
25. October 2015
NRVS LVRS The Golden West Track x Track
by Walter Price I haven’t been to San Francisco in 10 years or so but I have been pleased to live vicariously through the music that has been pouring from the famed music and arts city these past few years. I don’t think it’s a renaissance but I do think that there is something in the air if not the waters of the bay that has consistently provided the fuel and desires to stay one step ahead or even just under the skin of what’s next for generations of artists. Collective NRVS LVRS (A. Gomez – Bevin Lee – Wendy Brents – Charles Belvedere – Rye In The Sky – Aaron Hazen) are one of the superb examples of various arts melded into one hell of an experience, not just in sounds but visual and theory as well. Their alluring release The Golden West (Breakup Records) is an album that cannot, in my opinion, be listened to without creating substantial mental indie films that conjure up feelings and textures as work done by Gus Van Sant, Kelly Reichardt or the slow burn of Lynch. The album has depths and inspirations from the darker side of alt pop/rock of the 80s and 90s that act as solid infrastructures for some of the most unique and vivid storytelling you’re to find these days. Tracks that allow you the freedom to get lost in those cinematic dreams for the duration of the album and cause food for thought when you leave them. I absolutely blame or it better to credit the San Francisco diverse cultural scenes (as well as its socio political goings on) as witnessed from afar for the sounds created and bettering the music landscapes worldwide. Bands like NRVS LVRS are just one of the brilliant acts coming from the Bay Area and I spoke to the band’s A. Gomez about a handful of subjects that led into a remarkable track by track The Golden West. How did this collective come about? Regarding the band’s background, most of us live in the same Haight Street neighborhood of San Francisco. As far as our inception, everyone had played in different local bands and were friends of mine, and when I showed them some of the songs I was working on, they were all game to be part of this project. San Francisco has a long history of righteous music scenes over the decades, but it seems that the past few years there is a new era of greatness, what’s going on over there? Is there a sense that the majors will swoop in and destroy the whole thing? Despite the massive departure of weird and interesting people from SF, there’s still some great artists who are still struggling to stay and are using the current issues to inform and inspire their art. As far as the majors destroying whatever scene we have here, I don’t see that happening. The Golden West, although there are elements from times past, is extremely unique. The lyrical themes and the individual scores that wrap them are as close to cinematic as you can get without actually being films. When writing or producing does the band consider the visual side of the tracks? Wow. Thanks. We’re just flattered you feel that way. We love & listen to a lot of movie soundtrack compilations from the 60s and 70s, so maybe those are leaking into our music? I’m not sure. I will say the visual side of things is important for us in our live show and in the videos we make. What are 5 things the world should know about NRVS LVRS?I had a place to live but robots came and kicked down the door….
- People often ask us where to get our merch. We’ve got a couple designs for shirts and totes, as well as our vinyl records, available for sale here.
- We’ve got a YouTube channel where eventually you’ll be able to see a video for every song on the record. We’ve got 4 currently up with a 5th to be released soon.
- We tend to develop our lyrics from the viewpoint of characters we invent, read about in the news, or discover in literature.
- We’re working on our second record to be released in early 2016, followed by an EP next summer.
- We’re interested in playing unconventional venues, making interesting videos and creating challenging content. Considering we’ve already been lucky enough to find talented artists to collaborate with this early in our careers, we’re always looking for artists, photographers, and videographers to help us bring our music to life.