Time Pieces is a new project featuring several recognizable NW rock names, most notably from my perspective being Allen Karpinski (of The Six Parts Seven, who were not a NW band, but hey, people move) and Chris Early (of many things, but whom I first met when he was slinging bass for Ball of Wax OGs Amateur Radio Operator). What we have here is a sneak peek from the band’s forthcoming not-totally-instrumental album, to be released later this year on Porchlight Records.
“Boundary Problems” is a well-hewn slab of instrumental rock: propulsive and layered, melodic, anthemic, and satisfying, but variable, with unexpected sounds and twists along the way. It starts off big and just keeps getting bigger, guitars piling up upon guitars deliberately, artfully, pulling back here and there for a breath, and then pulling the floor out from under you about halfway through for a half-time bridge with some gorgeous new melodic guitar flavors. From there it all builds back before the band shifts into a gear they’d been keeping secret, so as to utterly, blissfully, wallop you over the head in the closing seconds. To say I’m very keen to hear the full album when it’s released would be a severe understatement.
I am really looking forward to Allen and Chris’s set opening up the Ball of Wax 68 release show on June 18th at Cafe Racer. You won’t want to miss this one.