THE MISSIONARY POSITION

Consequences

 

It’s not every day that one thinks of The Doors, Morphine, and George Clinton when describing a band. Moody and ambient, smooth yet edgy, funky with a nasty sense of humor – that’s an unlikely mix, and a lot for one act to carry off. But on their second full-length record, Consequences, that’s exactly what The Missionary Position does. All of that, and they bring the rock. 

 

Headed up by singer and guitar player Jefferson Angell, The Missionary Position formed three years back, hard on the heels of the dissolution of Angell’s former band, the critically acclaimed local favorite Post-Stardom Depression. Looking for a new musical medium to showcase his killer voice and expand his sonic palette, Angell began working with keyboard player and production wizard Ben Anderson. The result of their collaboration was 2009’s Diamonds in A Dead Sky, which garnered praise Nationally and throughout the Seattle music community by local music authorities such as Hannah Levin, who wrote in The Seattle Weekly that on Diamonds, the band “sounds like semi-destructive, erotic alchemists  . . . we're talking straight-forward, blues-based hard rock, with slivers of psychedelia stuck under its fingers, but the easy soul and libidinous swagger pushing behind it is what sets it apart from your average bar band.” 

 

No small praise for a band to live up to when they’re making their second crucial album. But The Missionary Position, which these days consists of Angell, Anderson, Gregor Lothian on saxophone, and Michael Alex on drums, thrived on the challenge, and Consequences builds beautifully on the (bed)rock foundation that Diamonds laid down. Angell explains that having a full band for the recording process streamlined it: “The last record was more of a collaboration between Ben and myself with help from friends. This record is really more of a band effort.” Because Angell had a full band this time around, the songs came about in a more organic way: “We played a lot live and got to know what was working.” It shows – tracks such as “Everything All Over Me” and “Please Don’t Leave” have the full-tilt thrust of four guys locked together in sonic purpose and power. 

 

And while Angell has assembled a crack team of compelling pros to bring the serpentine stomp, he’s the lynchpin of the band, a natural-born front man whose cat-scratch voice is reminiscent of Rod Stewart and Otis Redding. Though love songs such as “When I Fall Apart” and “How It Feels” bare teeth, they are perched on a precipice of vulnerability and sorrow. You don’t doubt the sincerity behind his heartache for one measure. And onstage, well, he’s a writhing, stomping, caterwauling piece of work – no surprise that he was nominated for best male vocalist in the Seattle Weekly. He’s the real item. And so is the Missionary Position. 

 

“Diamonds is swampy, blues-based, soulful guitar rock with enough electronic ripples to lend it a menacing air. It's a modern take on blues, with the occasional haunting chorus in the background, minor chords, metronome-precise rhythms and an arms-open-wide attitude toward electronics, horns, woodwinds, keyboards and feedback. Add Angell's gritty vocals to the mix and the whole album is as dense as a warm front.”  - Amy Atkins – BOISE WEEKLY

 

The Missionary Position's latest full-length, reveals rich, sonically diverse songwriting coupled with emotionally raw performances in all the right places. Although a lot of bluesy rock-and-roll these days is nothing more than a living museum piece, this quartet doesn't seem trapped by tradition. Utilizing atmospheric elements and a broad range of dynamics and textures, Angell and company have created a sound that draws on the familiar and dares to go beyond the boundaries of roots music. Weaving together psychedelia, dream pop and a kind of dark funk that could only have come from the South, the Missionary Position reveals its strength with its frayed roots. - Tom Murphy – DENVER WESTWORD

 

“The Seattle band sounds descended from the same seedy sensibility as Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Morphine and Mark Lanegan”? “Yeah, these dudes are a seething, sexually charged monster of a weird-blooze-rock band” - THE BEND BULLETIN