September 4, 2016, at 11:40 a.m.
Con Etiquette is a post-rock band from Connecticut. Where the fuck is Connecticut? Who knows -Who cares? Anyway, so… still stoned from the night before, I headed to their Bandcamp page and cranked up my Bose system loud enough to annoy the pretentious baby shower happening next door.
Fresh off a Dream Theater and Bruce Springsteen kind of week, the orchestral sounds of Alan Silverstri still rang in my ears. Did I mention I got very stoned and watched Back to the Futures one through three last night?
I was impressed with the opening tracks, “Got This Way” and “1,2,3,4.” Props to Ivan Fiallos-Zambrano, who produced, recorded, engineered and mixed the album titled, Resulting In… The production was expertly mixed and sounded awesome at high volumes. All the instruments and vocals blended perfectly.
Yet, it wasn’t TOO polished. I’m talking Def Lepard polished… Where you forget you are listening to music and just “get rocked” and proceed to pick a fight with a stripper named Nebraska at the five dollar steak-and-eggs breakfast. (True story.)
By the time I got to tracks three and four, both my ears and the baby shower patrons were getting a little tired. I admit I skipped ahead a few times.
Then the sonic ambience of track five, “Interlude,” greeted my tympanic membranes. With pseudo ocean wave sounds and ethereal choirs, it was a refreshing break to the hard driving and profanity laced rock. But, then again maybe the THC was just latching on to the simplicity of sonic reprieve. It would make a perfect interlude… Touché Con Etiquette, touché, sirs.
Track six, “Timing,” had an anthemic Weezer feel to it, and is one of my favorite tracks on the record. It would be very easy to guzzle a pitcher or two in a college dive bar and rock out to this song. Some interesting work on the toms by drummer Michael Mandanici propels this catchy beat and a strong melody grabs your ear… Nostalgia. Like when Pamela Anderson used to inspire boners instead of kill them.
Quarter life crisis? Come on, life sucks. The world is unfair. Deal with it. If blasting some Con Etiquette helps with that, we’re all for it. Post-high school doldrums aside, this song had some very cool shifts in rhythms and tempos. And those god-damn open high hats bro. BROH!!
Out in front of the musical tapestry is the same gritty, quasi melodic vocals that really tie this entire album together. That way, if you’re too fucking dull to appreciate the songwriting and cool riffs (delay pedals anyone?), at least you can sing along after a few listenings.
Tracks eight and nine felt like album filler to me, or maybe just too punk influenced after a week of John Petrucci madness. But I’m not quitting yet, and then I realized…. Do I have enough tattoos to properly listen to this album? The answer is most certainly NO, but somehow I don’t think the guys of Con Etiquette would be judgmental.
There is an openness and honesty to their music that is inviting. It speaks, “Hey, if you’re cool with us, we’re cool with you, too.”
The penultimate track, “Adios” (that means goodbye gringo), is one of the longer tracks on the album clocking in at 4:20. That’s funny to me at the moment. This would be my third favorite track after “Interlude” and “Timing.”
In the post-Napster world, Con Etiquette is offering their music with a “Name Your Price” tag. That’s a noble gesture and deserves that you skip ONE double-pump mocha latte that was being gorged on at the baby shower next door.
Sign in to your PayPal account and support the indie rock scene. Or, don’t and just get lifted and watch Back To Future… I don’t care.
But if you’re too fucking cheap to buy the album, then at least share, comment, and like their posts. Links below…. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get my Delorean up to 88 miles an hour.
Con Etiquette is:
Michael Mandanici: Drums,Vox
Vincent Testani: Guitar
Brian Gamse: Bass
Antonino Lappostato:Vox,Guitar
