The members of the Timeout Drawer they knew it was time for a change. Something new, something where their voices could be heard — literally. No more restrained instrumentals — the new project would be full-bore, with emotion at the fore. So began Beak, the progressive-metal band that rose from the ashes of one of the city’s long-running instrumental bands. After starting anew in 2010, the quartet members are invigorated, working fast to try and meet their goals as band — to make up for lost time, says bassist Jason Goldberg. The band has just released its first proper recording, “Eyrie,” a concept record. Goldberg talked about the ideas behind it.
Q: Explain a little about the evolution of your sound from where you were to where you are on this recording.
A: We were really trying to carry our sound from Timeout Drawer, which was instrumental post-rock, and we all got a little, I guess, impatient with ourselves and that sound and being instrumental, it felt self-centered in this strange way. We felt like we had aggression built up — and as Timeout Drawer, we got heavier through years and as the albums progressed, that was sort of leading up to this. With Beak it’s a reincarnation of sorts. We wanted a heavier sound and vocals. That’s what has been inside for a few years and we were just locked into this other thing; this is license to break away and seek new territory and still maintain (that) same adventurous feel, a storytelling feel that we had in Timeout Drawer — even though we are a metal band, a rock band, it still retains a progressive guideline.
Q: Timeout Drawer had a really esoteric sound, you could have gone anywhere with it — why metal?
A: It’s liberating. Sitting around making mellower music, we found we have something to scream about.
Q: What makes you want to scream?
A: For us, it’s the battle with time, realizing as time goes on, as you get older you start having better perception that time will crush every one of us.
Q: Are you talking about death?
A: Yes, but more like, everything will be laid to dust, death of everything. We’re all pretty up there — our late 30s and early 40s …
Q: I think “pretty up there” is in years is more like 80 or 90.
A: (Laughs) You’re right, I mean, more like we’re pretty old to be starting over with a band. To be still struggling and pushing on and making a stand for ourselves. With Beak, we are starting over and it’s such a shift, and while the ideas are the same and writing style is the same, there’s a much different sound, so even old fans might be perplexed at how heavy it’s become, we might not keep them. So Beak is also about our own battle with time. And maybe the louder we are, the louder we scream, the better chance we have to be heard.
Q: And how does time fit into the concept of the record?
A: It’s central to it. The theme of the record, “Eyrie,” is about the passing of kings, of powerful figures, and about how no matter how powerful or large of a figure, time will do away with what they have built.
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When: 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont Ave.
Tickets: $10 (21+); beatkitchen.com
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