Arts & Entertainment

Spotlight: Critical Space Item

The four-man band recently gave a performance at Crank Coffee House in Kennesaw.

It's a Friday night at , and Critical Space Item is on the mic. A group of about 15 fans and patrons watch the Atlanta-based band's acoustic performance, a mellowed-down version of their normally blaring sound. Some members of the crowd tap their feet to the syncopated rhythms of the drums, while others listen quietly or sip on Nicaraguan coffee, served up by Crank owner Mike Rincon.

Meanwhile, lead singer Joshua Smith plays guitar and croons into the mic, pushing the bridge of his glasses to signal the end of each song. One thing's for sure: he's not afraid of his own voice.

Smith's singing resonates unapologetically, while Richard Chavez on drums provides the beat, adding emphasis to the words, then switching things up and skimming, skipping, even settling into those in-between-spaces of the music. John O'Reagan on bass guitar provides some deep accents, while Aidan Moufat has some shining moments on guitar.

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Original songs "Baltimore," "Einstein," "The Requirement" and "The Vitriol Underground" share a kind of calculated chaos, with melancholy melodies succumbing to frenzied bursts of sound and energy, before sliding back into the groove again.

Melodies simultaneously converge and compete, ultimately resulting in the layering of a cohesive sound.

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The band notes the influences of musicians like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and  Radiohead and describes their own sound as "intelligent rock."

Smith says the band strives to do the "sort of music that makes you kind of have to sit there and think about it."

Self-described "geeks," the band jokes that they're just "a little bit pretentious."

Band members Chavez and O'Reagan played together previously in a band called The Ivory Method, but all four members united about a year and a half ago to form Critical Space Item. The diverse group of band-mates consists of a chemist, an engineer at a radio station, a hospital employee and a computer shop worker.

The chemistry of the band is palpable, as they joke, tease and even finish each other's sentences. The band members note that their personalities share a “similarly vicious" sarcastic quality.

Critical Space Item practices regularly, is in the process of recording a couple EPs and welcomes opportunities to perform.

But, says Chavez, "We don’t have any delusions of grandeur.”

Smith adds that at the end of the day, the band aims to write music and "do something that feels artistically solid.”

“Pretty much the goal is to play music for people who come out to coffee houses like this," says Smith.

Of course, band members say they're open to any opportunities that may come their way. In the mean time, they'll keep playing whenever they get the chance.

The band wraps up the evening with a cover of "When the Music's Over" by The Doors.

"For the music is your special friend. Dance on fire as it intends. Music is your only friend. Until the end, until the end, until the end."


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