LITTLE ROCK — Perhaps it was time for Fayetteville band Boom Kinetic to decide to be a little more serious. No need to be stoney-faced, but let's give music fans a taste of the significance of Boom Kinetic. At least that's the thinking behind the high-energy pop rock sextet's debut full-length album, Part Gray Part Bright Light. The album is still effortlessly danceable and fun, but reveals a more thoughtful, serious side to the band as well.
Boom Kinetic is well-known as one of the favorite acts in Arkansas, covering '80s synthpop and pop acts and other bands for weddings and at clubs. But with Part Gray Part Bright Light, the band unveils their serious side, delivering an album of 12 originals in 49 minutes with a sound that combines a more synth-y The Killers with the electronica pop of Passion Pit and the cosmic dance rock of MGMT.
Released in early October, and celebrated earlier this month with three CD release parties across the state, Part Gray Part Bright Light is the work of lead vocalist Wiley Seeger, lead vocalist and guitarist Zach Gump, guitarist Robin Vargas, keyboardist Aaron Schauer, bassist Greg Guillot and drummer Miguel Gamboa. The album was recorded earlier this year at Insomniac Studios in Fayetteville with Adam Putman engineering and mastered in Iceland by Axel "Flex" Arneson at Studio Reflex.
Since forming in 2006 as Molten Lava (The band changed its name to avoid confusion with another band named Molten Lava.), Boom Kinetic has steadily built a following in the Mid-South, releasing two EPs along the way — 2008's Txt Me Lol!:) and 2009's Math & Science. But Part Gray Part Bright Light is the formal introduction to the band, according to Schauer.
"[Part Gray Part Bright Light] was the first time we said, "Okay, let's be just a little more serious'," he said. "And we think we accomplished that."
The album's 12 tunes are split roughly into two halves, featuring Seeger on vocals on the album's first five, high-energy tunes, including the majestic "Not How to Start a Fire," a four-and-a-half minute blast of pumping drums, pulsating synths and soaring choruses, with Seeger breathlessly singing "I can see a hundred miles are open/Rising up to meet us tonight, tonight." "Anytime Now" begins with piano, before jumping on the wave that is a wall of synths and rumbling, melodic drumming, and Seeger asking: "Tell me tell me something, something nobody knows." It's a sound impossible not to enjoy.
The hook-y, sparkling pop rock of "Cursive," with its driving beat and reminder "talk is simple," is also a first-half winner along with "Ordinary People," an atmospheric ballad with Queen-like harmony vocals and a Beatles symphony movement at the end.
The album's last seven tunes — a little more somber and orchestral — feature Gump on vocals, including the gorgeous "White Flag," a slowly building, synth-y ballad filled with strumming guitars and marching drums with an introspective Gump confessing that "I'm stilling learning from burning bridges."
The second half also features "Cold Confidence," a tune that relies less on synth and more on a funky guitar and pulsing bass beat, and the album's end note: "Thin Line," an absolutely dazzling ballad that closes the album out like the coming of night.
"There's this dichotomy with the album that’s kind of symbolic of the dichotomy of our band," Schauer said. "For the most part, we're known as a cover/wedding band, but at the same time we want people to know, and hopefully we're getting this point across, that we're actually thoughtful and skilled songwriters and musicians. This album represents our chance to share this other side we have. But we still bring every bit of energy to our original songs that we do to our cover songs."
The new album marks a turning point in the band, as Boom Kinetic — a band that built a following with its danceable shows featuring '80s covers — slowly transitions into a band evolving into a outfit known for their original tunes — albeit still high energy and danceable.
"Being a cover band for a while gave us [an opportunity to grow an audience]," Schauer said. "We'll always play the cover songs that we like, but our hope is our regional audience will want to hear our original music just as much.
"There's still a big influence that comes from those '80s synth songs. Not only in our music, but those bands that we love to listen to."
See the band:
Boom Kinetic returns to Little Rock and the Revolution Music Room with a Friday show. There's no opening act, and the music starts at 9:30 p.m. with an $8 early admission price for the 18-and-up show. The band's debut full-length album Part Gray Part Bright Light is available via iTunes.