Alarms & Controls

***ALARMS & CONTROLS formed in Washington, D.C. during the fall of 2010. The band’s roots go back further, though, to 2003, when guitarist CHRIS HAMLEY (ANTIMONY, CiRCUS LUPUS) and drummer VIN NOVARA (THE CROWNHATE RUIN, 1.6 BAND) were performing in an ensemble accompanying Nitrate Hymnal, a post-rock opera created by writer/composer Bob Massey. After the production closed, they decided to try writing some songs together, but the project dissolved after only a few practices. It wasn’t until eight years later—when Hamley finally returned to Novara’s house to retrieve his amplifier—that they decided to give it another go, eventually recruiting MICHAEL HONCH to play bass. In 2012, the trio released its first single, “Reanimus Cataract” b/w ”Kirtland’s Warbler,” as a split between Dischord and Mud Memory Records. Clovis Points is the band’s first full-length—11 songs recorded in 2012 at the Magpie Cage in Baltimore with J. ROBBINS.. Hamley and Novara have been active members of the D.C. music community since the ’90s and on Clovis Points, they make an effort to re-approach the sounds of that moment from a fresh perspective. Where their previous bands were guided by a dark, borderline industrial aesthetic, Alarms & Controls’ music favors organic and naturalistic imagery. They have also come to peace with the other music of their past: Prog. All three grew up loving—and then feeling self-conscious about loving – the complex, heavily composed mega-dome music of the ’70s. However, there are few, if any, overt nods to Tales From Topographic Oceans to be found on Clovis Points. It’s more that Alarms & Controls have learned to be okay with letting it rip a little – to be comfortable writing ambitious, challenging music just because it's enjoyable to play it. Following the recording sessions, Honch left the group to pursue a graduate degree, handing bass duties over to ARTHUR NOLL. Clovis Points will be released on November 19th on CD and LP/Download as a collaboration between Dischord and Lovitt Records. The vinyl version is a one-time pressing limited to 500 copies. (STREET DATE - 11/19/2013)