Nocturnal Transmissions
Black Owls roost in C-bus
By Adam Scoppa |
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Strange, beautiful things take place after the sun goes down, and the Black Owls revel in an all-nighter guitar sound that burns brightly in the dark. Lightning Made Us Who We Are, their 2008 debut album, is a masterful slice of booze-fueled powerpop.
Not familiar with the Black Owls? That's probably because the Granville-based band, like the raptor with which it shares its name, has been quite elusive to Columbus stages. Make no mistake, however: guitarist/vocalist David Butler, lead guitarist Ed Shuttleworth, bassist Alan Beavers, and drummer Nick Ray are fully versed in the smart indie sounds of Cowtown.
Coming of age during the vibrant Columbus music scene of the mid '80s, they nostalgically recall the days of seeing their favorite now-defunct local bands (Royal Crescent Mob, Gibson Bros.) in their favorite long-defunct watering holes (Stache's, Mean Mr. Mustard's). Butler and Shuttleworth did time in a few acts, such as Joe Kafka and the delightfully weird Ronald Koal Band.
Now the veterans are back with the Black Owls, busting out an urgent, amplified ruckus in the heart of . . . tranquil Mennonite country.
"We played in Columbus for a very long time, so every time we play here it's like a homecoming show," explained Butler. Their sound certainly reflects years spent in dive-y Columbus digs, in an era not long after punk stormed into the American consciousness and well before the term 'indie' was ever widely applied. A sense of authenticity thusly informs their album, which reconciles the musicians' well-honed chops with youthful vitality and swagger.
David Butler of the Black Owls
Photo: Andrew Baasch
"We wear our influences on our sleeves," Shuttleworth admits, and in Lightning Made Us Who We Are, you'll find traces of everything from the Rolling Stones to Roxy Music to Husker Du. It all adds up to their own infectious brand of rust-belt glam-rock, with "cautionary tales of excess" sardonically disguised as soaring guitar anthems.
The exuberant "Julius Morningstar" sets the tone for the rest of the record: pulsating drum stomps, righteous guitar riffs, and Butler's slicing tenor. The title track takes on lean, efficient tones reminiscent of the Cars and early Cheap Trick, and showcases the band's ironic proclivity to meld the majestic with the pitifully ordinary.
"The truth has found you, 'cause baby it always finds you/ But now you're passed out on the bar," croons Butler with a smirk.
Kinetic energy courses through Lightning's world of lost mid-western souls and cosmic guitars, culminating with "Electrified," a rousing call to arms for plugging in and blasting off: "The show's on, so start your amplifiers/ The sound is rising, and it will take you higher."
The band's unabashed desire to dish catchy, corn-fed power cords while giving songs titles like "We Travel on the Backs of Whales" and "My Guitar Might Kill You" reveals the Owls' sarcastic charm, but there's no denying Lightning's appeal as an exceptionally well-made rock record.
"We take our song craft seriously," says Shuttleworth. "We don't take ourselves seriously."
The Black Owls are setting up to record a second album later this fall, but be sure to catch them as they fly in for performances at the Rumba Cafe and Skully's this month.
Originally Published: October 1, 2009
