Vision
Quest
“The
visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the
world”
Hello Visionary! We now
have the technology at our fingertips allowing us to better gauge
the popularity of local artists. Two readily available yardsticks by
which to measure the adoration of our hometown idols are Facebook and
You Tube. Using this criteria, it's no contest.... Brokencyde (yes,
those butt pirates are still out there) reps the Duke City better
than anyone else. It's not even close, their FB page clocks in with
over half a million likes. These standard bearers of bad taste also
reign supreme on You Tube. Their video for “Freaxx” has over 10
million views, “Booty Call” w/E-40 claims over 4 million views.
“Get Crunk” over 12 million views. “40oz.” over 3 million
views.... etc.
How do you like them
apples? Love 'em or hate 'em (I lean towards the latter, though I do
begrudgingly tip my hat to them) Brokencyde have achieved a level of
success matched by just one other band with Albuquerque roots... The
Shins. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. This however isn't about
the sultans of screamo. I'm just using them as a barometer by which
other local bands can be measured by. With this in mind and with The
Shins no longer associated with the land of enchantment, who comes in
second? That would be Lindy Vision (formerly known as Black Natives)
who are closing in on 4,000 FB likes, though on You Tube they lag far
behind (just one video “Pink + Black” has pulled in over 1,000
views) That's a crying shame.
You almost wouldn't expect
Lindy Vision to hail from Albuquerque. Visually they present a
stunning and exotic image not normally associated with 'Burque or New
Mexico for that matter. The three Cuylear sisters, Dorothy (Dee-Dee)
vocalist, songwriter, keyboards. Natasha (Na)- guitar,vocals and
Carla - drums are strikingly beautiful in a head turning, jaw
dropping sort-a-way. Equal parts K-pop divas and new wave rave
queens. Raised in Southern New Mexico now making their homes in
Albuquerque. Their mixed heritage (Native/African American) sets them
apart.... but it's the music that seals the deal. Disco beats for
millennial shoegazers. A soundtrack for the debauched rave set.
Stripped down intelligent synth pop loaded with sex appeal and
danceable rhythms.
“I've got the white
noise it drives me insane” Lindy Vision's name derives from a
passage in Malcolm X's autobiography where he (along with co-author
Alex Haley) describes the “Lindy Hop” dance culture (a
predecessor of the modern dance club scene) “The spotlight would be
turning pink, yellow, green and blue, picking up couples
lindy-hopping as if they had gone mad” In this sense, using modern
vernacular, Lindy can be defined as "turnt up "
Positive/Negative... as the party rages on, we feed off
the contradictory nature of a world divided into either fun or
serious things... pink + black. Innocence pitted against the
relentless need for a stimuli, be it sex, drugs, music. All the
while, facing a dilemma: that eventually those turnt up must turnt
down “You want the white horse to come save you now”
The Cuylear sisters are
far from random, they have a vision. They've built a template for
success and are now in the process of tearing shit up. Their
presentation is slick, professional and visually stunning. Their
fans, referred to as Visionary or Visionaries, (in the same manner in
which Lady Gaga refers to her fans as Little Monsters) “You are a
Visionary if you believe in us and what we are doing OR if you are
doing what you believe in regardless if it is the norm or not” The
key to simplicity is divine. Dorothy gets this “People think that
we're going to sound like something, and we surprise them and sound
like something completely different so I think that's kind of the
beauty of being ethnic and being in this profession and being from
New Mexico”
“To be realistic today
is to be visionary. To be realistic is to be starry-eyed” Lindy
Vision's discography is short and sweet. All their music is
self-released. “Pink + Black” a five song ep was released in 2014
followed by their debut album “Luck + Life” in 2015. On “Luck +
Life” Lindy Vision jettisons the baggage that accompanies
associations with genre tags and categories. Dee Dee skillfully
navigates “the perils of contentedness and the possibilities within
despair” as she guides us through a pulsating emotional landscape
singing in a voice that betrays a weary young soul with time worn
problems. “Daybreak, don't want to know about the mistakes, don't
want to know where your hands have been” If you're a fan of local
music, you can't do without it. Currently, the band has finished work
on their second album, “Lindy + Vision” which will be available
on July 22nd. 2016.
Dirt City Chronicles podcast episode 40, the second in a three part series spotlighting the women involved in Albuquerque's local music scene. Boy Howdy!
Resident ~ Bigawatt
Stop Moving ~ Lindy Vision
Wild Night ~ Lady Uranium
Disco ~ The Foxx
Orale ~ 5 Star Motelles
Get Away Smooth ~ The
Jenny Clinkscale Band
Headache ~ The Eyeliners
Fort Surrounded ~ The
Rondelles
Bastard Son of Medora ~
Hazeldine
Lake Havasu ~ The Grave of
Nobody's Darling
Oh No ~ Jenny Wren Sounds
Holy Ghosts and Holy
Smokes ~ Animals in the Dark
Secret Spy ~ The Eyeliners
Getting High Off the Lows
~ The Jenny Clinkscale Band
