This weekend marks the release of the debut CD from Missoula’s Streetlight People. It also marks the band’s untimely end.
The band – which was formed out of the ashes of Danny’s Dilemma last year, after lead singer Danny Bobbe moved away – is once again losing its front man, in this case singer/guitarist Fletcher Reveley. Reveley is moving to Spain this month, after graduating from the University of Montana.
“It totally sucks,” says bassist Dave Martens. “I tried to talk him out of it.”
For good reason. Despite the band’s name, don’t expect anything close to Journey covers. Instead, Streetlight People owes its debt to the art-rock proto-punk sounds of bands such as Velvet Underground. “Black Rings” combines Lou Reed-style spoken-sung verses, airy organ-drenched grooves, and an episodic, start-stop structure that befits the song’s ode to disheveled beauty. Unexpected chord changes and gleefully odd contrasts – surf guitar and pedal steel, jangling country and proto-punk thrashing — appear throughout the album’s 12 tracks, which were recorded at Club Shmed Studios in Missoula (and some of which are available for a listen at the band’s Myspace page).
It’s too bad the band won’t be around in the Missoula scene any longer; but the record is a good testament to their appeal. Get your own copy, and wish the band adios, when Streetlight People perform a combination CD Release and Going Away show, Sunday, May 10, at the Palace Lounge. Halophile, Palace Of Buddies and Dirtyard will also appear on the bill.
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