New Jams: Residence A (A公馆)

By Josh, 2012年 3月 7日

Residence A – “Smell (嗅)”

Residence A – “Traveler’s Hum (游子吟)”

Here are some brand new jams from Residence A (A公馆). I had the pleasure of seeing Res A many times during my stint at D-22, and I can say they are one of the hardest-working, most genuine, and most motivated bands in Beijing. Their frontman has a famously, infectiously unhinged stage presence, their musicianship is always on point, and their drummer is one of the happiest-looking dudes in the business. They play with the same intensity whether their crowd is 10 people or 200.

Residence A plays tight, melodic indie pop, often with a syncopated disco beat reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand or The Killers. The band’s music also has a darker side, which doesn’t come out so much when they play live but is all over this record. The LP is 10 tracks, including the hits frequenters of their live shows will recognize instantly. But many of the songs are bookended by plodding, almost funereal feedback codas. The album art is shockingly macabre, with an exposed heart on the front and a giant fold-out poster of a skinned male (definitely male) rabbit on the inside.

The songs run a little long, most hitting the six-minute mark. But the band self-released this album (with help from 乔小刀 of Little Salt Bar), so they can do whatever they want! There is very little DIY activity in Beijing so the fact that Residence A — who, to my ear, would fit in on any number of labels active in the city — chose to record and release themselves is a great sign of younger bands taking more initiative.

The production quality is good and all-in-all this album gives a great introduction to Residence A’s sound and their knack for crafting brain-sticking melodies.

On top of all that, the band booked themselves a 30-day tour of China… insane! The tour is already underway but you can still catch them at the dates below. And in the mean time, BUY THEIR RECORD:

A公馆《请用身体砸碎欲望逃生》专辑限量版

Residence A 2012 China Tour:

Feb 26 – Beijing 北京 douban.com/event/15607495
March 2 – Tianjin 天津 douban.com/event/15632624
March 3 – Jinan 济南 douban.com/event/15669184
March 4 – Yantai 烟台 douban.com/event/15620741
March 6 – Weihai 威海 douban.com/event/15678588
March 9 – Qingdao 青岛 douban.com/event/15732635
March 10 – Taian 泰安 douban.com/event/15688631
March 11 – Linyi 临沂 douban.com/event/15732596
March 14 – Nanjing 南京 douban.com/event/15652646
March 16 – Hefei 合肥 douban.com/event/15869910
March 17 – Shanghai 上海 douban.com/event/15824904
March 18 – Hangzhou 杭州 douban.com/event/15672003
March 21 – Suzhou 苏州 douban.com/event/15639847
March 23- Ningbo 宁波 douban.com/event/15713896
March 24 – Fuzhou 福州 douban.com/event/15875693
March 25 – Xiamen 厦门 douban.com/event/15938991
March 28 – Quanzhou 泉州 douban.com/event/15789674
March 30 – Nanchang 南昌 douban.com/event/15749722
April 1 – Wuhan 武汉
April 3 – Changsha 长沙 douban.com/event/15769650
April 6 – Guilin 桂林 douban.com/event/15687984
April 7 – Nanning 南宁 douban.com/event/15679353
April 8 – Kunming 昆明 douban.com/event/15798318
April 13 – Chengdu 成都 douban.com/event/15986568
April 14 – Chongqing 重庆
April 15- Deyang 德阳 douban.com/event/15673427
April 18 – Xi’an 西安
April 20 – Zhengzhou 郑州
April 21 – Shijiazhuang 石家庄 douban.com/event/15659769

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