Taking Care of Business

By Erik Caldarone

Take Care’s three-song demo ushers in a new sound for the group as well as the indie rock scene as a whole. If you consider “Halfway House”, “Flow Rush”, and “Trips” as an intimation of what is to come, then any and all fans of music are in for quite the ride.

Take Care takes risks. Sometimes a listener can lose sight of this when they find themselves singing the chorus to “Flow Rush,” or yelling along with the “ohs” of” Halfway House,” but Take Care has found a way to synthesize the complexity of odd time signatures, electronic sounds, and a horn section with the simplicity of brilliant lyrics that elicit real emotional responses.

This ever-present element in their music is what has caused so many of their fans, including myself, to get a massive brain cramp. What do I call Take Care? How do I describe them when I tell my friends they NEED to listen to this demo? Well, with a little luck and a lot of listening, we’ll be able to wrap our minds around the new tunes this band is giving out for free on takecareband.com (Sneaky, eh)?

The minute I heard Take Care’s front man Kyle Joseph, ’12, sing the phrase “take it down,” the first line of “Flow Rush,” I was immediately struck by how much I believed the words coming from his mouth. It’s natural, it’s real, and most of all its him. After three words, you know the lyrics are going to take you on a ride, and you have never been so ready. With a chorus that makes you want to be spontaneous and adventurous, and verses that make you listen intently as the story unfolds,

“Flow Rush” is one of the tunes that only comes around every once in a great while. The bands understanding of musical space and timbral diversity shines through the lyrics, supporting them and enhancing them from start to finish. From the tasteful use of glockenspiel, to the octave doubling in the vocal line, to the changing time signatures, Take Care clearly composes with open, well informed minds. When a band of this caliber has this kind command over lyrics and music, an entire new avenue of musical possibility opens up.

If I could describe to you in two words why you need to see Take Care live, I would say “Halfway House.” Halfway House has a way of being stuck in your head in all of the best ways. Many times, the tunes that find their way into your head become a nuisance, but not Halfway House. With every “oh” you become more in love with the tune and more connected to the message, which is more philosophical than anyone can realize on a first listening. The chorus catches you on the first listen, but it is the well thought out lyrics that eventually make you truly fall in love with the tune. Again, Take Care shows off their musicality with tasteful trumpets, well places triplets, and some of my favorite hand claps in music (second only to Chick Corea’s “Spain.”)

“Trips” is a tune that starts as ethereally as it ends. With tombs and an intriguing rattling sound, the groove is put in place. A very musical 5/4, the groove makes your head bob in a pleasingly haphazard manner as you quickly become comfortable with the rhythms. Joseph’s vocals layer in after the alto sax and you are at home.

There is a certain point in every great vocalists range where the timbre produced can be described as “buttery.” That is just what I’ll say about the vocals in trips. Buttery. And not the fake junk either. We’re talking Grade A Land O’ Lakes stuff here. And just when you think you are beginning to want something more, the horns come in after an overdriven guitar and you are rockin’. The energy escalates and escalates with the vocals until the horns take it away. As promised, the tune ends as Joseph utters with the command of every conceivable emotion at his disposal, “shed your skin / breathe with me.” “Trips” is just that for the listener: an emotional trip.

Spare fifteen minutes of your time for Take Care’s demo and become captured by music and emotion at the highest level. Lend your ears, and get ready to feel everything all at once. Until next time, peace and love, folks.