Sunday, Aug. 8: The Speed Of Sound In Seawater

Le Voyeur Cafe and Lounge

By Rev. Adam McKinney on August 4, 2010

A while back, I wrote about a band called Mr. Frederick that combined disparate genres like rap-metal, folk and chamber pop. The Speed of Sound in Seawater is similarly confusing, but in a more insidious way. Listening to their second album, Red Version, their weirdness sneaks up on you. For the first song, they sound like a twee-pop band with a singer who sounds a little like Ben Gibbard. Then the compositions start getting a little more complex, and by the end of the second song, the singer's screaming. The rest of the album continues in this vein of math-twee-pop interspersed with bits of hardcore vocalization. It's legitimately surprising stuff. And a little creepy, if you ask me, but I couldn't tell you why. Go figure. 

[Le Voyeur, with A Lot Like Birds, 10 p.m., no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]