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2 a.m. Orchestra - Heads & Tails Single Video Review

15 Nov 2012 // A review by Peter-James Dries

A devil and an angel, one wonders as the black, devil tailed chap approaches the white, anthropomorphic bird dude.  A tussle ensues and these enemies become a rotating yin-yang. After a revolution the yin-yang separates out again, and now our two protagonists are inverted, the black white and the white black.

No, I’m not talking about another lucid dream. This is the intro to the video for number two on the Kiwi FM Top Ten last week, 2 a.m. Orchestra’s new track Heads & Tails.

The intro is the tamest part. There are things falling into all kinds of holes, things morphing from one thing to another, often times it’s our devil friend and the angel chap turning into each other or intertwining again.

There’s the esoteric, hermetic, even Christian symbology, and sometimes it’s hard to determine to what extent the symbols are symbolic or whether these frantic morphings are the lunatic scribblings of an eccentric genius.

Did I mention the video was entirely hand drawn? And not especially well, a judgement I made on my first viewing.  But in successive viewings I’ve changed my stance. I’ve seen past the scribble lines and fathomed the meaning behind them.

Think too, before judging, the seemly impossible task of hand drawing all those pictures using a mouse and what looks like Microsoft Paint. We’re talking 12 drawings per second, sixty seconds in a minute, three minutes and fifty seconds of music video. I’m no mathmagician, but that’s… a lot of… oh… wait… I have a calculator on my computer… who knew.

Right. 12*((60*3)+50)=more hand drawn pictures than I have words in this review. Close to ten times more, all done by 2 a.m. Orchestra mastermind, David Kelley. And the work paid off; the Heads & Tails video is floating all over the internet now and reaching nearly 13,000 views on Youtube. If you haven’t seen it, you can find it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq0kfg_aGLM

The music is very Radiohead, though still in the confines of Rock, and not deviating into the wilderness of post-Rock. Kelley’s voice is melodic, haunting, cracking into falsetto at the perfect moments, like someone who has spent a lot of time learning from Thom Yorke.

I’ll be reviewing the music in more detail when 2am Orchestra release their highly anticipated new album, Working to Divide, which you can preview here: http://youtu.be/0HAenYamrgk

 

About 2 a.m. Orchestra

Based on an epidemic of insomnia-inflicting inspiration, 2 a.m. Orchestra was the name chosen by David Kelley while working on some recordings in early 2000. Just prior to the release of what would be the first album (2 a.m. Orchestra, 2001), Kelley formed and prepped a band to play in support of the release. From that time, the live line-up has varied widely, from a 2-piece snare drum and guitar duo, to an instrument-swapping 6-piece. Kelley did a number of U.S. tours with these various line-ups (and even a solo tour). Such personnel fluctuations continued on up through the 2nd full-length release, Impermanence (2005), which proved to be an apt, if not intentional title as the ever-changing live show became the band’s most noted characteristic.

After the release of Impermanence Kelley began travelling, living abroad and performing in various locations such as New York, Central America and even China. 2 a.m. Orchestra was put on the back-burner while Kelley toured with various projects: a country band that did shows for troops at international military bases, a theatre company performing a rock opera, and a percussion trio that gigged at state fairs. However, Kelley continued to write and record throughout this period. During two consecutive summers, the songwriter made a makeshift project studio from his grandmother’s country house located on the outskirts of his hometown (Fresno). These periods were spent compiling, writing, and recording a significant percentage of what now constitutes the entire 2 a.m. Orchestra catalogue (the vast majority of which remains unreleased).

Over the years, 2 a.m. Orchestra has primarily remained a solo endeavour – a one-man recording project with occasional outbursts of live performances. One such outburst occurred in 2008, a year after Kelley moved to Los Angeles. The L.A. band was a four-piece powerhouse with a turbo-charged rhythm section, gritty vocals, and surf-tone guitars. The band played sporadically, packing out indie venues like The Derby and Molly Malone’s.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for 2 a.m. Orchestra

Releases

2 a.m. Orchestra
Year: ????
Type: Album
Trading Graves
Year: 2020
Type: Album
Working To Divide
Year: 2013
Type: Album
Live At Lopdell House Theatre
Year: 2013
Type: Album
Fire Escape
Year: 2010
Type: EP
Impermanence
Year: 2005
Type: Album

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