This is my 100th article for Everything Is Noise, and that is cause for some reflection. In my time writing here, exploring new albums, songs, videos, and reflecting on past albums or year-end lists, I have found a lot of music to be excited about. Each week it is a joy to dig through releases and find new sounds to geek out about, but at least for myself, a lot of these albums and artists connect to me on a personal level. Not only have I been a lifelong music fanatic, but the connection I feel to my favorite albums is more than analytical. They speak to me on a deeper level, connecting parts of my subconscious, long held beliefs, new ideas, and memories to something new. It never gets old.
Earlier this month, I got to review an album that made that kind of personal connection: A Thousand Years In Another Way by Brooklyn’s Activity. In that review, I focused on how Activity, while making slick and dense art-rock, connected to some nostalgia, sonic touchstones that linger in my brain from decades of being a music nerd reimagined and channeled through their own unique sound. A Thousand Years In Another Way rocketed itself to the upper echelons of my ongoing album-of-the-year list, and though the year was only halfway over, the impact this album has had on me is going to carry on for a long time.
It was this way when I was first introduced to Activity, before A Thousand Years In Another Way was released. I got to see them on tour for their previous album, Spirit In The Room. I left that show with both of their albums, so impressed by their music and performances. Yet, despite this album’s grace, charm, character, and arresting, immersive atmosphere, It isn’t getting the press and attention it deserves. So, it is my pleasure to add more words to the cause by showcasing Activity as our Weekly Featured Artist this week. The reason I write about music is to share my love of lesser-known bands, and it is absurd that Activity isn’t being talked about more. So, my 100th article is dedicated to them.
Activity is Travis Johnson (vocals, guitars, synths, programming), Brianna DiGioia (vocals, bass), Jess Rees (vocals, guitar, synths), with Steven Levine and Brian Alverez playing drums on the album and live, respectively. Travis says of the band’s origin:
‘We formed in late 2018. Steve and I had a band before called Grooms, and I didn’t really want to do that anymore. So, we just asked Jess if she wanted to play with us and start something new. It was really fun and exciting, getting together to just play and feel out what kind of band we were going to be. Every practice we’d set up a couple synths, a sampler, three mics, all the guitars, and just see what happened. I hadn’t done that before, maybe ever. There’s been some lineup changes since, with Bri filling in for Zoe, our original bassist, and Brian taking over on drums.’
Developing a new band and sound from the ground up definitely requires activity, so the name which had been in Johnson’s head ‘for years,’ became the newly formed band’s name. ‘There’s something about the vague hum of motion that it implies that I really liked,’ he adds.
This continuous motion is evident in the band’s sound. Each new release from the band seems like a bigger step up into their own sound and identity than the album before. 2020’s Unmask Whoever establishes the core elements of their sound: dark, post-punk elements that weave their way into indie rock. It only hinted at the depth and polish that Activity would continue to develop on 2023’s Spirit In The Room, an album haunted by loss. This pushed the darker elements of the band a little further while still maintaining and developing their hooks and melodic elements. Now, A Thousand Years In Another Way connects all of the dots into a thing of beauty. Of course, the longer a band writes and tours and records together, the more polished and seamless their sound becomes, but Johnson says on songwriting, ‘The process is different every song. I don’t think we’ve every written more than one the same way. So the process changing was built in from the very beginning and just kind of continues.’
This changing process is what made A Thousand Years In Another Way sound the way that it does, utilizing found sounds as well as a recording process that emphasized various sound qualities from their recording space. Additionally, Activity explains there were other tensions:
‘Without divulging too much, tensions were high. We’re all still close and good, but it was pretty weird at the time. So a lot of things that would’ve normally been done one way in terms of writing or recording were done in some other way. We leaned harder on some things than others, dove deeper into certain kinds of sounds, often because we kind of had to. Hard to explain maybe, and sorry for being vague. But it all worked out, which is wonderful, because I love the record as is.’
I didn’t press this any further, because it is none of my business. We aren’t in the tabloid business, here. I am thankful that it did work out, because this record is truly a gift. Like I mentioned in the review, Activity seem to be aware of leaving art open to interpretation, letting the words and sounds speak to the audience in a way that lets them become personal. Johnson continues:
‘[The songs are] personal in the sense that I don’t think we’re very concerned with conveying a specific idea of anything to anyone. We just do what we do until it feels right to us. Some songs are about super specific personal things, others are broad in scope. For me, there’s a far left perspective on some things that are as global and broad as possible, but I think the music is still personal because it’s just communicating a sense of things instead of specific ideas. That’s just more satisfying to me. I haven’t asked what exactly Jess or Bri are getting at with their lyrics, but I imagine it’s something similar. Just playing with the words and music until the song feels like whatever it’s ‘about.”
This continuously changing process leads to natural evolution in sound, and Activity has become one of my favorite bands to follow because of this. There are influences that serve as clear comparisons to Activity‘s output:
‘We’re all big fans of Can, Beak>, Talk Talk, Tortoise, Broadcast, This Heat, Björk, Portishead, etc. […], really obvious stuff that we’ve all heard so much it’s just in our DNA. I listen to a lot of jazz and house music which is definitely in the mix. In A Silent Way [Miles Davis] is a big influence […], but every time I tell the band I’m referencing it, they look at me like I’m crazy. There are a few contemporaries that we all like I think, like Water From Your Eyes. We play a lot of shows with Suuns, who we love, so we bond over them too.’
This extends into the worlds of film and literature:
‘Lyrically, something will be in my mind (or Jess’ or Bri’s) from a book or movie and gets worked in somehow. With either film or books, I just love when I can tell someone is having fun playing with the language, teasing something out, trying to see how far something can go before it doesn’t work anymore. Like Thomas Pynchon or Toni Morrison. It’s such a thrill. If there’s an influence from those other mediums it’s mostly that, but sometimes there’s a direct reference too.’
Yet, A Thousand Years In Another Way is not a direct reference to anything, Johnson explains, ‘The phrase came to me and I liked it, what it evoked for me. […] but there’s nothing definite happening there with this title. It has a feel, and the idea of a hard break or rupture given how the world is right now felt warm and nice.’ Within the album, both lyrically and musically, there is an ongoing theme of the juxtaposition of grim, dark, and evil themes with more melodic, dreamy, lighthearted elements. ‘The ugliness in the world is very obvious and seemingly in control right now, but then you get knocked flat by someone being so kind that it hurts, and those are both parts of the way things are. They’re both real. So that interplay in the music is just what it feels like in my head,’ Johnson elaborates.
Though the world may be grim with pockets of hope from community, we can be thankful that good music is around to alleviate some of that stress. In fact, when asked about any highlights from their career, Johnson said, ‘Instead of a specific moment, I’ll just say the ongoing highlight has been getting to work with Jeff Berner. It’s been so wonderful having him as a friend,‘ referring to the recording engineer and Psychic TV guitarist who has helped capture the band’s sound since their first album. Long live actual community and friendship connections like that!
Activity will be touring the US this fall, helping build community and sharing their gifts with those who attend. There may be a few songs that didn’t make the last album popping up as well. I will look forward to anything else that comes from Activity, because I cannot think of many indie acts that have my attention and admiration as much as them. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook for more!
Activity is:
Travis Johnson – vocals, guitar, synths, programming
Brianna DeGioia – vocals, bass
Jess Rees – vocals, guitars, synths
Steven Levine – drums (on album)
Brian Alvarez – drums (since album)
Photo credits: Ebru Yildiz
