Admiral Browning, Give No Quarter: Command Voyage
Now more than a decade on since getting together in the formidable Maryland heavy underground that now regards them as stalwarts, mostly-instrumental trio Admiral Browning arrive at their most progressive space yet with their fifth album overall, Give No Quarter. The album is something of an enigma, because with it, the band depart the relative comforts of the visual and musical narrative they put to such effective use on 2011’s Battle Stations (review here), opting instead for a collection of seven individual pieces less tied together than last time out, while at the same time, the individual complexity and personality of the tracks themselves is much more varied and individualized. Invariably, they touch on some of the seaward thematics they’ve brought out in the past — the title comes from a quote attributed to the pirate Edward “Blackbeard” Teach: “Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarters… or take any from you” — but musically, with elements of progressive rock, jazz, flamenco and psychedelic jamming, they’re far less tied to one aesthetic than they’ve ever been. That’s not to mention that Give No Quarter also marks the first time an Admiral Browning long-player features the vocals of guitarist Matt LeGrow, who’s joined in the trio by bassist Ron “Fez” McGinnis and drummer Tim Otis, with the track “Zee Birds” providing an early and unexpected curve. Helena Goldberg of fellow Marylander outfit Akris also guests on vocals alongside McGinnis for the following centerpiece, “Malachai’s Lament,” so from whatever angle you want to approach it, Give No Quarter presents a more textured and complex Admiral Browning than has been heard on any of the band’s prior outings, be it Battle Stations, 2009’s Magic Elixir (review here) or 2007’s Dead Pets. Seems unlikely that the fact that Give No Quarter is also the first album they recorded completely by themselves would be a coincidence, but in concert with that, the sonic boldness that much of the record shows is easy to read as a signal overall of the band having simply decided to do what they want and said screw it to the rest.
That would seem to imply some level of settling in terms of their sound, but again, Give No Quarter in no way feels still. Beginning with some post-tuning guitar drums and a quick six-count, “Theme for Evil” shows with an immediate rush that Admiral Browning are continuing to refine their balance of technical intricacy and overarching groove. They are initially and remain unpretentious for the duration, and though it was recorded as they note in the CD liner in Otis‘ garage, the production throughout is no less tight and crisp than the band themselves, who’ve always walked a line between sonic dirt and delve-into-it mathematics. The real miracle of Give No Quarter (though perhaps “miracle” is strong since they’ve been at it for over a decade; man, time flies) is that even as the album rounds out with the captured-live exploration “Rogue Planet,” there’s never much sense that LeGrow, McGinnis and Otis are wholly indulging themselves rather than composing a song. Don’t get me wrong, “Theme for Evil” rounds out with some prog-noodle guitar leads met with bass-fill righteousness underneath — Otis being a steady hand in holding the string section together — and instrumental music by its nature is bound to have some indulgent elements, but Admiral Browning are never out of control either of their own play or of the course of the album’s 41 minutes, and on “Leeroy Jenkins” — which includes a gang shout of the titular name that’s every bit as countrified as you could hope — the impression is more that they’re having fun than they’re showing off. “Leeroy Jenkins” is the shortest of the collection at a blink-and-you-missed it 2:48, but efficient for its quick course, launching with a rush of fast riffing and fleet turns made smooth by consistency in the guitar. Just before a minute in, there’s a stop and the aforementioned shout, McGinnis‘ bass signaling the return, soon joined by LeGrow and Otis as the rush rebuilds, somewhat different but headed in roughly the same direction. They build it to a fitting cacophony before returning to the opening progression to bookend and cap with suitable intensity to lead via feedback to the somewhat more foreboding opening of “Zee Birds.” The intro is the slowest thing yet on the album — it still moves — and some coinciding Korg weirdness from Otis provides a hint of the different approach still to come once the speedily-delivered vocals get underway. The Korg continues behind the vocals in a kind of semi-siren sound, almost Theremin-esque, to add to to the unepxectedness of the track itself, and underneath, McGinnis delivers more jaw-dropping runs on bass while LeGrow‘s guitar fleshes out thick and memorable riffage and Otis proffers a controlled chaos on drums that underscores just how lethal Admiral Browning have become.
