Rodan - Fifteen Quiet Years (Quarterstick/Touch And Go)
Louisville's underground music scene was a hotbed of creativity in the early 90s. Not only did it produce some great hardcore bands who moved that genre in a positive direction (Endpoint, Falling Forward, Kinghorse, etc.), it was also home to quite a few more experimental bands whose work ended up playing a crucial role in the development of math-rock and post-rock. Slint are probably the most well-known and highly regarded Louisville band from that contingent, but there were several others active in the area at the same time, writing long, complex songs with complicated riffs, sudden tempo shifts, and unusual time signatures. Crain and Guilt certainly deserve a mention, but where reputation is concerned, Rodan stands second only to Slint. That may partly be due to the bands that were created by former Rodan members after the short-lived quartet's demise, such as June Of 44, Rachel's, Shipping News, Retsin, and The Sonora Pine. However, it can't be denied that a great deal of Rodan's reputation is built on their sole LP, Rusty.
Released in 1994, Rusty's six-song, 42-minute length can easily be compared to Slint's classic Spiderland LP; both albums contain complex instrumental passages, significant dynamic shifts, and an all-encompassing cinematic feel. Spiderland, it could be argued, displays greater consistency, while Rusty's dynamic shifts are extreme to a shocking extent (as illustrated by the transition from lengthy, percussionless instrumental opener "Bible Silver Corner" into the short sharp shock of the album's frenetic, borderline-hardcore second track, "Shiner"). The differences between the recorded output of Slint and Rodan become clearer once one moves beyond each band's definitive LP, though. Slint's formative debut album, Tweez, shows flashes of brilliance but is inconsistent and more of interest to obsessive fans wishing to track the group's development than those wanting another Spiderland. Rodan were actually together for a significantly shorter period of time than Slint, which might lead you to expect any non-Rusty material left in the vaults to be of even less interest than Slint's non-Spiderland work. In fact, though, the opposite is true, and its this reality that has finally been revealed by the long-overdue release of Fifteen Quiet Years.
Photo by Michael Galinsky
Rodan may have only released one full LP during their brief existence, but between EPs, compilation tracks, radio sessions, and live tapes, they left behind quite a bit of additional music--most of it as high-quality as the six songs that are by far their best-known work. Fifteen Quiet Years collects all of these recordings in one convenient package, which will be an especially big relief for fans not interested in paying inflated prices for rare vinyl compilations containing only one song they actually care about. Fifteen Quiet Years isn't truly exhaustive--it doesn't include the entirety of Rodan's 1992 demo, Aviary, instead only containing the songs from that demo that were later pressed to vinyl. However, all of the missing songs were eventually rerecorded for Rusty, so there's nothing essential left out. The two demo versions of Rusty songs that do appear here--"Shiner" and "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto," both of which were released on compilations--are enlightening even for fans who've heard the versions from Rusty a million times. "Shiner" is not quite the punk blast that appears on Rusty; this version is slower, and doesn't contain the hectic, stop-start sequence that makes up the climax of the Rusty version. The differences in tempo and construction actually bring it more into line with the band's usual work, which probably explains the fact that, by contrast, "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto" sounds nearly identical to the later recording that appeared on Rusty. Bassist Tara Jane O'Neil's vocals are a bit farther up in the mix, helping to make the lyrics distinguishable, and original drummer Jon Cook (also of Crain) plays incredibly well on both tracks, making the distinction between his playing and that of later drummer Kevin Coultas quite apparent.
The other pre-Rusty tracks here are little-heard obscurities from 7 inch EPs pressed in meager quantities. They are placed on the album not in chronological order but in an order that allows them to flow smoothly, which is never a bad choice when assembling a collection of odds and sods like this one (though considering the consistent quality of all the Rodan songs collected here, staying faithful to chronology would hardly have hurt the flow). "Darjeeling" begins the album, and is a pleasantly melodic instrumental track that sits at about the midpoint between Rodan's heaviest and quietest work. It's followed by "Milk And Melancholy," a pounding track that dates from the Aviary sessions and hits hardest of all the tracks here (with the possible exception of "Shiner," of course). It still contains the sort of dynamic shifts that Rodan use to heighten tension and create foreboding moods, but the quiet moments are merely brief respites between Cook's pounding drums and the passionate, barked vocals of guitarist Jeff Mueller. "Tron" is a quick tune with a catchy chorus that feels a bit more upbeat than the usual Rodan track, but not so much that it's disorienting. The original recording of "Shiner" is fourth, meaning that this album begins with four tracks between two and a half and four minutes in length--unusually concise for Rodan. The trend towards brevity ends here, though, with every song from track five on lasting between five and eleven minutes.
