The Narrator started as the brainstorm of singer and guitarists Jesse Woghin and Sam Axelrod back earlier this decade, and recruited former Downriver native James Barron on bass, the band was mostly set in their lineup. After parting ways with their original drummer, The Narrator recruited drummer Kevin Vlack to take on the skins job full time. The band records on the label that Woghin created, Flameshovel Records and have put back records out on the label.

Hoping to avoid the creative sophomore slump, the Narrator invokes memories of groups like the Cure, the Pixies and the Violent Femmes when listening to the record. The leadoff track “Son of the Son of the Kiss of Death” may be a mouthful to say, but the song moves with an urgency that you can hear throughout the record. The Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes lead singer) similarities can be heard on the tracks “All the Tired Horses,” but becomes a fuller voice on the next track “Start Parking.” A standout track on the record is “Papal Airways,” with its “woo-woo-hoo” chorus which makes for a enticing moment of the album.

The Narrator is whipping through dates throughout the month of June, with them running through the Midwest in the next few weeks. The band is playing the Lager House this Wednesday, June 27th, before ending up with a three night stand in Chicago in July. So, if you are downtown on Wednesday and have seen the Detroit fireworks too many times (or haven’t), go check out The Narrator instead. It might just be the wisest decision you make that night.

The Narrator will be at the Lager House on Wednesday, June 27^th. Tickets are available at the door.