20 from 10: Bright Channel
April 25, 2010
Part 7 of my top 20 albums released in the last decade.
Bright Channel
[From] Louisville, Colo.
[Active] 2003-2007
[RIYL] The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division
[Seen live?] Once in Denver, August 2007 @ Larimer Lounge
Bright Channel - s/t
[Favorite track] “Witness”
Legends. BC were Mark II of the Jeff Suthers/Shannon Stein space rocking power trio Volplane, revamped for the new millennium with drummer Brian Banks. Their self-titled release and 2006′s Self-Propelled explored soundscapes that put you in a rocket across the southwestern desert with crunchy, plodding riffs atop Banks’ tribal drumming. And they were a mother live. I only got to see them once, planning a southwestern road trip of my own around getting to see their show in Denver. Later that month they opened for The Fray at Red Rocks. By the end of August they went on indefinite hiatus and never recorded or played live again.
The tracks from the two BC releases form my playlist for driving US 64/87 across the Raton-Clayton volcanic field in extreme northeastern New Mexico. It’s a perfect fit and putting a setting to the band’s repertoire makes me appreciate their time making music on a greater level because of my love for driving through that part of the country. Though they are no more, Jeff and Shannon are still active musically in Denver as part of the aforementioned Moonspeed. In addition, Jeff has started a project called Treeverb which is very reminiscent of Bright Channel; a trio he formed with other members of Denver’s innovative cradle of space and psychedelic-influenced bands.
