The Wrens are the modest indie band responsible for the perfection of the power pop melody. The Wrens are those guys who made that album that helped you through that bad breakup. The Wrens are that spunky lab who got lost in the wilderness on your family's last camping trip to the Poconos. The Wrens are the very same lab that spent seven years in the wilds of Pennsylvania, trekking through nature trails, wandering down smelly alleys and finally making its way back on to the well paved sidewalks of suburbia and the steps of your front porch.
Granted, that spunky dog has aged, but it's learned some valuable life lessons and some nasty layered harmonies in the process. Needless to say, these guys have been around.
Not only can the Wrens lay claim to two critically acclaimed albums, they can also boast one of the most longstanding careers in the industry. Their album Secaucus came out before most of us even hit puberty. Some of those incredibly hormonal individuals might have been right in the middle of it. Nevertheless, it was a long time ago.
Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Charles Bissell, spewing his rakish voice all over the microphone, and backed by guitarist Greg Whelan, bassist/vocalist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonnell, they have been making music since the late '80s. In 2003, they released a triumphant sigh of an album, The Meadowlands, after a seven-year dry spell. The Meadowlands offered up the hit "This Boy is Exhausted" as well as the popular b-side "Ex-Girl Collection."
While their first album, the aforementioned Secaucus, resonated with the youth and vibrancy of aforementioned spunky lab, The Meadowlands introduced a certain jaded quality to the pounding riffs and melodic hooks that, rather than make them seem like over the hill rock stars, immortalized their status as one of indie's original rock bands.
On Friday the The Wrens will be playing at the Black Cat in D.C. The show starts at 9:30, and tickets are $10. The opening acts for the night include Army of Me and The Upwelling.
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