The
Trypes
' 1984 EP
The Explorer's Hold
was one of several records featuring
Glenn Mercer
and
Bill Million
of
the Feelies
that emerged during the six-year gap between the
Feelies
' brilliant debut album,
Crazy Rhythms
, and their more pastoral follow-up,
The Good Earth
. Like the recordings by
Yung Wu
the Willies
that also featured
Mercer
Million
, most fans regarded
the Trypes
' EP as a side project or a holding action, created while
sorted out their next move. However, this was a significant distance from the truth --
were a band that existed before
were welcomed into their lineup, and while they broke up after
reassembled
(and took bassist
Brenda Sauter
and drummer
Stan Demeski
with them), the founders of the group would soldier on with their new band,
Speed the Plow
. The
released a mere five songs during their lifespan (the four tracks from
and one contribution to a compilation), but the collection
Music for Neighbors
gives a clearer and fuller perspective on the group's short but remarkable history. Along with
' official catalog,
includes 13 unreleased demos and live recordings, and while the bonus material lacks the relative polish of
, in many respects it's more challenging and every bit as powerful. Like
,
were fascinated by repetitive, minimalist structures, but their use of harmony vocals and woodwinds, along with their tendency to favor keyboards over guitars, gave them a significantly different aural palette, and the modal textures and cyclical melodies suggest a meditative trace rather than the geeky frenzy of the early
. (It's worth noting that
were clearly fond of
George Harrison
's Indian-influenced works, as both "Love You To" and "The Inner Light" are covered here, since their own music sometimes suggests an American take on Indian musical frameworks.) Listening to
, one hears an intelligent, visionary band gamely exploring territory far outside the traditional boundaries of rock music, and what they found was often adventurous and quite beautiful; the great disappointment of
' body of work is that there isn't more of it, but as an unwitting jumping-off point for
Speed the Plough
and the second act of
' career, this album works as indie rock archaeology, and also as the reclaimed legacy of a group more significant than most listeners may have realized. ~ Mark Deming