words by Jacob Zlomke
If there is irony in a song relying heavily on the imagery and experience of smoking a cigarette penned mostly be by people too young to purchase tobacco products, the members of Spock Nixon don’t seem to be aware.
The quintet, made of four 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old, all students at Lincoln East High School, recently released two songs on their Soundcloud, “Playing God” and “Like a Cigarette.”
The two songs are demos, potential tracks on a forthcoming concept record according to bassist and guitarist Jacob Friend, recorded in drummer Emory Snow’s basement. While Spock Nixon has only been together since December and the members’ combined years of experience in a band probably totals a decade less than the time Simon Joyner has been releasing albums, there’s an apparent lack of juvenility to the tracks.
“Ambitious” maybe an appropriate word for the pair of songs. They point toward a concept and show a collective ear for song structure and instrumentation. While Friend admits the group’s sound is still developing, evolving, these tracks were written and released with purpose.
“Playing God,” with its deep guitar-strumming and open chords builds predictably, but effectively, toward a soaring finale, a hushed return to verse, and one final trumpeting. Friend calls Fleet Foxes an important influence for the band, an undeniable presence on the track.
“Like a Cigarette” plays in a moody Spanish-influenced blues. In the context of the album’s concept, Friend calls it a song about a man’s frustration with the world around him, “kind of burning it down in his mind.” Like a cigarette, or maybe a thick fuse, the song burns slowly and evenly toward an abrupt end.
The impetus for a concept album stems from a reverence for their own favorite acts. Friend cites Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues and Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs as two albums with conceptual direction that have been important to the band. In a way, it’s perhaps also a way for the young band to garner more respect through art rather than age.
“We try to be careful about carrying ourselves like we know what we’re doing,” Friend says “but we think music can speak for itself. If we make music that sounds mature, like hopefully we’ve been doing, then hopefully people won’t dismiss us as just some high school kids.”
If there is a totem pole to local music that naturally follows age and experience, Friend recognizes the importance of those aspects.
“Most people know what they’re doing better than we do. You need those older guys who know the tricks of the trade.”
For Spock Nixon’s part, they might not know exactly who those people are yet. It’s hard to immerse yourself in a scene if you can’t get into most venues. Friend does name A Ferocious Jungle Cat as one local band he looks up to.
“We haven’t met a ton of other musicians, but that doesn’t mean we won’t,” Friend says. “We’re just playing around and seeing where it gets us and hopefully we’ll meet some more local bands.”
Spock Nixon plays Vega on Tuesday night with Milagres and CatsMelvin.
Jacob Zlomke is Hear Nebraska’s staff writer. Reach him at jacobz@hearnebraska.org.