Gideon Falls and Traverser

What up mah boy!

Man, this takes me back to my College Magazine days of writing but with significantly less pressure, which is awesome!

This week I have two pop culture recommendations for you: First, some music I think you’d appreciate, and second, a comic series by one of our favorite creators, Jeff Lamire.

Telemetry and Redshift by Traverser

I always thought I would hate the playlist and artist recommendation feature when I switched to Spotify, but funny enough it has become my favorite part of their service.

Without Spotify, I would never have found this gem of a band: Traverser. They’re a progressive rock group that started back in ‘04 in Florida. Their sound reminds me of some of Tool’s heavier tracks like “46 and 2,” or “Vicariously,” with more vague, yet narrative lyrics, similar to Chevelle and Deftones.

So one day at work, I was taking some photos and jamming away as usual, when I saw Spotify had recommended a progressive rock playlist, which was probably due to my multi-week ‘A Perfect Circle’ binge. (Also highly recommended!) All of the songs at the front of the playlist were new, which broke up my usual three albums I put on repeat, but nothing caught my attention. That was, until, “E M D” by Traverser came on. I literally stopped in the middle of the room, stood motionless, and lost myself in the track.

The song opened with a bit of subtle guitar, nothing fancy. But then, a brief pause unloaded into the groovy yet heavy first verse. David Medairos, their lead vocalist, has a very distinct voice that compliments the harmony and edge of their music, very similar to an Ivan Moody or David Draiman. From the time this post goes up, I will probably have averaged one to two full album playthroughs a day of their “Telemetry” album.

I think what was also so entrancing about their music was the variation throughout their songs. “E M D” changes tempo, pauses dramatically, leads into intense builds ups, everything. And best of all, it all blends together into this smooth listening experience with heavy metal head rocking one second, followed by lulling instrumentals and catchy vocals melodies the next.

So in conclusion, they’re freaking dope. Check out Telemetry and Redshift by Traverser!

Gideon Falls Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

I want to say you are already well versed on Gideon Falls, so this recommendation may be more for our readership, but I don’t care. This comic is rad.

Our boy Jeff Lemire (for those unfamiliar) has written quite a number of well-acclaimed comic writer and artist. Some of his other notable works are Essex County, Sweet Tooth, Black Hammer, and others. But in honesty the only one I have read and will keep reading is Gideon Falls.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in Collectivo, reading Gideon Falls Vol. 2, when I noticed that there was this couple that had walked by two or three times to find a spot and get their coffee. But each time, out of the corner of my eye, I could tell that with each pass they were looking at me. I am quite the edgy-looking individual, so I wasn’t too surprised by their staring, but it felt odd. On their final pass, they stopped at my table and asked, “What are you reading?”

To every die-hard comic aficionado out there, please forgive the following ignorance on my part…

“Gideon Falls,” I answered, relieved they were eyeing my comic and not my appearance, “It’s by Jeff Lemire, the guy who worked on Tokyo Ghost,” which is hysterical and sad, because it was in fact produced by Rick Remender and Sean Gordon Murphy...

Their eyes lit up, “Oh, we loved Tokyo Ghost!” (Thankfully, my misstep was completely missed) “We’re always looking for new graphic novels, what’s it like?”

“It’s awesome,” I gushed as I showed off some of the book, drawn by the talented Andrea Sorrentino, “It’s got a strong horror vibe and creepy art.”

They were stoked, “We. Love. Horror. We’ll definitely check it out!”

“Do it!” I laughed, “Gideon Falls by Jeff Lemire. It’s fantastic.”

They laughingly apologized for their gawking. I joked people usually stare at me for my tattoos so it was no big deal, and that was it! A real, live, in the wild pop culture recommendation with two strangers.

If I had been more on top of my recommendation game, I would have also dove into how dark, addicting, and thrilling the narrative is, its amazing yet horrifying art, and the creative panel layouts that are used to portray different surrealist and creepy portions of the story. It is quite a ride.

Gideon Falls is still ongoing, but you can snag volume one and volume two for about $20, and it is well worth the money.

And that’s it! Hopefully you’ll have a chance in the next few weeks to check them out. I’m looking forward to hear your recommendations next week!

Catch you on the Pod,

Josh

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