Underground Sound - The Helio Sequence

By Max Orenstein
Senior Staff Writer
January 30, 2008

I started to go through a major Kings of Leon phase in 2005. When I heard the band was coming to Philadelphia, I camped outside the Electric Factory the night before tickets went on sale. The show didn't even end up selling out, but I wasn't taking any chances.

When I got to the show, the only thing standing between me and “Taper Jean Girl” were the opening acts: The Secret Machines and some nobody called Helium's Opus or something. It didn't take long for me to find out that The Secret Machines cancelled and some local act was given the opening slot. Perfect—make that two nobodies between me and my Followill fantasy.

I think that local act went by the name of Peppersville. Their performance would have been completely forgettable if it wasn’t for a bizarre ELO cover that left the band's singer gyrating on the stage face down on his stomach. No matches came up when I searched them on Google or MySpace, so I'm assuming the stage-humper is washing dishes at Tony Luke's.

With “Nobody #1” out of the way, I knew I was one step closer to Kings of Leon. However, “Nobody #2” stole the show. It turns out that “Helium’s Opus” is actually The Helio Sequence, a duo from Portland consisting of vocalist/guitarist Brandon Summers and drummer prodigy Benjamin Weikel. Weikel is also responsible for the samples used during their show. After camping out that cold, lonely August evening, I found my reward in an unexpected place. After being blown away by The Helio Sequence, the Kings paled in comparison. The Helio Sequence put on an impressive, spellbinding show that forced Philadelphia to respect them while making the city's ears bleed in the process.

As loud as that show was, the volume can’t take full responsibility for captivating the audience at the Electric Factory that night. Summers deserves credit for being a one-man melody machine, at times playing guitar, harmonica, and singing in one song. But the real star in this band is Weikel, who drums like a man possessed. Arms flailing and tongue wagging, Weikel looks demonic behind the kit. The only thing to suggest that he's not in the grips of Satan is the man's boyish smile through the entire set. It's no surprise that Weikel was drafted by Modest Mouse during Jeremiah Green's stint in rehab.

After self-releasing an EP in 1999, The Helio Sequence released two full-lengths on independent label Cavity Search. When the band was picked up by Sub Pop, it released Love and Distance in 2004 to some critical acclaim. Summers damaged his vocal chords and relearned how to sing using Bob Dylan songs. After a three-year hiatus, the band has recorded an album to be released Jan. 29 titled Keep Your Eyes Ahead. David Sessions of Patrol Magazine says that Summers channels Dylan’s vocal style on the album. On the three new tracks on the band's MySpace page, the vocals are more reminiscent of It Still Moves-era Jim James sung an octave lower. In the spirit of most other recent indie music, the vocals are also soaked in reverb.

Based on the few available tracks, Keep Your Eyes Ahead seems more-than-promising. “Lately” and “Can't Say No” are the best pop songs since The Shins released Wincing the Night Away last year. All the bleeps and bloops are still there, but The Helio Sequence seems to have condensed the formula to a more traditional, focused brand of pop music. The band seems to have abandoned the frenetic drum-solos/guitar jams of Young Effectuals. You'll be hard-pressed to find a song on the new album longer than four and a half minutes. It will be interesting to see if The Helio Sequence can make an early claim for “Best Album of 2008” honors.

orensteinm1@lasalle.edu