That's the approach that Denver psych group Sqwerv took on its latest EP, Hors D'oeuvres Part 1, which the four-piece will share on Friday, April 5, during a release show at Globe Hall. Midland Band and Tomato Soup are also on the bill.
The three songs on the new, bite-sized offering are all instrumentals, notes guitarist Guy Frydenlund, and are shorter than the typical Sqwerv offering. But then, the release serves as the first of three EPs that will become a longer, full-length once everything is out by June.
The lyricless approach is “totally different for us,” Frydenlund says, but it allowed the bandmates, who all live under the same roof, to let their instruments do more of the talking this time. “We’ve only released one or two instrumental tunes total, so it was a fun direction to go,” he explains. “We were aiming for a psychedelic, chill, more introspective album that really just focused on the vibe and the texture.”
The fact that Frydenlund, bassist Caden Kramer, keys player Jack Marty and drummer Zach Bulgarelli didn’t even need to leave their living-room practice space helped set that tone, too. As a result, Hors D'oeuvres Part 1 feels more like a live record. “We wanted to record one in our house, because it was more suited for the live feel," Frydenlund says.
“One hard thing to do when you’re recording a fully produced album in the studio is keep that live connection between the musicians and have that translate through the recording,” he continues. “Being able to actually play the songs together at the same time let us just feed off of each other.”
That’s not necessarily new to the foursome — for proof, just listen to the band’s four live albums. But the EP focuses more on “simplistic compositions,” according to Frydenlund, who also handles vocals for Sqwerv. “It’s just genuine expressions of our music and not trying to be too technical on this album,” he adds.
The songs — “Jada,” “Honolulu Blue” and “Miami” — are short, soothing island jams, while will give the upcoming concert a tropical vibe. “We got a whole bunch of fun surprises for this show to make it beach-themed,” Frydenlund hints.
The next two servings of Hors D'oeuvres will be released in May and June, and share a similar length to the first. But the plan is for each to have its own concept. “The second part is much more psychedelic. It’s going to be a little bit heavier and drippier in your more classic, psychedelic-rock thing,” Frydenlund explains.
“The third piece is a bit more experimental," he adds. "There are some weird time signatures, some altered drum sounds and some freeform-of-consciousness-type lyrics. There’s a very long meditation track on that one. It’s just some cool stuff happening with those ones.”
The overarching idea is for each EP to stand on its own, but also “be part of a bigger picture," he says.
The four roommates wanted to see if they could reel it back and write shorter songs.
Courtesy Sqwerv
“We like doing both of those things. We enjoy a crazy, complex Phish song, but we also really like simple Khruangbin or Mac DeMarco tracks,” Frydenlund says, adding that he and his Sqwerv mates are “surprised at how much we’ve come to love” the music put down on the EPs.
“We’re a band that plays long, ten-minute songs on stage with extended improvisational sections,” he continues. “We were like, we need some shorter songs just for ourselves, just to have a breather in a long set.”
Not having to sing over them allows Frydenlund to “channel all of that emotion into a main guitar line as opposed to the lyrics,” he adds.
The three latest songs probably won’t sound much different from the stage than on the record, at least for this initial show, but there’s a good chance Sqwerv will stretch them out at some point. “The thing is, the beauty of these songs is they have room to extend,” Frydenlund says. “But we wanted the EP to be short and sweet and leave you wanting more.”
That's one way that Sqwerv lets “the music do the talking” live, and is indicative of the band’s growth since it got together in 2017.
“We really try to focus on making a genuine connection with our audience, music and ourselves, and not try to do too much. I think that’s all representative in this new music,” Frydenlund concludes. “We can find the beauty in something that seems simpler. It’s a little bit harder to reel it back. We spend so much time honing our craft and becoming better musicians and you want to display those things on stage, but sometimes the music doesn’t call for that and it’s actually better to just let your true voice speak.”
Sqwerv, 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, Globe Hall, 4483 Logan Street. Tickets are $17.
