Masonic

Without Warning

Despite transitioning through three lead singers in as many albums, Masonic still manages to crank out heady doses of wistful, rough-hewn pop on Without Warning. Most of the local, brother-led quartet’s songs are rooted in no-nonsense chord progressions, yet by tricking things out with vintage keyboard flourishes, here-and-there hand percussion, and other aural Easter eggs, the mood’s all theirs. New vocalist Eryn Gettys makes her presence felt right away on nervously excitable opener “Some Good Advice.” From there, Masonic touches on the mod oscillations of Stereolab with “The Answer,” while “ZZ” combines Keith Richards ribaldry with an oddly placed New Wave synth undertow that bores straight for the id. Gettys’ slightly raspy, self-assured vocal cinches the deal. By contrast, the melancholy strains of “One Eye Opened” and “Closer to the End” find the band ably navigating the waters of nuanced sentimentality without getting stuck in treacle. Much like their version of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby” on 2004’s Too Far. Too Fast. Too Soon., Masonic’s cover of ABBA’s “S.O.S.” maintains a stripped-down faithfulness to the original while infusing it with a scruffed-up fuzz that keeps things vibrant. Call Without Warning a hat trick.

***.5

This article appears in July 7 • 2006.

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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.