By Ben Hill
The Daily Cougar

East Texas has become a breeding ground in recent years for overtly creative musicians, and Texarkana-based band Pilotdrift is, along with occasional tour mates Eisley, leading a virtual restructuring of Texas music, taking it to new and adventurous places.

Set to release its debut album Water Sphere Sept. 20, Pilotdrift is the first band to be signed to Polyphonic Spree ringleader Tim DeLaughter's Good Records. Armed with ambitious tunes, a veritable arsenal of instruments and the talent to pull it all together for a cohesive, enjoyable album, Pilotdrift show an unusual amount of maturity and skill for a virtually unknown band.

 Live, the band makes a habit of switching instruments several times as the song dictates. Vocalist Kelly Carr recalls the dramatic delivery of the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, but similarities to others effectively end there. Basically, this band tells stories and they do it well. The songs are never needlessly obscure or trite, and they challenge the listener to break down and analyze what they're trying to say. 

Pilotdrift also has a knack for writing instrumentals, a trait they displayed with the track "Sails" from their independently released demo Iter Facere. However, Water Sphere's sole instrumental, the elegantly crafted "Comets" is hardly a nerdy workout.

"At the time I was really interested in things of space and how vast it was, the idea of space travel and a different world, and there's a lot of beauty no one ever sees." said Kelly Carr, Pilotdrift's principle songwriter, vocalist and keyboardist. 

"Comets" displays how much the band has matured since releasing its demo. The piece seems to be written for a specific image or scene, taking the listener on a journey to another world and leaving them with a sense of awe. In essence, that's what Water Sphere is about -- wonder and the ability to capture it through music and storytelling. 

The best way to listen to Water Sphere is to imagine the songs as short stories or movies. One of the finest examples of this on the album is "Elephant Island," as much a psychological thriller as an inspiring account of the crew of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's doomed ship Endurance. A true story, "Elephant Island" tackles several themes, from insanity to enduring faith by recounting different scenes of the crew's story. Stranded on the frigid Antarctic island for 105 days, the crew nearly starved to death waiting for Shacklton to return and rescue them. With a little imagination, the listener can vividly see the events of the story playing out. As they are waiting, the crew experiences certain setbacks, which the band illustrates by layering an eerie, calliope-driven waltz under Carr's cinematic lyrics and acoustic guitar. They build to two dramatically unnerving choruses and suddenly, they abruptly shift tempo, busting into a jazzy circus-like jam as the crew comes dangerously close to insanity. 

But as quickly as the madness began, the band brings the listener back to reality, for Shackleton returns, keeping his promise to the crew. The song is Carr's baby; he went to great lengths to ensure that the events and dialogue were historically accurate, by doing painstaking research and editing.

Many of the songs seem to have rather shallow or morbid meanings at first glance. For example, several reviewers have made the mistake of thinking "Caught In My Trap" is about cannibalism because of the lyric "I eat humans / I'll eat your heart out." But Carr confides that the song's meaning is much deeper. 

"Sometimes things we think are good turn out to be bad, and things we think are bad turn out to be good." While simplistic, it's a sentiment that most can relate to in one way or another. "Caught In My Trap" is about a person or being that has ensnared, through deception, those that embraced them. The band carries the listener through the calculated deception, bringing the song to a crescendo as the trap is sprung and the deceiver is revealed. 

The band isn't all doom and gloom, however. "Late Night In A Wax Museum" is a fun tale about what happens when the lights go off and the doors are locked. The song is tinged with a bit of Japanese influence before the band spins it into a flourishing piece of psychedelic pop with just a touch of free jazz. "Bubblecraft" and "Rings of Symbols" continue in a similar vein, as each is intelligently written and pleasant. 

Carr writes lyrics that are able to extract a greater meaning out of an existing story, a talent he puts to good use in "Jekyll and Hyde Suite". The song doesn't simply retell Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, but rather prods man's uncanny capacity to indulge in all manners of evil, despite his best attempts to do the right thing. 

Water Sphere announces the arrival of an important new band with a different take on things. Employing everything from Victorian science fiction, personal contemplation and daydreams to present a fresh approach to musical creation, Pilotdrift bypassed the formulaic methods of the recording industry and have created something truly special.

Pilotdrift

Watersphere

Good Records