Chavez: Matt Sweeney (vocals, guitar); Clay Tarver (guitar); Scott Anthony Masciarelli (bass); James Lo (drums).
Engineers: Bob Weston, Bryce Goggin, John Agnello.
Recorded from between December 1994 and January 1995.
Chavez combined slacker indie rock (think Pavement) and fierce, idiosyncratic pop-punk (the Pixies) with a sharp attention to structure, changes, and dynamics that sometimes get them categorized as "math rock." Whatever their label, the band's debut, GONE GLIMMERING is a woolly ride full of squalling guitar attacks, angular riffs, and surprising turns. But the album is elevated from run-of-the-mill indie noise by its exceptional songs, which pack catchy, durable hooks into a brainy musical package, and top it off with Matthew Sweeney's lovely, vulnerable voice.
Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (6/23/95, p.56) - "...this New York City outfit's weapons of choice are near-ethereal melody and edgy noise, which alternately enmesh and vie for prominence....Enveloping all this is a feverish, unremitting energy that keeps things exciting throughout." - Rating: B+
Alternative Press (8/95, p.80) - "...Melodies, distortion, thick rhythms and weird tunings coexist in a wonderful noise-topia. Think of a skyscraper-scaled tow-truck to hoist dinosaurs out of their tarpits....Old-guard indie rockers have reason to return to the Mom and Pop stores while the youngins can claim Chavez as their own..."
Option (9-10/95, p.101) - "...Bursting with dissonant, spike-heeled riffs, twisting melodies and unpredictable accents..."
