Utility - Bull In The Shop
PREMIERE | UTILITY RELEASES PRIMORDIAL ‘BULL IN THE SHOP’
Indie-rock outfit Utility unveil the music video for “Bull In The Shop,” the lead single from their recently dropped self-title debut album.
Utility
Based in Portland, Oregon, Utility is made up of Adam Draper (drums) and Ryan Heise (vocals, bass). Prior to hooking up to form Utility, Heise played with System and Station, and Last Giant, while Draper played with Down Gown and Swim Swam Swum.
Utility exploits the muscle of pure dominating rhythm, dispensing with the obsession for complication as an end in itself. They strip their sound down to the bare bone, reducing it to minimalist components, and then boil the components down to condensed sonic slag. From there they plug it in, turn it up, and let it loose.
“Bull In The Shop” opens on a skintight drum shuffle joined by a thick rattling bassline ramped up to Jovian levels, grinding, crunching, and dirty to the max. Heise’s voice drips with hints of nonchalant declarative causality and drawling sneering scorn reminiscent of Billy Squier.
“Tell us a story make it a gas / The plot should distract us from seeing the truth / You abuse / Tying the knots tight we will never undo / Setting the standards your building the proof / Set for destruction bull in the shop / Gone and lost.”
The raw surging tones of the tune pulverize the atmosphere with graft-job mutated oomph.
A tight squawking breakdown demonstrates the range of Heise’s bass, from cavernous and vibrating to pulled-straight, high, and strident. The raw surging tones of the tune pulverize the atmosphere with graft-job mutated oomph.
The video, directed by Brian Nelson, depicts Heise and Draper strategizing the making of the video on a whiteboard. Heise, supercharged with excitement, is into it, while Draper is unconvinced and leery of the whole thing. Donning his sword-wielding Barbarian king costume, Heise struts and swaggers, postures and poses, as Draper plays air drums. Finally, Draper succumbs to the magnetic attraction of make-believe, and dons his ninja costume, replete with nunchaku. Totally tongue-in-cheek, the video is lighthearted and fun.
Explaining the video, Ryan Heise says, “The director, Brian Nelson, and I grew up in Idaho. We always joke how we were one pasture away from each other back when Boise was considered the sticks. We skateboarded, built ramps, played music and mostly came up with stupid shit that made us laugh. Fast forward to adulthood and we’re still into stupid shit that makes us laugh except he lives in LA and makes TV shows and I am in Portland making Rock and Roll. When we storyboarded for the video we knew Adam would be a perfect straight man so we thought the slow build of his character would be hilarious. I wanted to be the Laurel to his Hardy or the Shep to his Moe. The conflict of blind enthusiasm to ridged reluctance can be really funny, at least to us. We hope you enjoy!”
“Bull In The Shop” releases rumbling visceral harmonics from the center of the abyss, riding Thor-like pounding drums, capped by Heise’s evocative voice.
