Bassh
Visulite Theatre
March 25, 2016
Folks who associate Jimmy Brown with Matrimony, a Charlotte-formed folk rock project with wife Ashlee Hardee, got a surprise during Friday night’s Bassh show. The band, which formed in Nashville, Tenn., and comprises Brown and CJ Hardee (Ashlee’s brother and another member of Matrimony), along with other musicians, hit the stage with electronic-tinged rock tunes that took the decibels up a notch compared to past projects. The experience is louder and angrier with some songs lamenting on heartbreak and the mantra that “nothing lasts forever.”
Since the band’s album isn’t out yet, it was impossible to figure out the names of specific songs played during the set, which consisted of 12 well-polished tunes. On “Animal,” Brown seems to protest work ethics and bassist Hardee joins in with a quick rap-laced outburst. Then, on the band’s single “Body,” they come together on the mic for an anthemic chorus, infected with lyrics like “Change is coming. Change comes from the runaway. Listen to your body.” Haunting and inspiring, the track is just one of many that the group has been working for an upcoming album produced by Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses.
Vocals from Brown, a Belfast-native, strike a powerful chord throughout the set and keyboards add extra sonic elements and a deeper dimension to the rock set. A song that’s lyrics urge “don’t look back” gets three stars on my scribbled patch of notes. Oh, we’ll be looking back and most definitely keeping Bassh on our radar.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2016.
