I used to think Acker were some type of post-rock band. Time, however, has revealed them to be not just an “abridged post-rock band” as I labeled them before but a much more singular thing than anything else I’ve ever seen come out of C-U. It’s hard to even keep track of them because they don’t mingle with any particular crowd around town. The punks like ‘em. The bar scene likes ‘em. Basically anyone who’s seen Acker in the flesh is immediately drawn to those riveting instrumental jams of theirs.
I’d imagine their recent Pygmalion set at the Exile on Main St outdoor stage has only gained them more fans. It was a hot day, in the scorching sunlight, and with, of all things, a train running by behind them. Although it probably wasn’t best sound-wise (although arguably the clanking train noises sounded neat mixed in with the music), the train served as a visual expression of the way Acker sounds. Perhaps not a modern freight train, but a chugging steam engine, interlocking gears and parts perfectly aligned and working together to reach a point of chaos while still staying on track with each other.
Drawn-out metaphors aside: Acker’s Pygmalion Festival set was one of my favorites, and I could tell the band, though sweaty, was really into it too.
“I was so focused on what everyone was playing, I didn’t hear the train,” said Michael Kramer, guitarist. “I was dead serious, I could barely hear myself, but I could not hear the train at all.”
Staying focused is something Acker is forced to do when they get together to play. Since two of its members have moved away from the C-U area, their time for writing, practicing and playing is limited.
“It gives everything this sense of urgency, like we only have this much time to do something so how do we make the most of that time?” said Constantin Roman, guitarist.
Roman is moving to Philidelphia soon, which makes everything the band does even more crucial. This next record, this next tour could be the last things they ever do, so they’re trying to do it right—recording and pressing of a full-length album and touring this coming January.
“We all lived in Champaign-Urbana for five months and we kinda wrote three songs, and then as soon as we all split up, we actually really started working,” said Jeremy Marsan, drummer. “So, I think with Constantin moving to Philidelphia it’s like, if we really do wanna keep doing stuff, even if we just meet up for, 72 hours a year, we’ll make that time count.”
Although the far future is uncertain for Acker, right now they are focusing on raising money via a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording and pressing of their new album. It’s a way for them to test the waters in terms of how much listeners really want to hear more music. Kramer described it as “taking a bet on what [Acker’s] done so far.”
Judging by the good reception and support they received on the last tour, the band decided it was worth a shot to use Kickstarter to raise money for a professional recording session at Earth Analog Studios in Champaign, and to press the album on vinyl. “They’ll take care of all the logistics and mechanics and let us focus on what we know best how to do: play our stuff,” said Dan Walton, cellist.
“We have to work the whole time. We can’t drink, we can’t get drunk, we can’t say dumb shit, we have to do as much as we can to get things finished. And when we record it’s going to be the same thing, we just have to nail anything, which is fine. I’m ready for it,” Kramer said.
The songs were all written this past summer with the band “jacked up on coffee” in Roman’s basement, according to Marsam. From what I’ve heard, the new songs are going to be a powerful build on Acker’s first recording EP1.
“I’m doing a lot more explicitly melodic material, playing the kind of [cello] lines that, I hope, people go away humming,” Walton said. And live, just by virtue of playing an ‘unusual’ instrument, I feel like I play the vocal role of a focal point for audience attention in a lot of parts.”
The band agrees that Walton’s cello, if anything, becomes the central focus of their songs and also visually, the most energetic player in their live performances.
“Vocals are often primarily about emotional communication, and that’s what I strive for in my playing,” Walton said.
And as Roman modestly pointed out, “Are any of us really cute enough to be a lead singer?”
While the answer to that may be subjective Acker has truly perfected the art of packing enough complexity and sound into their songs that singing isn’t something anyone who hears them really tends to think about. Listeners can rest assured that Acker is a group of four guys doing nothing more than making the best music they possibly can.
Acker are playing a show Saturday night at 10 p.m. at the Institute 4 Creativity. Come out and see if they’re worth backing on Kickstarter.