By: David Schultz

Since forming in 2002, things have moved quickly for The States. The band's first full-length album, Multiply Not Divide, a furious adrenalin pumping assault, captures the Brooklyn trio at their frantic peak. Packed full of songs yearning for an arena setting, The States offer a finessed garage rock that will put you in mind of the mid-eighties period where hungry and talented trios offered songs with sharp but simple guitar riffs, potent drumming and rumbling bass lines. Existing on a plane between a much hipper version of Duran Duran and a less sophisticated version of The Strokes, on Multiply Not Divide, The States stake out similar themes as Paul Haggis' Oscar winning film Crash. Practically every song deals with the failure to connect and vocalist and guitarist Chris Snyder's pleading voice and one-man guitar assault perfectly matches the sentiment.

The States have picked up the ball the Goo Goo Dolls insensitively dropped many years ago and on Multiply Not Divide they tap into the same tortured psyche that spawned the Goo Goo Dolls' garage rock masterpiece Hold Me Up. Meandering a bit aimlessly in the middle, Multiply Not Divide opens impressively with the feverish "100 Years War" and "Ghost" and closes strongly with the restrained fury of "Rocket Science" and "Parade." Snyder derives many of his guitar licks from The Edge's early U2 period, offering different iterations of the guitar lick from "I Will Follow" while neatly creating the illusion of a fuzzy wall of guitars out of singularly crisp notes. The formula works and The States rarely deviate from it. Unfortunately this causes each song on the album to come across as slight variations of the same musical theme. The one notable differentiation comes on "Parade" which starts on a softer note building to a climax that closes the album on a powerful note.

The States trace their origins to the ivy-covered halls of Harvard University where Snyder met bassist Previn Warren. In their youth, both trained extensively in classical music but ultimately made the move to rock and roll. The States came to be when the two joined up with Brooklyn drummer Joe Stroll, who bluffed his way into the band after answering an online ad. Having fun with their status of being an "indie band from Brooklyn," The States, winners of the 2004 Buzzplay.com Best Unsigned Band Contest, separate themselves from the pack with intelligent poetic songs that could form the soundtrack for the distress and despair accompanying the disintegration of failing relationships. "Diplomats" contains some nifty turns of the phrase, comparing the circuitous language used to avoid discussing a topic to that of "diplomats at a circus" and leave it to Ivy-leaguers to work "asymptotic" into a song as they do on "Bad Magnets." But then again, sophisticated wordplay and imagery is just what you would expect from a band with a couple guys from Harvard.

The States have built a following on the east coast through their live shows. Earlier this year the band took residency at The Delancey, playing weekly shows at one of New York City's lower east side hangouts. Clearly comfortable by the end of their run, Stroll could be seen before their final show strolling barefoot throughout the club before padding up to stage and ferociously attacking the drum kit. An energetic frontman, Snyder's energy spreads contagiously through the crowd. The band's sparse setup allowed Snyder to bounce around the stage and when that became too constrictive, he leapt up onto the speakers to offer guitar solos from a different vantage point. Hardly complacent, Warren lays down busy, but not overpowering, bass lines that neatly compliment Snyder's careening guitar.

The States haven't solely been using their live shows to promote the material on Multiply Not Divide. They've also been working out new material, which they will be releasing tomorrow, April 13, on their online EP The Path Of Least Resistance. They'll continue to play shows in Brooklyn and New York City throughout the spring, including the indie-friendly Emergenza Festival, competing in the second round of the competition this Saturday, April 15 at 11:00 at The Hook, 18 Commerce Street in Brooklyn, New York. The independent nature of Multiply Not Divide opened the door for an endearing Replacement-like error as the initial release inadvertently mislabeled three of the songs. Charming miscues aside, The States are clearly a talented eloquent outfit and their self-produced debut album outshines much that has recently been released by the major labels.

Labels: The States