This Tuesday (tomorrow!), The Archrivals (keyboardist/vocalist Chuck Lichtenberger with drummer Tim Haney and a revolving cast including guitarist JP Pearlman, bassist Zack Page, vocalist Stephanie Morgan, Justin Ray on trumpet and Jacob Rodriguez on saxophone) kick off a month-long weekly residency at Mo Daddy’s. 9 p.m., free.
But wait, there’s more: This is also the launch of the Archrivals’ new album, Archrivals 2, a five-song EP billed as the companion to Archrivals, released last year. On the Facebook invite for the show, Lichtenberger writes, “A seven piece band brings Archrivals 2 into the world!”
The album was recorded at Collapseable Studios nearly a year ago. And, though a mere five songs, three of those clock in at longer than 10 minutes. These are also instrumentals — the sort of jazz that makes the listener feel smarter for listening to it and yet Lichtenberger’s touch as a composer is so light and discerning, even in the 10-minute expanse of opener “Moth,” the music never dissolves into the sonic melange of jam nor the mathematical dissonance associated with free form. Archrivals 2 retains enough of the pop sensibilities of Archrivals to maintain continuity and flow. Snares snap, horns slide all liquid-like up and down scales, the bass is solid and warm, Lichtenberger’s keyboard — the center of each number — is a nimble storyteller. In “NaNa,” the Fender Rhodes takes on a background role, a high counter point to the lead of the horns. It’s an interesting juxtaposition — the warm brass and glimmering cymbal hits nodding to Bossa Nova, the Rhodes all 70s swagger. At once familiar and new, much like the Archrivals themselves.
Expect new material along with the crowd-pleasing vocal songs for which the band has become known.
