From the way brothers Peter Mathias '09 and Teddy Mathias '09 readily finish each other's sentences, you would never guess that there was ever any conflict between them. Back in the early days of Filligar, however, the young brothers fought over which one of them would get to play drums in their newly formed band.
"I remember we went and sat in front of the director of the band in elementary school and both had a shot trying out to play drums," Teddy Mathias said. "I didn't like it at all."
It's a good thing they resolved these differences early on. Filligar, the indie rock product of three Dartmouth students -- the brothers Johnny Mathias '11, Pete Mathias '09, and Teddy Mathias '09 -- and Hamilton College senior Casey Gibson, has since created four studio albums, quickly drawing attention in the blogosphere and print media.
Filligar began when the Mathias brothers were in elementary school in Chicago. The brothers shared an interest in music, and realized it was more fun to play together than alone.
Their friend Casey Gibson joined in, and the quartet started recording on a four-track tape recorder and printing their own CD labels with the computer program Jewel CD Creator.
"We decided one time to try to record ourselves, and I remember listening to that and thinking it was the coolest thing ever," Pete Mathias said. "It was just a really fun thing to do, so we decided to keep at it."
With their new album, "Near or Far" (2008) Filligar adds to its impressive list of accomplishments for a band of full-time students.
The group is often compared to another Ivy League-affiliated indie band, the Columbia University-based Vampire Weekend, which was named 2008's "The Year's Best New Band" by Spin Magazine.
In March 2008 the Chicago Sun-Times described Filligar as "a favorite local brother act" with "poetic lyrics, keyboard arpeggios and genteel but winning melodies," and in April, a posting on IvygateBlog.com prophesied that "Filligar has the chops to explode into the next big thing."
Even with these supportive reviews, the band's future is uncertain. What is clear, though, is that "Near or Far" is a solid release, better than many recent indie releases by better-known bands.
Funky and danceable on beat-driven tracks like "Hounds," quietly contemplative on the piano ballad "Boat Tours" and powerfully introspective on "Nightfall," "Near of Far" maintains a bittersweet, summertime tone throughout that integrates the singles into a unified album.
The Mathias brothers insist that this coherency happened organically. Peter points to the effect of environment on the song-writing process.
"It has very much to do with the room you're in," Mathias said. "We wrote this album in the woods of Michigan, and there's a kind of a vibe on the album that's very different than if this album were written in a basement in Chicago."
Relaxed as they may be, Filligar keeps the tempo in control from opener "No I Won't" to closing track "Hounds."
The natural feeling of the album comes through on "Lot Six." Opening with a twinkling piano line, guitars slowly crescendo until the drums and bass raise the energy level.
Describing childhood adventures -- "biking to the fence, and we were trespassing again" -- the track screams summertime.
Lighthearted lyrics such as these do not change the fact that this is a musically sophisticated album. Guitar parts drift in and out as the piano pushes to the forefront and recedes. The result is not only catchy but also well organized and thoughtfully arranged.
The instrumentation keeps the track under control, corralling the emotional weight of lines such as: "But if you sweeten up the truth, then you sweeten up a tooth that you'll lose."
"No I Won't" opens the record with a romping but balanced combination of distorted synths and rock guitars. The interplay between Johnny on guitar and Gibson on keyboards remains consistent throughout the album.
"One of the Regulars," a catchy tune with perhaps the most infectious guitar hook on the record, and "Hounds" are also marked by excellent balance between guitar and synth.
This collaboration between guitar and keyboards, however, comes at the expense of ensemble balance: Some tracks have too much treble and the overly subtle use of bass weakens the overall effect.
A notable exception to this occurs in "Hounds," where a thumping bass-driven pulse opens the track before a surprising electric section settles it down again.
This interlude ends just before it starts to sound gimmicky, yielding to the pulsating bass's powerful return.
"Boat Tours," featuring only vocals and piano, is a transparent attempt to diversify Filligar's sound. While this effort is laudable, and "Boat Tours" is a solid track musically with well-conceived piano flourishes and respectable vocals, it fails to highlight Filligar's versatility on "Near or Far" but rather saps energy from an otherwise upbeat album.
Despite some minor shortcomings, the command of dynamics, rhythmic shifts, fusion of rock and electric music and seamless interplay between the guitar and piano elevate Filligar from campus darlings to legitimate musical professionals.
"Near or Far" was released on Oct. 8 and is available in stores and on iTunes.
