum beat which eventually drops into a Venutian club scene equipped with squishy key leads and a somewhat restrained rhythm guitar.
The majority of the album moves along with drummer Darren Pujalet and bassist Eric Gould (who have come a long way since the band's inception) keeping the dance beat cranked up, but things become more interesting when they settle down a bit and Pujalet releases the stress, creating room for the music to stretch. The most recognizable example of this slowed-down mentality is the almost eleven-minute "Sun Mar 11." Instead of breakneck beats and flashy key washes, "Sun Mar 11" develops slowly, building on a theme, not just blasting from the get-go. When the band sits down and Pujalet sets a more subtle pace, Molitz can work his keys in a far more melodic manner than we have become accustomed, and in turn adds a much needed mellower, more thought-provoking addition to the dance party.
Launchpad is Particle through and through, a strong representation of what the band does live, but certainly not a daring trip into the studio. If you are already into the band you will undoubtedly dig this hour of music. With another album slated to come out far sooner than the three years it took for the debut, one hopes the band will choose to explore the other side of the studio coin and work up something unique to that environment.
The Kayceman
JamBase | San Francisco
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