The Modern Electric
(The Cleveland Press)
“Distance is no match for love,” sings pianist Garrett Komyati in a
quivering voice on “Where I Belong” from the Modern Electric’s debut.
The song is quite beautiful, as is the entire album. While the band
cites Roy Orbison as an influence, Rufus Wainwright or even Antony and
the Johnsons are more apt comparisons. Moods shift dramatically from
tune to tune. “David Bowie” is a whimsical tribute to the British
singer, and “Ghost” is a brooding number that’s appropriately haunting.
While Komyati at his best sounding like some kind of wounded animal, he
can get soulful too, delivering “Great Expectations” with real spunk
and stretching his vocal range on “Love and Misery.” — Jeff
Niesel
The Modern Electric perform with the Sleeps and Marie Corbo at 8
p.m. Sunday, May 24, at the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd.,
216.383.1124, beachlandballroom.com). Tickets:
$5.
The Missing
From Ohio to the Grave
(Ghost Laboratories)
Christopher Marinin’s execution is catching up to his ambition. Here
the guy behind Who Killed Marilyn does much to atone for his emo past.
The rocking love/hate hometown anthem “Better as Ashes” has a catchy
refrain: “We built this city on rock ‘n’ roll/And fucked it up with
bullshit metal.” On power ballad “Lead Princess,” which would make
great closing-credits music for a horror movie, Marinin croons like
he’s taken notes from Glenn Danzig but doesn’t imitate him. He also
takes turns on everything from organ to banjo, and while he’s not a
top-shelf engineer, his music is ready for one. — D.X.
Ferris
The Missing perform at 8 p.m. Friday, May 22, at the Maple Grove
(14832 Pease Rd., 216.475.4224, maplegrovebar.com). Tickets:
$2.
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.
