Not So Simple Machines

“Consistency is a virtue for us,” explains Matt Hall, guitarist for Knoxville trio New Brutalism. “We discovered pretty quickly what the formula was, and we've been working to exploit it to the fullest over the years.”

Hall's description of the band's body of work is remarkably comprehensive, covering various aspects of what he calls the “design”— including intent, function and possible interpretations.

It quickly becomes clear that we are talking about a blueprint, a planned structure attached to a much larger construct.

New Brutalism formed in 1997.  Following the departure of original bass player Shane Elliot, Dave Basford joined the trio alongside Hall and drummer Carey Balch.

“Dave and I had been playing, working and building things together since the seventh grade. It was an excellent fit,” notes Hall.

The band set out to create hard-hitting, angular rock. The product was appropriate to the design, and their aggressive sound and dynamic live show complemented their influences and contemporaries.

“I think of us as being kind of a tribute to the bands that really brought it during our formative record buying years.  The early and mid-period Touch & Go records really blew my mind,” says Balch.

As the years passed, the independent rock landscape began to change. Out were ‘90s-favorite genres such as post-rock and math-rock, and in were emo, retro, freak-folk and free noise.  This shift would not affect New Brutalism in the least.  They continued to write, record and perform their tried and true brand of rock, even after Hall and Basford moved to Baltimore while Balch remained in Knoxville.

“Think of the band as a crude, steel blade, ground and heat treated, and sharpened and honed over the years, slowly improving by developing a better edge, and cutting better and better, but it's still the same knife after all these years,” explains Hall. “It works — why change it?”

Hall says the band exists as one component of a larger ethical mainframe known as Tacticalworks.

“Tacticalworks is the creative umbrella under which we all operate — architecture, design (furniture, graphics, typography, instruments, installations), music, etc. It's our solution to the existential crisis,” says Hall. “If one is unhappy with the environment, seek to change it, or just design your own. We choose the latter.”

This is evident in a number of ways, perhaps most notably in their choice of instruments.  Their trademark aluminum guitars and drum kit are at once visually and aurally striking.

“We wanted instruments that were tools,” says Hall, “… indestructible, and fitting to our needs, and if you can't find something you like, make your own.”

Resourcefulness, utility and simplicity play a part in all aspects of New Brutalism's work, reflecting the functional approach of the architectural style from which the band takes its name. The album covers are visually stark, and the songs are identified only by numbers.

“The numbering system allows the listener as well as us to understand the chronology of each song via its title. It also removes the sentimentality of the title, and the pre-conceptions one has of a song before they even hear it,” Hall notes. The band is up to the mid-70s in song numbers now.

New Brutalism's well-honed sound has made for some impeccable recordings, aided by the who's who of recording engineers with whom they've been fortunate enough to work.  These include Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Phil Manley, to name a few.

Hall adds a disclaimer here: “… The recordings we did at former Tacticalworks HQ in Baltimore were about as good as it gets for me. It just goes to show that sometimes you can do the best job yourself, and Dave, our bass player, has developed into one hell of an engineer over the years.”

After an extended period of long distance playing, touring and recording, Basford and Hall have returned to Knoxville.

“Knoxville has always been home, and it's taken living in various places and being away for seven years to appreciate the potential this town has,” Hall says.

Surprisingly, Hall suggests that the songwriting process is likely to slow down now, noting that they have written more material while apart than together.

“We developed a very ‘tactical' approach to song writing, starting with Turbo Record — if we dwell on a part or find it too challenging to get down for more than a few minutes we drop it. We set constraints on what we do, we had to, because we'd get together once or twice a year to play and write new material,” remarks Hall. “Now when we work on new things, we end up playing parts for 12 to 15 minutes, changing multiple times and never being able to do it twice. We need time to be able to understand how better to harness the ‘time' that we now have — unlimited time, that is.”

New Brutalism recently contributed to a compilation called Brut Unison, out now on their own ABC Group Documentation imprint, that also includes recordings from three other bands operating under Tacticalworks: Beton Brut, Villa Brut and Soldat Brut.

“All four bands, except Soldat Brut, had a few days to write the music on Brut Unison,” says Hall. “I feel that it is the most accurate representation of what we want out of music — simple, raw, urgent and honest.”

As for the near future, New Brutalism has new instruments to incorporate and shows to perform on the calendar.

“Frankly I don't see us recording or releasing much for a while — hell, we still have nine songs we recorded with Bob Weston two years ago that never came out. It will most likely be released in France in January on CD. Then we can work on trying to do the LP over here on our own label, if we can afford it,” adds Hall.  “If anything, it's not a ‘new brutalism' for us, but in 2008, it's a ‘new simplicity'— designing with less, living with less, owning less; making things that last or are re-adaptable.”

New Brutalism w/ Neptune and Kahoutek
Wednesday, Nov. 7
Pilot Light (106 E. Jackson Ave.) / 9 p.m. / $6