Frontier(s)

Chris Higdon’s new musical identity was forged in a different time than his last and most appreciated project, the ethereal indie band Elliott. And it shows in unexpected ways.Where Elliott songs were abstract art, Frontier(s) songs are punk-tinged rock. Elliott songs were all structured rhythms and ambient sounds (timed with a click-track during shows) playing behind Higdon’s soft, haunting voice. Frontier(s) songs are aggression and guitar, and Higdon howls like he hasn’t since he sang for Falling Forward, the quintessential Louisville melodic hardcore band in the early ’90s.“There’s an anger when you’re 15 or 16, and there’s a different anger when you’re in your 30s,” he said.“You can still have these feelings, but you have a better idea of the realities of the world. I have a lot of problems with a lot of music these days. It’s so overly structured. I think my main goal was to make music that was very honest.”Goodbye, click-track. Hello, raging guitars.Higdon had planned to start Frontier(s) in 2003 while winding down Elliott, which had enjoyed as good a run as any Louisville band to that point.Elliott — which included future Wax Fang drummer Kevin Ratterman and future Broken Spurs guitarist Benny Clark — released three well-received LPs on Revelation Records and cultivated followers both here and abroad. But that success required devotion from its members, and Higdon’s life since high school was wholly dedicated to Falling Forward and Elliott.“Definitely, those two bands were my life,” Higdon said. “And I had to ask whether I wanted a band to be my life, or did I want a band to be part of my life? Frontier(s) is going to be as big in my life as it wants to be, but I’m not going to stop paying rent to go out on tour.”Instead of rushing into his new project, Higdon recruited bassist Bryan Todd and began writing songs. Meanwhile, he got used to life outside of a band — he got married and started a photography business.Besides, it took years to find the right lineup, which now includes former Enkindels guitarist Matt Wieder and drummer Eagle Barber. The quartet wrote songs that channeled Higdon’s adult frustrations, yielding a set that is as much Fugazi as Elliott.Launched this spring, Frontier(s) recorded songs this summer at Ratterman’s Funeral Home studio. The band hasn’t settled on a venue to release those tunes — an LP, several seven-inches or an EP are all possible. And touring will happen, eventually. For now, your next chance to see Frontier(s) will be Nov. 5 at Cahoots.Higdon is aware that the music industry shifted during his five-year sabbatical, and finding a way to release and support the new music is the challenge.“It’s funny — it’s almost like things have gone full circle. Now, it’s almost like, ‘Do I need a label at all?” -Joseph Lord Velocity October 20, 2008