Much like the vast wilderness of their namesake, Richmond indie rock band Louisiana Territory is in the midst of exploring the unknown.
Their latest release, “Traces of Gold,” produced by John Morand at Sound of Music studios, blends pop, rock and alt-country in the vein of Ryan Adams and Nada Surf into a style all their own.
Started by the trio of Mark Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Tyler Crowley (guitar, vocals) and Matt Klimas (bass, guitar, keys, vocals) in 2007, much of the music created is built on the interaction between their unique musical styles and influences.
“We’re all very melodic and constantly look to make songs that have good energy and atmosphere,” Klimas says. “Mark and Tyler bring a lot of pop sensibility with hooks and beats and things like that. I bring a more eclectic side using synthesizers and stuff. It allows us to really think outside the box when we make music.”
"And Miguel [Urbiztando, studio drummer] brought the sound to a whole new level," Crowley added. "This album would be nowhere without him."
According to the band, the basic premise of “Traces of Gold” is that in peoples' individual lives, there’s so much unrealized potential - or gold.
“This album is about finding those small pieces of gold, figuring out how to dig them up and seizing that untapped potential." Brown says.
“For us, it also represented our opportunity to allow our potential as a band to materialize and put it out there for people to hear.” Crowley added.
The band plans to have a release party this Friday at Gallery 5 with special guests Jonathan Vassar and the Speckled Bird and DC band Memphis 59. Local comedian Jared Cullum will MC the event.
“It’s a CD release party. We wanted to make it more of a party atmosphere. And Gallery 5 is a variety type environment anyway, so it seemed like a perfect fit.” Klimas says.
The band sees "Traces of Gold" as close to a piece of art as they could get it.
“We had multiple band meetings where we would just get coffee and talk about what the album was going to be," Brown says. "The theme of it… the songs… We wanted it to be a full piece of art… a thing of beauty. We hope we came close to hitting the mark.”
And while they see it as a piece of art, they stress that there's no kind of pretentiousness or vague underlying meaning behind it.
“I hope that when listening to the record, people will feel a sense of honesty and transparency in the music and lyrics. There’s nothing ulterior about it... No put ons.... Just an honest, heartfelt record.”
"We want them to feel a bit of what we feel when they listen to the record," Crowley says. "You know, that little euphoric moment that happens in a good song and the melody touches your heart in some way."
Now that Louisiana Territory has a finished product, they plan on touring new venues along the East Coast while continuing to broaden their presence in Richmond's local music scene.
And after that?
The world is wide open to them, ripe for exploring.
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