On the rebound, We Barbarians aim high

No sooner had David Quon, Derek Van Heule and Nathan Warkentin taken inventory from the disintegration of their last band — the Colour, which disbanded last summer — than they got a shot in the arm from their housemates.

“We had been jamming, and things clicked — it was refreshing and nice,” singer-guitarist Quon says of the evolution of fledgling Long Beach trio We Barbarians. Then-roomies Nathan Willett and Matt Maust of ascendant indie-rock quartet Cold War Kids offered to help the Barbarians release their first EP.

“They are the most selfless people I know,” Quon says. “The encouragement was amazing.” The EP is titled “In the Doldrums,” but its raw, bluesy rock (think: the Walkmen) feels more like three guys using the lessons from a couple years of hard knocks to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Betrayal gets rooted out in “Yesmen and Bumsuckers”; resilience is celebrated on the broad shoulders of “War Clouds.”

For Quon, anyway, it’s a tentative step forward. “It’s a stretch for me, because I’d never been much of a lyricist, and I’d never done lead vocals,” he says. “I remember asking the guys, ‘What would you think about me trying to step up and sing?’ It was definitely a memorable moment.”

||| Live: We Barbarians finish their January residency tonight at the Silverlake Lounge, with support from In Waves and Canon Blue. They also play a Monday residency in February at the Detroit Bar.

||| Download: "War Clouds."

Photo of We Barbarians by Matt Wignall

Highlights for Monday, Jan. 28

Indie supergroup Everest supports Radar Bros. for the last night of their residency at the Echo; Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert is playing solo too. ...  The Parson Redheads finish off their residency at Spaceland. ... Idyllists play their pentultimate dates of a residency at the Viper Room's Indie 103.1-sponsored shows, with support from Bloodcat Love, among others. ... Funny dude Fred Armisen performs at the Troubadour. ... And if you need a little taste of punkabilly, the Rocketz are at the Kniting Factory.

Comments

[justin mongiardo]

love this band