by Roger Kuhn
Pleistocene is a punk rock band from Rochester, NY. They just came out with a new album Spear in August. When I listen to Pleistocene, I’m reminded of my favorite early 80’s CBGB-era bands: The Pretenders, The B-52’s, The Go-Go’s, The Ramones, and Blondie. Some people call Pleistocene “pop.” They are not. Does Pleistocene make you dance? Yes. Is Pleistocene a modern top 40 radio, Billboard pop chart, back tracked, synthetic bubble gum factory? Why don’t you hit the bricks and then tell me.
Pleistocene are real people who rock. Hard. They’re as down to earth as human beings get. They hang out at all the Rochester dives and drink at the bar like everybody else. If you met them out on some regular old, city-that-always-sleeps kinda night in Rochester, you’d walk away thinking “Wow; those people are really great and easy to talk to. I hope I run into them again sometime soon.” I’ve found that those poised for greatness are the real people. The non-pretentious. The everyday, struggling, working for a living, making the scene like everybody else, do-it-yourself rock n’ rollers.
But there’s one major thing that set Pleistocene apart from the pack. Their music. Pleistocene’s new album Spear is ready for mass production. It’s raw. It’s dancey. It’s trippy and surfy and heavy and doesn’t really care if you like it or not. But how could you not? Seriously. Spear is an angry beast. It’s a work of modern musical art few have come close to creating themselves. Spear changes stations through time like a radio dial on seek. From new wave sounds, to punk, to garage rock, to grunge, to the most beautiful love song you’ve ever heard, to hardcore punk.
Spear is a statement for the 21st century. It screams “(Fuck you! Fuck You!) I’m alive and trying to make it. I’m working my ass off for rock n’ roll SO DANCE (mutherfuckers)!” If lead singer/songwriter/rhythm guitar/piano player Katie Preston was making music in NYC at CBGB, you would have heard of her before Deborah Harry, or Chrissie Hynde. Preston and newly recruited vocalist Cammy Enaharo are superstars.
Lead guitarist Erick Perrine, bass player Matt Werts, and drummer Steve Roessner are as versatile and mega-super talented as musicians get; weaving in and out of changing styles, rhythms, and song structures without missing a note. Ever. Pleistocene is ready for the big time people.