Brooklyn, NY (Top40 Charts/ September Gurl) On the debut album, Out of Herself, The Droves freely cross-pollinate the art-rock of Television with the guitar-assault of Dinosaur Jr, resulting in an 11-song collection of raw explosive pop. Off-guard lyrics reminiscent of Pavement, odd meters you might hear from The Mars Volta, and the sonic density of bands across the Atlantic such as My Bloody
Valentine and Swervedriver combine for an unusually diverse set of songs. Due to be released on February 15 on Eastern Spurs, principal members Christian Gibbs and Kenny Savelson call upon their former collaborations in Morning Glories and Foetus and their separate, current ensembles Lucinda
Black Bear, C. Gibbs and Melomane to create an album that is both artful and rocking.
The Droves, Christian Gibbs (C. Gibbs, Lucinda Black Bear, Morning Glories) on vocals and guitar, Kenny Savelson on drums (Melomane, Morning Glories), and Gregory Stovetop on bass, brought in veteran producer and long-time friend Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Lemonheads, Apples in Stereo, Akron Family, Antony and The Johnsons, Michael Gira, and many more) to help create an intimate recording experience locally. Gibbs and Savelson first worked with Goggin on Morning Glories' "Fully Loaded" (Cargo/Headhunter) which was a beast of an album -raw and heavy-and arguably that band's best output. Gibbs worked with Goggin on the recent Lucinda Black Bear album as well.
Perhaps most striking about Out Of Herself is the diversity of the songs on the album. "Plexi and Tandem" recalls 70's era Stones with a high playful falsetto with Motown-like call and response background vocals while merging into a heavy staccato chorus. Other tracks like "All Lies Begin With I" illustrate carefully layered, oddly tuned guitars with a thundering rhythm section evoking My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, or Lush. The band continues to have more surprises up its sleeve with the dance heavy "Agatha" featuring distorted casio keyboards, synthesizers, B-52 guitar stabs, and handclaps. The Droves, despite their ferocious commitment to playing heavy and never settling for one genre, never stray too far from melody or pop song structure which is evident in the epic "Sheila" and the Neil Young influenced "Better Than You."
As Morning Glories, Gibbs and Savelson put out 3 full-length releases with Cargo/Headhunter and legged many miles throughout the US and internationally before their collaboration evolved into new incarnations such as the C. Gibbs (Atlantic) and Melomane (Vermillion), continuing to create recordings and tour performances together and independently. Their artistic paths include a range of activity beyond the rock scene as well. Gibbs' credits include a Broadway-run as a featured performer in Stew's award-winning rock musical Passing Strange. Savelson is a lead producer with the acclaimed New York art-music collective Bang on a Can, having produced projects and tours with Brian Eno, Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, and many others. Both found success with their separate projects but were missing an outlet where they could play loud and hard. With some new songs composed primarily by Gibbs that had no home in his more folk-oriented current projects, Savelson and Gibbs invited Gregory Stovetop to join in on a new project where they envisioned a return to some of the heavier song-stylings of Morning Glories. Stovetop, a Michigan native who had met Gibbs during a C. Gibbs midwest tour, was a recent arrival in Brooklyn and became a quick fit with his fluid bass playing and strong vocals. The Droves were on a slow-burn as they crafted and recorded Out of Herself during breaks from their other musical endeavors, making a handful of live appearances in New York City along the way. For the live shows the group signed up guitarist Mike Cohen, Gibbs' band-mate/bassist in Lucinda Black Bear.
