Contrail - Don't Derail

  by John Clarkson

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Turn
Format: 7"

intro

The Contrail are a talented and diverse new act from California. The trio, which comes from Santa Clara fifty miles South East of San Francisco, have been playing together for about two years now, and

The Contrail are a talented and diverse new act from California. The trio, which comes from Santa Clara fifty miles South East of San Francisco, have been playing together for about two years now, and its line-up currently consists of singer, guitarist and songwriter Erin Czech, bassist Jeff Walsh and drummer Yvonne Chen. The band’s debut LP, ‘Irreducible Varieties and Prime Ideals’ (TURN001) , came out as the first release ofWalsh's new label Turn Records last year, and they followed this up in February with a new three track 7 inch single ‘Don’t Derail’ (TURN002), which has been getting a lot of airplay on college radio recently in their own local area. ‘Don’t Derail’ shows off three very different sides to the band. The title track is a drowsy, but dirgish lament with a haunting, and accusatory vocal from Czech addressed to an ex-girlfriend, and a tune that finishes in a long, discordant and rough-edged instrumental. The first of the ‘B’ sides ‘Out of Focus’ has a fragilely chiming and tinny guitar sound and world-weary vocals, while the last track ‘Asterisk Cluster’ moves back in time and spirit to the energies of 1976 and ‘77, and, with Czech singing through a voice distorter, is a frenzied all out punk thrash. With songs as strong and as versatile as these, The Contrail are already an accomplished act, and their second album, ‘Correspondence School’ (TURN 003), due out in the next few weeks, should make an inspiring choice of listening.

Track Listing:-