Criteria - En Garde

Criteria
En Garde
Initial Records
Grade: A-/A

Trying to keep Stephen Pedersen away from writing music and playing in a band is like keeping a crackhead from smoking the rock. Pedersen works real hard at trying to be a lawyer, but is always drawn back to the power of music.

As many know, Pedersen was originally in Cursive - before the introduction of Gretta Cohn on cello - yet still amazing and performed powerfully within the setup. He then left to go to Duke law school and given the indie rock center of Chapel Hill, Pedersen was quickly drawn back into the fold with the White Octave. Though with the knowledge of what the deal was with the Octave, the first time that I saw them was possibly one of the best shows ever when Sorry About Dresden and the Octave opened for the Faint. At that point, the Octave were on the cusp of releasing the well-received Menergy on Initial; their second album after Style #6312 on Deep Elm, an album that contained some remarkable songs. As the Octave were quickly ascending in the music world, Pedersen, done with school, headed back home to Omaha to partially engage in being a lawyer. Yet, once there, and with the abundance of startling music coming out of Omaha, Pedersen soon dipped his hands back into to the pot with a new batch of songs and hence Criteria was born.

Utilizing the arsenal of Omaha musicians to record En Garde, including drummer Mike Sweeney (Bright Eyes), some keys by Ian McElroy (Desaparecidos) and bass by A.J. Mogis (Lullaby For The Working Class), Pedersen picks up where the White Octave left off. Most of the ten songs have a familiar feel of being centered on guitar and strong bass riffs and Pedersen's unique vocal stylings. The vocals typically are a bit distant and very slightly distorted like he is standing back from the mic. This is seen most evidently on the opening "The Coincidence," where a light opening moves to Pedersen's vocals, drums and bass carrying the song before moving to Pedersen coming back half way through with guitar. This type of song construction is present across the rest of the songs, though often lead by a single guitar's musings (or doubled), and is a defining characteristic. In addition, Pedersen adds anguished gut-wrenching intensity through the varying sections of most of the songs. As with Menergy, there is a high degree of consistency between the songs, making it hard to pick and choose among the songs and, thus, forcing the listener to just go with the flow across the record. Though one interesting note is the apparent partial theme throughout "It Happens" of going back to Omaha and now working in the explosive scene of Omaha. Also, as with a final track on Menergy, Pedersen adds a touch of British accented-vocals, as well as some electronics, on Rescue Rescue. Basically, one could spend several thousand more words dedicated to dissecting the songs on En Garde.

Though Pedersen used a collective of musicians to record the album, he has enlisted most of their help - with the inclusion of Aaron Druery on guitar and without Ian McElroy - to take Criteria on the road. Given the shows with the White Octave, one should not miss out on the astounding stage presence and intensity that Pedersen conjures up each night. Now with an album cover not unlike a Calvin Klein ad, hopefully Criteria will have some lasting power.