The most interesting songs on Fifteen Quiet Years are its final three. Recorded during a July 1994 Peel Session, in the middle of what turned out to be Rodan's final tour, all three are unreleased songs presumably intended for a second album that never came to pass. And they're incredible--well worth the price of admission on their own. "Sangre," the first of the three, features O'Neil laying down a beautiful vocal overtop of intertwining guitar leads from Mueller and guitarist Jason Noble, as drummer Kevin Coultas uses startling syncopated fills to make the song's 4/4 time signature deceptively complex. When the whole thing shifts into a much heavier riff in 5/4 time at the halfway mark, it's exhilarating. "Sangre" is followed by "Big Things Small Things," which is heavy and mathematically complex, but centers on a midtempo groove that's somehow both in 5/4 time and undeniably funky. The no-frills production of the live radio session also makes Mueller's Southern accent far more audible than it's been on any other song I've ever heard him sing. The Peel Session ends with "Before The Train," which is as long as the other two songs combined, and almost entirely instrumental. It keeps things interesting with a repetitive groove in which Mueller and Noble's guitars avoid flashy leads, instead harmonizing with O'Neil's basslines and creating strange resonances that add nuance to the riffs. The end result resembles the work of Rodan's instrumental math rock contemporaries, Don Caballero, who also managed to make their lengthy instrumental workouts interesting without resorting to solos. Rodan were clearly still coming up with great ideas at the time these tracks were recorded. Sadly, the group splintered only a couple of months later, their second album forever remaining unfinished.
In addition to the nine tracks that appear on the vinyl and CD versions of Fifteen Quiet Years, all formats of the album come with a coupon for a digital download of 10 live bonus tracks. Unlike a lot of live bonus tracks tacked onto reissues, these are just as essential a listen as the album itself. Recording quality varies somewhat, with the opening track (a version of "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto" that is the only one of the live tracks to have been previously released) sounding the best, while some other tracks here are a bit less than perfect. However, mixed in among a few live versions of tracks from early EPs (including a fascinating drumless take on "Exoskeleton" that almost sounds like "Bible Silver Corner") are quite a few post-Rusty recordings. There are two versions of "Wurl," a song apparently written so late in Rodan's career that it was never recorded in a studio at all, as well as a fourteen-minute medley that combines "Big Things Little Things" with an instrumental called "Martin." Additionally, there's a live version of "Before The Train" that's just as long as the Peel Session version but does include vocals, making clear that the post-Rusty songs recorded at the Peel Session were coming together over the course of the tour. It's odd to think of a partnership that was so actively creative was also experiencing the personality conflicts that caused it to self-destruct. Fortunately for all of us, though, someone was getting it all on tape even as it was falling apart.
There is a note of sadness that comes along with this music finally coming back into print. Guitarist Jason Noble, who in 2009 began working with Jeff Mueller and Rodan's longtime engineer, Bob Weston, on remastering these songs for release, passed away last fall after a three-year battle with cancer, while Rodan's original drummer, Jon Cook, who played on four of these songs, passed away in February 2013 of pancreatic failure. Fifteen Quiet Years stands as a monument to their incredible talent. It's also an incredible gift to longtime fans who have worn out their copies of Rusty and will be overjoyed to discover this additional cache of top-quality material. Those unfamiliar with Rodan should of course seek out copies of Rusty at their earliest convenience, but really, Fifteen Quiet Years is such a good release in its own right that it makes a perfectly legitimate introduction to Rodan. Whether you're a longtime fan or a brand new convert, you need this album.