Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity

BIO

Seattle, Washington-based Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity –

Gary Reynolds (vocals, guitar, piano), Don Durham (guitar, vocals), Justin Friesen (bass, piano, vocals), Perry Morgan (drums), Jeremy Manley (organ, vocals) – deliver slightly psychedelic indie-rock with a heavy pop leaning, especially on their sophomore full-length, “Santiago’s Vest”, recorded at Reynolds’ Seattle studio, Electrokitty Studio.

Right from the get go, “Santiago’s Vest” strikes the listener with its peculiar cover art. Adorned on the cover is an ordinary, green down vest that is in a golden frame, set on a grand background.

“The cover art makes a statement, in a way,” says Reynolds when asked about the cover art. “The concept is about ordinary things being held up like they have great worth. The idea came about because a former intern of mine, at my studio, left his vest. His name was Santiago. I started to use it to pack my Whirly in its case, to pad the legs so they wouldn’t destroy the keys. Then, after a show, we all started laughing that this was Santiago’s vest. We thought it sounded cool and came up with the concept”.

Such seemingly innocuous things turn to powerful subjective and literal commentary when placed in the hands of Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity, proven when one listens to the ten tracks found on “Santiago’s Vest”, a powerful collection of space-pop done by rockers, a group of men who know their way around psychedelic and pop history, but sometimes just want to have fun and play a catchy power-pop tune.

“A lot of times I don’t just sit down and write a song about something,” explains Reynolds. I almost do a stream-of-consciousness type thing. Some songs are literal and some are more metaphors left up to interpretation”.

Which is something the listener will appreciate with “Santiago’s Vest”.

Take album opener “Capital State”, for instance. The song is about hurrying up to wait. Whether it’s a teenager caught in limbo, wanting to grow up quickly, and finally growing up but being told he’s not responsible enough. Or hurrying up to get somewhere and once getting there regretting every minute of it and wishing you didn’t hurry up to get there.

And then there is “The Wall Eyed Girl” a song that could be about art and music, or about human imperfections. Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity leave it open to interpretation.

But there are some cuts such as “Rolling Over” and “Who Do You Love”, two songs that deal with mass marketing, the media, and the consumption-focused goal of corporations, and their effects on our every day lives, where Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity make it less about metaphors and more about getting their message across.

It’s this two-sided coin that fuels “Santiago’s Vest”. Whether it’s the narrative of Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity getting their message out in a catchy pop tune to their audience. Or less literal, more open-thought songs laden with hooks that make you want to dance, while your subconscious figures out the meaning of the songs. Either way, you’re in for an enjoyable, memorable, and oft-times sing-along ride that will put a smile on your face.

But, “Santiago’s Vest” didn’t just fall into place. The band made a conscious effort to collect the record and present their best foot forward on their second full-length, something Reynolds is proud to talk about.

“We had seven songs finished and two halfway recorded last November,” he recalls. “I mixed them and then we decided to pull five off and release them as an EP entitled ‘Extended Play’. That gave us more time to finish recording the rest of the album.

“There are always a few songs that get left behind. We needed one more song and ‘Wake Up Sugar’ was done quickly, in half a session the day before the record was mastered. The five songs that were pulled for the EP had an entirely different recording approach to them. These were songs we had been playing live as a band. The parts were already written and we went into the studio and recorded them.

“The songs on ‘Santiago’s Vest’ were recorded with an entirely different approach. We got together and learned the songs in the studio, mainly aiming to keep only the drums and bass. Then we made up parts and added colors. The full-length is more produced, too. I think it’s safe to say that everyone in the band likes this record best”.

For Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity, they felt this was the best way to approach it. A relatively new band, they used “Santiago’s Vest” to figure out how to work together in the studio.

Reynolds says one of the things he’ s most proud of is that, “we figured out how to take a happy little pop song and twist it. We also figured out how to take something that may have leaned more towards a rock sort of thing and pull it into a more twisted approach.”

The record was purposely mixed with the bass guitar way up in the balance, using “Abbey Road” as a mix reference. The result is a record that has a lot more bass guitar than most modern recordings.

“We’ve always had a nostalgic feel to our music,” Reynolds says without hesitation. “Not on purpose, but that’s just the way things turn out. On this record it opens up and sound a bit more current without losing its appeal.”

Look for Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity’s “Santiago’s Vest” in stores.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, INTERVIEW REQUESTS, ETC. PLEASE CONTACT alex@inmusicwetrust.com or 503-557-9661.