Northeast Performer on Volume, Tone, Tempo


Northeast Performer Magazine April 2002
-Adam Crepeau

The Curtain Society was formed during the period of time we have come to refer as the “late 80’s and early 90’s.” The British noise rock scene had been fully integrated with the college radio scene. The Jesus & Mary Chain had released Psychocandy a few years earlier and the genre known as Shoegazing was gaining steam. The Curtain Society was born in 1988 during this tumultuous period. Fans were eager to gobble up the wall of noise and watch their musical heroes stand stock-still while hammering out love song after love song underneath layers of guitars and feedback. As it stands, the Society has retained much of it’s love for noise but has organized the music, stripped off a few layers, and geared the music toward today’s college radio listener. The Curtain Society - Volume, Tone, Tempo“Two Wonderful Stars” begins with a guitar loop and launches into a smooth rhythm of guitars reminiscent of early Hum. “Beautiful Song” is essentially more crazy guitar and feedback held together with a catchy chord progression and a solid bassline. “Marigold Girl” uses The Curtain Society’s indoor voice and focuses on nice vocal harmonies and is content with sounding like pop band infused with a desire to get noisy. “Motorcycle Baby” has a unique flavor to it. It loops a fuzzed-to-hell drumbeat, drops in a few guitar drones and leaves you with a musical progression to the mid-90’s when everyone felt the need to get a little funky.

This four-song sampler was circulated as what-to-expect piece while the Society puts the finishing touches on their third full-length LP. It’s hard to figure out where the Curtain Society is going with the selections they chose on this EP. If they have more songs in the vein of “Motorcycle Baby,” the forthcoming long-player could be an instant classic.


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