Good Move

SYNTH CITY: (L-R) Toko Yasuda, John Schmersal and Matt Schulz. Photo By: Brad Miller

Enon U-Hauls it to Philly.

by Nick Sylvester

Let's talk scenes. Especially after all that phoned-in "Psychedelphia" nonsense a few years ago, Indie Rock 215's been willfully fragmented. No allegiances. Maybe a little band-on-band cattiness, too. It's for the best really: Nobody gets nothing done chumming around with every boring guitar band straight outta thrashville. So when Martin Amis says, "Pussies are bullshit, assholes are reality," Philly's right there with the man, a City of Brotherly Assholes that wishes all bands the best and lets them do their own thing — dudes just gotta keep it like a secret though, OK?

Welcome to Philly, Enon. Welcome, singer/guitarist/synth player John Schmersal, the last prophet of '90s Dayton, Ohio, since Bob Pollard started hearing voices. Welcome, synth/bass player Toko Yasuda, no Blonde Redhead comparisons here, pinky swear. Welcome drummer Matt Schulz — no wait, you're the one who didn't move here.

"John and Toko definitely felt stifled by New York," says Schulz, who opted to stay put in Brooklyn for the time being. "When we were in Ohio, there were hours to burn. Now I don't have time to do anything. New York swallows every ounce of you."

Split across six borough lines for two months now, Enon lives the increasingly popular two-city life; the band rehearses in Brooklyn presumably because that's where the drum set is, its principal songwriters reside in Philly because digs are cheap and the scene's satisfyingly anti-scene. No Gang of Four umbrella to fend off, no Billyburg beardclash either. Enon can breathe easy, servile only to Rule Numero Uno of '90s College Rock: Play for yourself, audience comes second. The band's mission is as indie as it gets: "We make the music we wanna listen to," says Schulz.

Enon's latest, Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence, collects their 7-inches and Web-only material released over the last six years. B-sides and rarities comps inevitably become a band's most self-indulgent artifact, but Lost Marbles is as good a place to start with Enon as the rest of their discography. All stops are pulled: There's the slick lounge pop of the Hocus Pocus variety, there's the noisy but tuneful guitar rock reminiscent of the band's prehistoric Dayton daze, and there's even the experimental noodlings that should hit impossible levels of boredom, except here they're sequenced among the songier tracks and work quite well, favorably recalling Throbbing Gristle and the lo-fi tapes of R. Stevie Moore.

And on their upcoming three-week tour in support of Lost Marbles, they'll be joined by Seth Jabour, guitarist of presently defunct Les Savy Fav. That marks the fifth lineup change for Enon, who as a trio have struggled in concert to replicate their records' synth-heavy energy. Like the best '90s indie rock though, the band's committed to being loved on their own terms. Says Schulz, "I have recordings of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy playing in the Village, and there are like 20 people in the audience. And that's like the best music ever. To me it's best if you can be under the radar, if nobody's telling you what to do. You just have to realize you're doing it because you love it."

Enon
Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence (Touch and Go)
The Dayton-via-Brooklyn-via-Philly indie pop-rockers distill six years of one-off sevens and Web-onlys to 16 choice cuts for this B-sides and rarities comp. Led by ex-Brainiac, ex-John Stuart Mill guitarist John Schmersal through four different incarnations, Enon prove they can lounge, noodle and spaz with equal impressiveness. There's a DVD included, too, if you're one of those see-it-to-believe-it types. —Nick Sylvester