Equals

Equals is a band from Texas. The music is dramatic, yet joyous and playful. The songs may sound simple at first, but complexity shines through after careful listening. Every song is meticulously thought out and arranged by bassist Alex Guzman, drummer Matt Toman, keyboardist Logan Wexler and guitarists Dylan Storey and Simon McDonald. Every part of each song, from the angular pulsing rhythms to the crisp, eclectic samples, has a purpose. The organic elements interweave with the synthetic elements, providing texture and layers that are f**king hard to pull off live. Click tracks be damned, they fearlessly recreate multi-layered loops and samples, gracefully operating on the bleak notion that one wrong move can end a song in failure. Equals executes flawlessly, with character behind every note. For Equals' debut full-length album “Tracts”, they joined producer Alex Bhore (This Will Destroy You) in the studio, recording nine songs, an expansion to their 2011 debut self-titled EP. The songs flow together, providing the soundtrack to a journey that feels forthcoming, unrealized until the final track. Unlike the EP, the album was recorded in one place at Cacophony Recorders in Austin and mixed at Elmwood Studios in Dallas, giving it a more cohesive sound. Working with Bhore again, their new offering is larger, more energetic, with a unique sonic palette of strings, glockenspiel, piano, analog synthesizers, various percussion instruments, field recordings and even vocals. "Tracts" has a bounty of subtle music treats that the members painstakingly buried beneath solid foundations. All these elements, and various other influences, from R&B to folk music, make up the band’s sound, but trying to define Equals' music is like trying to define the five band members as one personality.