Lenox Hills with Aaron Carney

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Lenox Hills with Aaron Carney

Get your tickets to see Lenox Hills with Aaron Carney at Songbirds South in Chattanooga, Tennessee on June 19!

The music of Lenox Hills (the band formerly known as Walrus) is steeped in the histories and tumultuous background illumination of indie rock and its tangential lineages. Basking in the familiar ebbs and currents of their chosen sound, the band sets out to quickly diffuse the idea that they’re simply stepping on the backs of their influences. Yes, the touchstones are there to be seen: Spoon, The Shins and Yo La Tengo. But there’s a clear distinction between their own rock and pop movements and those that serve as a guiding light. Built around the communal musical associations of singer-guitarist Luke Mullin, guitarist Packy Mullin, drummer Kyle Swenson and bassist Kameron Dunn, the band lovingly rearranges these sounds to create a unique and emotionally affecting noise.

On their new EP, “The Stricken Youth,” the band romps through a freeform indie rock environment, a place where their glistening pop-rock tendencies are given license to bloom and reveal infinite possibilities. They manage to hold on to the distinct roughness of their early ’90s rock inclinations while simultaneously wrapping themselves in glossy pop melodies that sparkle and reflect their common influences. Everything feels so meticulously constructed-which isn’t to say that they leave no room for spontaneity. Their work just reveals its rhythmic impulses on its own terms and doesn’t bend to the demands of current musical fashions.

The songs aren’t overly complicated but give just enough for us to be immediately hooked by their flowing persuasiveness. The guitars ring, jangle and exert a sizable force when called upon. The dynamic interplay between the bass and drums allows the band to build a formidable sound that doesn’t adhere to any one aesthetic but draws up its own blueprints, regardless of our expectations. Tracks such as “How It Was Before” and “Stricken Young” show that the band has come forward in leaps and bounds from their initial sounds and crafted a racket that explores a remarkable confluence of experience and inspiration, positioning Lenox Hills as a ba