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ACL review: We Go to Eleven
You know you’re getting too old for this racket when the cumulative ages of the band member’s don’t add up to the age of the dinosaur sent out to review them.
In the case of Austin’s own We Go To Eleven, only one of the three bandmembers is marginally old enough to drive, which, at least anecdotally, made them the youngest band to play not only ACL, but also Lollapolooza.
A power trio who make detours into blues, metal and pop, We Go To Eleven seem almost eerily accomplished when their youth is taken into account. But they come by it naturally, apparently. Brothers Zac (guitar, vocal) and Jake (bass) Hartwell began playing at nine and seven, respectively; Drummer Sled Allen is the grandson of West Texas musician Terry Allen, and the nephew of keyboardist Bukka Allen.
Though the band is newly minted, their musical growth was evident, as demonstrated in “Insomnia,” one of the first songs they wrote, a straight-ahead rocker that hits all the standard metal tropes, and “No Angels Cried,” a more recent tune that switched tone and mood in a sophisticated fashion. “We tried to push ourselves as much as we could musically and lyrically,” said Zac of the piece.
“Tears of Anger” and “Living It Up Out West” demonstrated similar versatility, perhaps not surprising, given that the group lists both Joe Ely and Bootsy Collins among their musical influences on the band’s My Space page. Given that WGTE writes all their own material, it will be interesting to see how far they can push the power trio format.
If there is one critique of the band—and it’s a common one among young acts—it is their self-absorption onstage; they tend to disappear inside the music rather than use the songs to project themselves out into the audience. Time and experience are both cures for that condition, and We Go To Eleven will have lots of time and experience ahead of them.
Photo: Erich Schlegel FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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