Underneath a Willow Fading

Sholi, as capture by sarah klinger

Not long after moving to Northern California in 2004, I got talked into walking to a house party following dinner with an acquaintance in downtown Davis. I was reluctant, but I went anyway, convinced I’d only have to stay for 10 or 15 minutes; I ended up wishing I’d gotten there much earlier, because Sholi was only three or four songs away from retiring not only for the night, but for the next two years. I’ve never before or since been as impressed by a band on first listen as I was in that dimly lit, uncomfortably crowded house adjacent to the University of California – Davis. I haven’t seen the band live since then — as I said, it was their last performance for two years, and was held as a going-away show for their former bassist — but I ended up spending numerous hours in that sonically perfect house, practicing for shows with Garrett Pierce, a friend and sometimes-roommate of Sholi’s singer/guitarist, Payam Bavafa.

Since ending their hiatus in 2006 (and adding bassist Eric Ruud, formerly of the Zim-Zims and Legubitron), Sholi has played shows with Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, celebrated avant-garde guitarist Marnie Stern, and Seattle’s experimental jazz/pop outfit The Dead Science, with whom Sholi released a split 7-inch late last year. They’ve also received extremely positive press from the usually dour Pitchfork, as well as the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which called them “mathematically ethereal and strangely danceable.” I would typically consider that sort of description to be complete nonsense, but listen to the mp3’s below and you’ll find out how accurate it actually is. Sholi now reside in San Francisco, and thus within the rapidly expanding (but long stout) Bay Area music scene; this should assure that you’ll hear much more from them in the future.

[mp3] Sholi – Any Other God
From their self-released EP (issued during the band’s hiatus in 2005), Any Other God occupied a spot as daily required listening for me for a few months. While this song has its indie-pop elements, it also has somber, cryptic lyrics and manic-depressive drumming.

[mp3] Sholi – All That We Can See
From the above-mentioned split 7-inch, this song easily represents Sholi’s most accomplished recording to date. The abrupt changes in dynamics, along with lyrics you’d read through in one sitting were they stretched into a novella, interact to create an emotionally exhausting, complex, and ultimately rewarding and impressive piece of music.