What: Crimes Vinyl Release with Teenage Moods and Leisure Birds
When: 6 p.m., Friday-Saturday
Where: 7th St. Entry, 701 First Ave
Cost: $5
Andrew Jansen isnâÄôt some decorated vanguard of the Minneapolis music scene. HeâÄôs not on the cover of City Pages. Tapes âÄònâÄô Tapes didnâÄôt invite him on a tour. And The Current doesnâÄôt have the new Crimes record in regular rotation.
None of that really matters though. Any serious (or unserious) music listener knows that mass appeal doesnâÄôt necessarily guarantee quality and a city as oversaturated as ours is bound to overlook some of its finest talent. At 27, Jansen is one of those unsung geniuses of the local music scene, and this Saturday his latest band Crimes will be performing at First AvenueâÄôs 7th St. Entry for the release of their debut album âÄúGood Hope.âÄù
Jansen, who also plays in electro-pop outfit Dial-Up, isnâÄôt exactly fresh blood. Originally from Milwaukee, heâÄôs the former front man of A Paper Cup Band âÄî the now-defunct pop rock trio that featured drummer Griffin Hendrickson and Kyle Sobczak (Sleeping in the Aviary).
But Crimes is a far cry from any of JansenâÄôs previous pop-centric endeavors. Produced by Hollow Boys frontman Ali Jaafar, âÄúGood HopeâÄù is eleven shades of dreary dream pop that oozes with all the warm reverb and retro-surf homage that your typical lo-fi crate digger is always yearning for.
âÄú[Crimes] is a lot more plucky. I was able to be more spacious whereas before I was writing stuff on acoustic guitar. With this you could strum and have it resonate longer,âÄù Jansen said. âÄúIâÄôve always wanted to make a record where it sounded spacious and warm and wet instead of relying on dryness or tightness.âÄù
The description couldnâÄôt be more apt. The sparse arrangements provide each instrument with some space to breathe alongside JansenâÄôs and bassist Hannah KathleenâÄôs languid vocals. But it was a shift that wasnâÄôt just the result of creative progress âÄî it was a matter of equipment too. The band employs everything from an analog delay pedal, a Fender tube amp to a 70âÄôs era Hammond organ. Jansen isnâÄôt shifting the dynamics of music with his sound but itâÄôs a style thatâÄôs equipment sensitive.
âÄúI had always wanted to hone in on that sound but never felt like I [could do it]. And then eventually I was like âÄòI can do it because I have the classic set of instruments and classic tools to make that sound.âÄô If you donâÄôt have the right equipment it will just sound all grungy,âÄù Jansen said.
ItâÄôs hard to say where Crimes exactly falls on the local music spectrum. And while Jansen and his rock âÄònâÄô roll cohorts might not have the stylistic drawing power of some of the MinneapolisâÄô more accessible outfits, Crimes is just more proof that this city just doesnâÄôt seem to ever run out ideas.