Ending noisy into a fade, they give way to the subdued beginning of “Malachai’s Lament,” as Goldberg‘s vocals — recognizable both from her work in Akris and in revived Southern destroyers Lord — come in soon in far back layers of singing and screaming both. With the arrival of McGinnis, a baritone, shortly thereafter, the song makes its initial build with an otherworldly vibe, not quite psychedelic but definitely (and purposefully) strange. LeGrow finds room for an echoing lead as a sustained (again, far off) scream leads into the stright-ahead charge of the track. It’s only been about 90 seconds, but Admiral Browning have injected enough complexity for an album, though as they hit on what seems to be a verse line, they do so instrumentally, Goldberg making no return as the three-piece plays off a winding bridge into what might otherwise be a chorus. She winds up silent for the rest of the track, which makes the setup somewhat unfulfilled, but for it being the first time the band has ever had vocals on a record, it’s something I wouldn’t be surprised if they developed their next time out. “Traps” presents another turn, with Otis introducing a jazzy course that McGinnis seems only to eager to answer back on bass, only to embark on a toe tap-worthy boogie once LeGrow joins on guitar. The shuffle is reminiscent of “Leeroy Jenkins” if only for fact that Admiral Browning seem so much to be enjoying themselves with it, the bass and drums riding out the groove while guitar tosses off flourish leads as though they weren’t ridiculously complex. Later in the track, they morph the boogie into a more metal progression — there’s a measure or two where they go pretty extreme with it — but a slowdown brings “Traps” to a quiet finish, setting up the next surprise with the acoustic-led flamenco-isms of “Las Arañas Lobo.” There’s percussion and bass behind, but really the start of the track is a showpiece for LeGrow on guitar, with full acoustic strumming behind (actually reminds me of peak-era Porcupine Tree in some places) backing sweet and unpretentious leads. A full stop around 1:30 into the song’s total 9:16 — it’s the longest on the album — does the hard job of starting the transition to an electrified version of some of the same ideas; full drum kit, distorted guitar, bass. A wash marked by a soaring lead right after the three-minute mark seems to announce the unfolding of the song’s next movement, and by the time another minute has passed, they’ve moved from bass-driven funk into a winding cascade that’s dense and continues to develop even as it moves through the remainder of the track.
As a build, it is markedly subtle, and just when you think they’ve arrived at a payoff moment or are about to open up into some grand apex, Admiral Browning continue the tense twists and turns until cutting with over a minute left to quiet. McGinnis leads a start-stop line that’s so far away from the flamenco they started with that it’s hard to remember how they arrived there, and is soon joined by LeGrow and Otis for one final groove to cap the longest cut on Give No Quarter with a build as fast as the prior one was patient, finding room in the last 10 seconds for a rush to the dead stop that precedes the arrival of “Rogue Planet.” Though they’ve worked hard (and, I’d argue, successfully) to provide a bridge of consistency between songs, particularly over the preceding four tracks Admiral Browning have given little clue as to where they might head next, so to find the three-piece closing out with a relaxed, somewhat spacey jam is the kind of thing you have to listen to and go, “Well of course,” because there’s really nothing else to say for it. Because of an immediate feel to the build — Otis seems to be establishing the snare hits as much for himself getting a feel for the rhythm in the bassline and airy guitar as he is for us listening — “Rogue Planet” rests perhaps more solely on the chemistry between LeGrow, McGinnis and Otis than nearly everything else the band presents here, but they’re able to make their way smoothly through the laid back feel without giving over either to riding out the same part flatly into perpetuity or adding so much complexity as to undermine the atmospherics they’re bringing into focus. They do reach something of a peak in the second half, getting faster and arriving at a solo layered over top of a rhythm line, but by then, the flow is as much a high point as the part itself, and as they bring it back down to close out, it’s easy to imagine the three of them feeding signals back and forth in that garage, changing swiftly from one movement to the next, as they must have done for hours and days in putting Give No Quarter together. For that sensibility, the songs are enriched greatly by their natural feel, and an emergent swirl of lonely echo provides post-script enough to make me think Admiral Browning are far from done. How and wherever they might end up after this is a mystery — the album shows variety enough sonically that I wouldn’t speculate any more than to say something as vague as “further” — but if their pirate defiance has proven anything this time out, it’s that Admiral Browning have a firm grip on their command.
Admiral Browning, “Theme for Evil” & “Traps” from Give No Quarter (2013)
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Tags: Admiral Browning, Admiral Browning Give No Quarter, Give No Quarter, Maryland, Middletown, Unsigned bands
