Portland band (by way of Boise, Idaho and Madison, Wisconsin) System and Station have been cutting their by now dagger-sharp teeth for ten years. They’ve made their bread on the old fashioned formula: book shows, blow the crowd away, record an album, repeat.
Their latest album is a no-frills, thoroughly effervescent rocker (á la, Supergrass, Built To Spill, or sometimes, when the mood is right, Queens of the Stone Age) that you can really roll your sleeve up to. From Latest Flame Records in Chicago, A Nation of Actors shows just what happens when you stick to your bread and butter and let the instruments do the talking. Band leader RFK Heise is an enthusiastic vocalist/guitar player, displayed in droves all over the record. His imprint is splayed all over the lead-off track, “The Magnetic North,” through the swirling, tele-mystic title song (and album ender). They also know how to stomp about, evident in the soon-to-be club pleaser, “A Light To Lead You Home.” System and Station songs tend to wax poetic about distance, travel, and space, and while that might seem slightly on the esoteric side, it is no indication of a soft sell. Their brand of rock is pleasing on the gut level.
Maybe System and Station are operating on an antiquated formula for rock band success—they play hard, earnest rock songs, resulting in a soundtrack for summer days. It’s hard to deny that A Nation of Actors gets better each time through its 11-song track set, proving that the hooks are a mere introduction. There is no smoke and mirrors, no lifestyle antidote, no reality show.
What keeps you there with System and Station is a sense that this band has still yet to crest its own wave. |