Stereogum Home
October 31, 2007

Pattern Is Movement @ Cake Shop, NYC (The Forms CD Release Party) 10/30/07

Pattern Is Movement deserve your worship. If you like unorthodox, polyrhytmic pop music that pushes back. Last night's party at Cake Shop -- in celebration of the well documented return of the mighty Forms -- brought us in contact with a new obsession; devouring every bit of Pattern's back catalogue, 'cause it's clear we've slept on some of the most beautifully weird, shape-shifting music out there. This was just the Philly based band's seventh show as a duo (over the years shedding a member here, another there), but we'd have never known there was attrition going on; even with just two, singer/keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux and crazy drummer Chris Ward showcased their complex craft to the delight of those not obsessing over the open bar ("Let's tear this place down!" came one yell after the mid-set announcement the open bar was now, sadly, closed).

The band name fits the sound: Pattern Is Movement is about patterns, in sound,, flowing in and out of each other and tied by odd-timed segues and Andrew's theatrical tenor. A late set "Everything In Its Right Place" cover was ace, though more reverent than we'd expect from the mathy complexity of their own stuff (save a rhythmic ride out that would have sounded at home on I Might Be Wrong). Songs like tightly woven suites, hearty, thematic, all with a weird pop accessibility you'd never expect from the group's constant push to explore, push on boundaries. Some stuff for you to listen to here; check the excellent, violin-laced "Right Away" from the band's forthcoming 7" of the same name and the Pinbacking groove workout "It's The Wine" from '05's Stowaway.

Pattern Is Movement - "Right Away" (MP3)
Pattern Is Movement - "It's The Wine" (MP3)

More to download at MySpace. Tourdates coming up with the likes of Dan Deacon and Stereofave Slaraffenland. And do yourself a favor by tracking down The (Im)possibility Of Longing now. A new album on Hometapes is due out sometime soon. Thanks to Abbey Braden for taking the pics -- jump for more of 'em, both Pattern Is Movement and the Forms.

PATTERN IS MOVEMENT

THE FORMS





Posted at 4:33 PM in ,
Tags:  |




-->

5 Comments

Awesome show! Amazing photos! The new forms album is a masterpiece.

Posted by: jed at 11/01/07 9:53 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Yes - Pattern is Movement kind of rules. Glad you guys agree.

Posted by: Val at 11/01/07 11:30 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

these guys are currently my favorite band. hands down. though i wish the sound was a little more flushed out live (ie another member) as the intricate and colliding textures is what makes the album recordings so brilliant. A+ recordings and B - live.

Posted by: woody at 11/02/07 3:36 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

awesome! pattern is movement is back to brooklyn on the 15th at union hall. there's new interview footage of the guys at:

http://www.uncensoredinterview.com/vlogs/list?category=122

Posted by: kate at 02/04/08 5:37 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

whoops! link changed...

http://www.uncensoredinterview.com/artists/122-Pattern-Is-Movement

Posted by: kate at 02/06/08 11:51 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Hospital Ships - I Want It To Get Out (»)
Mogwai - The Sun Smells Too Loud (»)
Ungdomskulen - Ordinary Son (Radio Edit) (»)
Damien Jurado - Where Lies My Tarp (»)
Birdmonster - Born To Be Your Man (»)
Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others (Live At Morning Becomes Eclectic) (»)
Genghis Tron - Things Don't Look Good (Rob Crow Remix) (»)
CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage) (»)
James Jackson Toth - Doreen (»)
Twi The Humble Feather - Higher Than The End (»)
Roadside Graves - Ruby (»)
No Age - Eraser (»)
Doveman - Footloose (»)
Rooftop Vigilantes - Oscar Want 7 Inch (»)
Dr. Dog - The Ark (»)
Oxford Collapse - The Birthday Wars (»)
Neil Halsted - Paint a Face (»)
Throw Me The Statue - If This Is It (Huey Lewis Cover) (»)

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: Hospital Ships

As we pass saturation point for press coverage of Montreal, Portland, Brooklyn and et cetera, it seems Lawrence, Kansas is poised for its coming turn in the music media trend piece carousel. At least from what we're hearing; this marks...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Ungdomskulen

The Bergen trio Ungdomskulen play proggy post punk, mixing chops and hooks with a sense of humor. But they don't sound like Primus. When I was in Norway a couple years ago, "Ungdomskulen" seemed to be on everybody's lips (or...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: Beck - Modern Guilt

It's been some time since we learned Modern Guilt, Beck Hansen's eighth album, would be some sort of psych rock minimalist '60s trip with Danger Mouse. Since then, we've gotten a look at the old-school jazz/Blue Note-style cover art and...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: Papa Roach - "Getting Away With Murder"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: Papa Roach lands an uppercut on the glass jaw of big oil.

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: SPIN, November, 1990

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. For the cover story, Bob Guccione Jr. himself gets in the ring with...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 15: Clark, My Brightest Diamond, Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy usually focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This time...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

Damien Jurado - "Murderer" (Low Cover)

After hearing "Gillian Was A Horse" from Damien Jurado's forthcoming Caught In The Trees, we contacted the Seattle singer-songwriter and asked if he'd want to premiere a track at Stereogum. Lucky for us (and you), it turned out he had...

MORE »