MUSIC

From grand influence, a grand sound

If West Texas had a soundtrack, Balmorhea, with its vast and explosive emotion, would play it

By Shannon McGarvey
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Thursday, May 21, 2009

GLASGOW, Scotland — Outside the tiny Soviet-inspired Bar Bloc, it was a typical spring night in Glasgow: A humid chill swaddled the city and rain spat on sideways as the sun receded behind the brown tenements and a kaleidoscope of gray filled the sky. Inside, wooden tables outnumbered warm bodies and framed a path to a small stage where the Austin-based instrumental sextet Balmorhea played, silhouetted by red light and evoking a cinematic soundscape that moved the listener from a cold, nearly empty bar in Scotland to the epic pastorals of West Texas.

The narrative symphonic elements of Balmorhea, paired with the experimental and folk music influences of co-founders Michael Muller and Rob Lowe, have garnered comparisons to Glaswegian post-rock icons Mogwai and celebrated cinematic composers Max Richter ('Waltz With Bashir') and Yann Tiersen ('Amelie').

Although the complex sound of a band like Balmorhea typically avoids genre classification by nature, Lowe says, such comparisons aren't off the mark. The 'cinematic' band recently has been hired by French writer-director Kim Chapiron to score the film 'Dog Pound,' which is set to be released in France next spring.

In light of this professional accomplishment, Muller conceded that the band's fan base in Europe is 'way more than America' and even credited a theater performance in the coastal Italian town of Rimini as having been 'the best concert (the band) ever played.' Lowe added that some fans traveled almost the width of Italy to attend their most obscure shows, while in larger cities such as London and Glasgow, most fans simply failed to show up at all.

'It's hard to gauge why people come to your shows,' Lowe said about sparse attendance at U.K. dates. 'I don't know if it's actually a good barometer to tell how many fans you have in a city.'

The May 6 performance at Bar Bloc marked the two-thirds point of a one-month tour in support of Balmorhea's fourth release, 'All Is Wild, All Is Silent.'

The venue, outfitted in an ironic sickle and hammer aesthetic, modern art and wood-slatted walls, was unequipped to handle the size or sound of the band. Low ceilings and a tiny stage forced the classically trained Lowe to forgo the use of his electric piano, which shot holes in their intended set, Muller said.

Some of the piano-driven highlights from 'All Is Wild,' such as the layered and crescendoed 'Harm and Boon,' as well as the somber dialogue of 'Truth,' were replaced with the string-based tracks from the band's repertoire.

The standout was 'Remembrance,' a nostalgic and despairing tune that opened with the sparse rhythm of Muller's acoustic guitar, layered with the respective picking of Lowe on banjo, Aisha Burns on violin and Travis Chapman on double bass. Slowly, as the song inched forward, the whine of Burns' violin led the listener further inside the musical narrator, marrying the deep mournful hum of Nicole Kern's cello to the rattle and eventual release of Bruce Blay's explosive percussion. At the close, the song doubled back with the return of the banjo and a final, haunting exchange between the violin and a lone melodica.

The diversity of the band is showcased not only within the menagerie of instruments or the raw, creative talent of its members, but also in the emotional and narrative variety of their music. At one moment, the band captures the listener in a bittersweet and tortured requiem, such as 'Remembrance,' and in another, the listener is again captive, a witness to the hope and happiness of wide open spaces and impending change, such as within the Texas-inspired 'Coahuila.'

This diversity and artistry is what propels the popularity of Balmorhea and ensures the longevity of its members' respective careers — be it in film score, within a groundbreaking neoclassical rock band, or straddling the fence between both.