On The Stairs – Beyond a Shadow of A Doubt

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Many of you, faithful readers, will remember last summer’s end, when I gushed about a hand-made demo EP by a band called On the Stairs. Ah, 2009. Doesn’t it all seem like so long ago? Ages, yes. So much has happened. We’re all now so much older, hopefully wiser, and living such different lives here in the ‘10… On the Stairs’ first full length record, Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt is good evidence of that. The release finds the band full-grown and brimming with a sonic richness that was entirely absent on the bare-bones EP. From the opener, “Already Won,” we’ve got droning, sitar-like sounds, crashing gongs, and angelic choruses. Clearly, we’re dealing with a different animal altogether.

My one lament for the Demo EP was it’s brevity, and thankfully Beyond… is a truly generous offering. Even the three of the 11 tracks that overlap are here completely re-imagined, re-recorded and with new arrangements. The centerpiece from the EP, “King,” has been garnished with some 10,000 lb strings and sighing female vocals. The new version of “Chosen” goes out swinging with a brilliant horn section, just in time to startle you out of contemplation of it’s dark lyrical subject.

The newcomers shine too: the frenetic clacking rhythm of “When the Dust Comes Down” or the dancing-ballerina-music-box guitars that hinge the crystalline closing of “Isn’t It Funny” come immediately to mind. It’s more than just instrumentation too; from the crowd-noises opening “Sing it Off Stage” to the appropriately angelic choirs of “Heaven,” Beyond… is a complex and beautifully layered record. You can sense going into it just how much energy and effort was spent to get these songs just where they should be, and for the vast majority, it has paid off tremendously.

-ET
3/21/10