Before Braille
"The Rumor"
Liquid 8/Aezra

There's something mystical about Mesa, Arizona. Outsiders don't understand. Even residents of the Salt River Valley's other cities occasionally shake their heads and puzzle over how a town that seemed to be little more than an aging Mormon-dominated suburb can suddenly seem so huge, even urban. Stranger yet is how it still retains a singular sense of community and a small-town aura. With more than 400,000 residents, Mesa is Arizona's third-largest city; now larger than Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, or St. Louis, it seems right that there has been an equivalent explosion of musical talent. Where one could sensibly expect to hear Lawrence Welk and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (or Motab, as they are affectionately known in LDS communities), strains of Before Braille, Jimmy Eat World, Authority Zero, Fivespeed, and Reuben's Accomplice are rising in answer to the roar of Sky Harbor Airport's incoming aircraft. Where did it all come from? Like any fertile modern rock scene, Mesa's is the result of punk rock's gradual percolation. The very insularity that marks the city as "a little bit square" is proving to be an advantage; because of a slight delay in getting with the times, Mesa is sharing its edgy music with the world at a time when edgy music is passé and super-commercial alternative rock and snot-slick pop are all the rage among record company executives. It's just a matter of time before Mesa's answer to the Replacements breaks out of Arizona's notoriously obscure market.

Before Braille has recently been learning that part of being a professional recording artist is dealing with record companies. After a rocky honeymoon with indie label Aezra (backed by BMG distribution), the relationship has smoothed out thanks to the band's new manager David Ellefson. Vocalist/songwriter Dave Jensen said that, early on, communication between the band and label execs was full of misunderstanding and consequent bad feelings. The band was reluctant to consent to some practices that they perceived as unethical, only to find that their consent wasn't required. Jensen said that the label was focused on the band's popularity while Before Braille was primarily concerned with the quality and integrity of the music. They were fighting to maintain self-respect in a business that loves sell-outs. Before Braille isn't entirely innocent, though. There was a major flap over the quality of the original mixes of the tracks for the Rumor. The band didn't take Aezra's deadline seriously and had to mix the entire album in one day. After 28 straight hours in the studio with brand new equipment and Bob Hoag (the Go Reflex, ex-Pollen), the label hated the result. There were remixes and re-remixes and remastering by Jason Livermore (ex-Descendents) in Colorado, and finally, somehow, a solution that satisfied both parties was found. Now, Ellefson acts as a mutually acceptable buffer between Before Braille and the label execs who will no longer take Jensen's calls.

Fortunately, there is more to the music business than the business. There is music. The five young scene veterans that make up Before Braille have honed their chops in various punk- and emo-influenced bands for years. Jensen has been a major figure in the local scene, running the thriving Sunset Alliance record label and championing bands like Stereotyperider and Fivespeed. The band's experience in composition and taste is revealed in the recordings, some of which were written rather hurriedly, that make up their full-length debut the Rumor. Early emo-influenced records by Jimmy Eat World (i.e. Static Prevails) and Sunny Day Real Estate were influential on Before Braille's sound initially, but band members say it was a subconscious, not an overt, influence. Jensen describes the band's current sound as "just rock." The newer songs especially are independent creatures, owing almost nothing to the emo sound. "Just rock," though, hardly explains the territory the band covers. True, guitarist Hans Ringger's Led Zeppelin obsession occasionally bursts out in epic riffs, but Braden McCall's composition "Split Lip Envy" is from another idiom altogether. According to Jensen, Before Braille's live set appeals more to younger crowds than to the over-21 bar scene. It makes sense. People go to all-ages shows to listen to the music. People go to bars to get drunk and practice their pickup lines.

These songs deserve a thorough, sober listening. The instrumental voice is intense and the vocals add a melancholic tone that pervades every track, in varying degree. With further listening, the apparent under-emotion in his voice is brought into sharper contrast and revealed to be subtle emotion. Jensen writes in the language of emotions, running the gamut from guilt and betrayal to deception and isolation. All causes, all effects. Stay sober, if you can. "A Cinema Spine," "Goodnight Quiet Noise," "Split Lip Envy," and "Unfit" are the outstanding tracks.

-Jesse