The Wake

At first it was hard for me to figure out what it was I found appealing about Apparently Nothing’s new album Sprawl as I listened to it in my car. The lyrics are serious, the hooks are catchy and the production is clean, but something beyond that was motivating me from one song to the next. At last, the answer arrived to me somewhere around track four. As I glanced down at the back of the CD case—while trying my best to stay on the right side of the road—I noticed that I was listening to a song called “Reason for Leaving” and that it was not slow, nor did it reek of desperation. It reminded me a lot of the day I figured out how to use the Gopher Way; I was warm and subtly disoriented, but delighted at my discovery.

Apparently Nothing formed in Madison, Wis. about four years ago. Singer/guitar player Aaron Shekey and bass player Ryan McGrew have been writing songs together since eighth grade, and the band was fully formed by their sophomore year of high school. This long-standing bond is evident in the way their playing styles connect on the album. This also contributes to their uniformity of sound and focused instrumentation. They concentrate on trying to offer something different for listeners, while still paying respect to rockers before them.

Fans of classic rock and ’80s metal, Apparently Nothing combines a full rock sound and attention-grabbing solos with alternative and pop rock. The result is an album that looks and feels like what is on the radio, but maintains a more mature and complex style. “We really try not to force anything we write. Keeping our music honest is extremely important to us. Without honesty, we wouldn’t be able to play the same songs every night and still have great times and make amazing memories from performing. We keep it sincere. Fans really know when you’re bullshitting,” says drummer Layne Knutson of their musical direction.

The other thing that struck me about Sprawl was how much fun it was to listen to. As it turns out, Apparently Nothing has a case of modern radio boredom (like many other students we know). In turning to alternative sources of music, they’ve found themselves becoming more and more influenced by what was going on 20 years ago, rather than what is going on now. “I think a lack of good modern radio programming led us to start listening exclusively to the classic rock stations … also a lot of it comes out of what is fun to play live … we all kind of realize the absurdity of it all but sometimes you can’t help rocking out to Judas Priest and Guns N’ Roses. I think we’re kind of tapping into a similar sort of energy without all the glitz and being a little more serious about it,” relays lead vocalist Aaron Shekey.

So where does that leave Apparently Nothing and where are they going from here? On Feb. 11 they’ll be in Burnsville playing at The Garage. Beyond that, the drummer Layne says, “In one year we’ll be homeless and broke, but in five we’ll have obviously realized the benefit of selling out and raking in the millions.” Let’s hope not.

Tags: Apparently Nothing, madison, music, rock