There are few musicians who’ve put their stamp on the local scene more than Pall Jenkins. In the early 1990s, Jenkins first found success fronting the dark, noisy and massively influential Three Mile Pilot. He followed that musical feat up by co-founding The Black Heart Procession, a phenomenal project that specialized in infectiously dirgey indie rock.
In the years since, Jenkins has explored all sorts of musical corners, from playing solo shows with a singing saw to playing with Modest Mouse frontman’s side project Ugly Casanova. One of those musical side quests was his co-founding of Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, which crafts purposefully ramshackle and at times hauntingly retro tunes.
For many artists it would be a delightful, if strange, detour, but for Jenkins it feels only natural.
Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, “Brothers in a Bind”: The band’s 2006 debut, “Listen Up!” is hard to classify. It’s a veritable cornucopia of squealing horns, jumpy bass and sharp, distorted bites of guitar, but some tracks like “Long Night Review,” dial up the melancholic indie rock, while tunes like “The Sell,” inject some Devo-esque new wave into the bloodstream.
For my money, though, “Brothers in a Bind,” seems to get closest to the band’s musical thesis. It’s a smooth, lowrider funk infused track whose loose ends only add to the appeal. It’s a real trunk rattler in all the best ways.
Like what you hear? Check out Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects at Casbah on Thursday, Jan. 16.
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