A New Day Dawns

Now It's Overhead Returns From Tour, Third Album Dark Light Daybreak In Tow

originally published November 15, 2006

Andy LeMasters reputation precedes itself. A longtime principal of Athens Chase Park Transduction Studios and Omaha label Saddle Creek, LeMaster has cast a long shadow in little time. He has, in short order, become an in-demand producer and engineer, working with the likes of Bright Eyes, R.E.M. and the Drive-By Truckers. So now, in 2006, he is doing what any young man who has actually succeeded in the music business would do: he wants to tell you about this band hes in.

Of course, if your band is Now Its Overhead, and demand for your output is actually quite high, this may not seem like such a bad idea. The band, or more accurately, the moniker for LeMaster and carefully chosen cohorts, released a strong self-titled debut in 2001 to only mixed reviews. After that album's release came a period that saw LeMaster, drummer Clay Leverett, bassist-vocalist Orenda Fink and keyboardist-vocalist Maria Taylor plunging into other projects.

The usual suspects came together for 2004s Fall Back Open, a more ambitious song cycle that garnered national attention. Two more years, and we've got the recent album Dark Light Daybreak, which also welcomes touring members Brad Register (keys, guitar) and Curtis Brown (bass), also in the band Summerbirds in the Cellar, into the fold. The first impression listening to Dark Light Daybreak conveys is a sense of déjà vu. The packaging is similar to Fall Back Open: a purposefully understated affair with original, expressionistic artwork by LeMaster himself. As before, at only 38 minutes, the album makes sure not to wear out its welcome. And, certainly at first listen, the sonic approach is similar. With LeMaster at the helm, Now Its Overheads recordings are not so much band recordings as they are painstakingly assembled sonic collages.

Title track Dark Light Daybreak illustrates this as well as any. Layered vocals lead into an ominous rhythm recalling second-decade Depeche Mode. A standard verse melody by LeMaster lurches off the tracks with a sudden glissando, which effortlessly leads into the chorus. While it might be a stretch to call songs like these catchy, there is a certain immediate attraction to this particular song. It recalls Fall Back Opens opening track and main single, Wait in a Line" - both draw you in by the sheer audacity of the arrangements.

Andy LeMaster says, however, that the albums seemingly similar look and sound doesn't point to a Now Its Overhead aesthetic that is relatively static. There are similarities," he says, "but I dont see Dark Light Daybreak as a continuation of our last album. Appropriately, it was the extensive touring behind Fall Back Open, and the musical bonding between bandmembers it fostered, that took the group in a more aggressive direction. I set out to explore that more aggressive sound on this album by writing and arranging more with the entire band in the room together, says LeMaster.

Comparing Dark Light Daybreak with the previous albums, its clear that LeMaster has a good point. While terms like dreamy and psychedelic will certainly sneak into reviews of this record, there are some rockers in the bunch, albeit ones refracted through Now Its Overheads formidable prism. "Walls," for instance, is not only the most aggressive song in the groups canon, but the most schizophrenic as well. Drastic changes in Leveretts rhythms, coupled with churning guitars coming from every direction, prove almost disorienting. Plus, LeMasters rapid-fire, hyper-masculine vocal delivery has to be a first.

With Estranged, the connection people have made between Now It's Overhead and My Bloody Valentine becomes clear. That rare ability to make swooping, throbbing guitars and angelic vocals work well together comes through. This track not only shows the band working as a unit, it also showcases LeMasters ability to pile on crazy overdubs, yet know when to quit before it becomes too much. My rule is to always remember the initial intent of the song, LeMaster says of the editing process. Then its just a matter of knowing when the song is finished.

So, while LeMaster & Co. have kept the groups resolutely Euro-friendly, studio-as-an-instrument approach intact, there is a move toward rock convention that may bring more fans into the fold. When the group returns from its tour this week for the first local show since the album's release in September, ask the members how the new material is going over in the heartland.

In the meantime, when asked whether he felt his time spent with the group, instead of his lucrative production work, was due more to public demand or to his own drive to succeed, Andy LeMaster, perhaps out of modesty, goes with the latter. I love making albums and touring," he says. "Writing and recording my music is the most fulfilling thing for me. So I consequently focus more time and energy into Now Its Overhead.

Tom Bavis

WHO: Now It's Overhead, Psychic Hearts, They Sang As They Slew
WHERE: Caledonia Lounge
WHEN: Friday, November 17
HOW MUCH: $6