It’s reassuring to see Albuquerque’s music scene bustling in a time of prosperity, creativity and inspiration; a golden age seemingly made possible by numerous independent labels and venues sprouting up by the numbers, helping each other co-exist.
Local band Five Mile Float, has situated themselves on the forefront of this cultural wave, riding the line between familiarity and originality that allows their music to satisfy multiple tastes effortlessly.
Their lineup includes vocalist/guitarist Zack Block, drummer Matt Ehasz, guitarist Kirk Lehman, keyboardist Nick Melville and bassist Carlo Fourzan.
Block and Ehasz jumped on the scene in 2012 as the grunge punk trio Weird A. Heavily inspired by Nirvana, the act played various house shows and concerts, even BelenFest at one point, before splitting up at the beginning of 2014.
“Five Mile Float formed with all of us knowing each other in one way or another,” Block said. “I met Matt through Kirk, and they went to the same middle school together. It was something different from Weird A, and that’s what we needed. Summer of 2014 is when it all came together.”
The first iteration of Five Mile Float was a 4-piece with Block and Ehasz as the core members. They released their first EP “Shiloh” that solidified a new indie-pop sound, relying more on melody and chord progressions instead of a riff-oriented grunge style.
Last year proved to be a big year for the young group; they recorded their first demo and album, signed to Duke City Sound Records, and lost two other members of the band in just a few months. Block commented on the transitional period that year, acknowledging the process of developing their sound over multiple line-ups.
“It was still Five Mile Float back then, that was the original version of it. In fact it was more of a transition to make the band with our current line-up than it was to start fresh. After getting new members we didn’t know if we were gonna change the name, we didn’t really want to,” Block said.
“When we ended Weird A, we kind of had an idea for our sound,” Ehasz said. “With our current situation now, with Five Mile Float, I think we achieved that goal. Our latest album exemplifies that sound.”
That album, “a colour,” was released in April by Duke City Sound Records, crafted with the addition of Lehman, Melville and Fourzan to the band.
“A colour” features a plethora of styles and instrumentation; keys, clarinets, violins and even kazoos weave in and out of the album’s 32-minute run time. Songs often change from upbeat clap-your-hands jams (Loose Interpretations, Where Did We Go) to slower, more thoughtful arrangements of reflection (Morning Light, February 29th).
Now that their debut album is released, Five Mile Float will be embarking on a two-week long west coast tour hitting cities in Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon and California. Armed with their instruments and merchandise, the band plans to represent Albuquerque across the coast and help put their city on the map.
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The tour starts with a kick-off show at Duke City Sound Stage here in Albuquerque on Saturday featuring bands such as Right On, Kid! and Treehouse Basement. Tickets are $5.
Check out Five Mile Float online at fivemilefloat.bandcamp.com
Audrin Baghaie is a culture reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
