Indian Jewelry

Free Gold! (We Are Free)

By Camella Lobo
Published: May 16th, 2008 | 12:04pm

Houston noise rockers Indian Jewelry are slinging all types of mad metallics with their third full-length album, Free Gold! True to form, the band has once again morphed into a new and thrilling version of itself, but don't fret! Still present are the synth-waves of sound pulsating with urgency, the incessant tom-tom drums, and menacing vocals running through miles of fuzz and delay pedal. However, the new album reveals that, alas, these exotic creatures may have been tamed into submission — for the time being, that is.

For starters, "Everyday," will make you suspect someone changed the dial while you had your back turned. Don't worry. No one did. What you are hearing is a kinder and gentler Indian Jewelry. Is it possible? Yes. Just imagine hiking through the tundra and you happen to come upon a wolf gently nuzzling an injured fawn. It's that crazy and that beautiful. You won't believe your eyes. Or ears.

Although it may seem against the band's instinct to produce such docile sounds, it still feels completely natural. That's because Free Gold! exposes the beating hearts of Indian Jewelry — Erika Thrasher, Tex Kerschen, Rodney Rodriguez, and Brandon Davis (also of Brooklyn's The Electric Set) — who are at times accompanied by a nationwide legion of sonic alchemists.

The core Indian Jewelry members have been a consistent part of various noise and rock scenes for more than a decade and have recorded under many different personas, such as NTX Electric , Swarm of Angels, and Corpses of Waco. All this sonic street cred earns this band a merit badge in sound sorcery.

With tranquilizing distortion and hazy drones, tracks like "Walking on The Water" and "Subtle Bodies" have you fooled into thinking Indian Jewelry is going easy on you, but later tracks find them sneaking right back into your senses with noisy, trance-inducing chants like "Hello! Africa" and "Temporary Famine Ship," a song that could hypnotize even the most skeptical. After listening to Free Gold!, you may very well find yourself following anywhere they lead.

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