Skip to main content[FOREVER PUNK] Like any band with a complete artistic vision, Pierced Arrows has a sound that can be hard to separate from its look and attitude.
Oregon's longstanding king and queen of punk rock, Fred and Toody Cole, are two kids who never grew up and make music on their own terms (in a handful of bands before forming Dead Moon in 1987, which would morph into Pierced Arrows in 2007 after the departure of drummer Andrew Loomis. The Coles likely won't stop until they're physically unable to play music).
So let's imagine, for objectivity's sake, that teenagers are performing the songs on Pierced Arrows' latest album, Descending Shadows. On the disc's first two tracks, "This is the Day" and "Buried Alive"—both of which occasionally become jumbled, nearly crumbling apart entirely—this is almost a plausible image. Aside from Fred Cole's increasingly sinister growl, Pierced Arrows could almost be a (really good) high-school punk band.
But then, that's part of Pierced Arrows' charm: For 23 years, the Coles have refused to strive for perfection, leaving plenty of clunky transitions and strings unstrung in their wake. Sloppiness is part of their sound, part of what keeps the music punk and Pierced Arrows unique.
That's not to take anything away from the Coles or drummer Kelly Halliburton. Pierced Arrows songs have a way of teasing the listener with all the ingredients of great pop music without allowing it to hit all at once. This album is no different. Were it cleaned up a touch, "Ain't Life Strange" would fit nicely among the finer gems in Neil Young's catalog. Also, "Paranoia" shows us Fred can shred like Hendrix, and "This Time Around" proves Toody could emote like Patti Smith if she wanted to—she'd just have to bring it down a notch.
But making their music readily accessible isn't what the Coles are about. Pierced Arrows makes every song sound like a first take, every time; it chases a restless, youthful energy as far as it'll go. Pierced Arrows isn't about getting it right, it's about making it feel real.
Judged by those standards, Descending Shadows (which has the potential to reach a huge audience thanks to its influential label, Vice Records) is a great success: It sounds raw as hell and full of life. The album's closer, "Coming Down to Earth," feels more like a rough demo than a final cut—it trips over itself a half-dozen times, and Fred is off-beat and off-key. But isn't that what they said about Thelonious Monk?
Pierced Arrows plays a record-release party on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Music Millennium. 7 pm. Free. All ages.
WWeek 2015
