This Is Not Here – Review

This is Not Here

by Scott Hefflon

To pinpoint any specific aspect of the This is Not Here experience (and describe it adequately) would be to overlook other aspects or have a long and flowery review. Consider it mood music. They choose a topic and a perspective from which to approach it, then build layer upon layer of sound and effect to bring the point across. The end result is often incongruous images and sounds that, oddly enough, compliment each other and create a unified piece. Picture, if you will, a plodding Ronnie James Dio rhythm with Cure influenced synths and haunting, echoing choruses. Imagine, again, mad slap and pop bass and rapid fire drumming with time changes to keep Rush or Fates Warning fans on their toes. Toss in heart-rending lyrics, occasional snarls and screams, and a ripping solo here and there. Add to the audio montage clips and sampled bits, phrases and readings from movies, CNN, and talk shows, and other media sources.

This is Not Here’s live show is full of neck craning searches to determine exactly who is making those sounds. Many of the rhythms were doubled by dramatic sounding synth programming. The combination was heavy and mystic rather than top 40 cheese, the way it may sound. Each song was introduced by a pre-recorded clip before the band launched into the music. Many of the songs have a rolling, lapping ocean sort of feel, a swaying groove saturated by wild guitar effects, reverbed and/or mechanized and thundering bass and drums. (The drummer, Daren Hiller, used to bash for Gang Green if that clues you into the damage this gent is capable of.) Both bassist and guitarist wear their instruments high and tight like precision players, and live up to that image. The vocals of Rick Welch range over too broad a spectrum to say “he sounds like so-and-so” and be done with it. This is Not Here shares the bill with some great bands, so for more information, go see them for yourself. At press, I don’t believe their demo is available to the public (just to the scavenger press and booking agents) but give them flak and maybe they’ll hurry up and get demos out.