The Stiletto Formal
Eccentric. Experimental. Necessarily independent.
To write that The Stiletto Formal is unusual, would be writing the easy way. It may be more to the point to state that this desert country group (Phoenix) is eclectic. The band members do indeed choose from a number of different styles and influences. In fact, The Stiletto Formal does so with a mix of styles in one song (listen to "Tastes Like Black Licorice" This Is My Boomstick 2006.) This tune definitely is not dancing music!
The Stiletto Formal musical efforts are a joint effort from Kyle Howard, Pat McCarthy, Sunny Davis, Jimi Lamp and Paul Neely, according to the band’s Web information. A second tune that is readily sampled by new listeners is "The Fall of Ambrose Bierce" (This Is My Boomstick 2006). Now, you could dance to this tune, if frenzy is your dancing style. The song may or may not pay homage to the American journalist/satirist who wrote "The Devil’s Dictionary," among other works.
Fans may be drawn to the special sound and message of this group because they put their influences in the titles of songs. Walt Whitman gets a nod with "I Sing The Body Electric" (This Is My Boomstick 2006). This tune is the most "melodic" of the three mentioned.
Recent shows in California and Utah were cancelled. Catch this band for it’s challenging sound and that haunting violin!
The Stiletto Formal on MySpace
Tags: The Stiletto Formal, indie music, music, independent music, indie
April 9th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
hmmmm…. I guess I feel like this review is a little mis-leading. Stiletto Formal is different, and eclectic, but I would comment more on their live performance. Even though “Tastes Like Black Licorice” isn’t necessarily a “dance tune” on the record, if you go to Stiletto Formal show anywhere in the southwest, I PROMISE that most of the crowd will be dancing when they play it (or any song for that matter). I guess I just feel like this article/review is missing solid info. I mean… for instance, the “haunting violin” mentioned is actually a cello. If you’re interested in this band at all, go see them, their live performance will blow you away, and their always accessible at their shows so you can ask them anything you want yourself…
April 10th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
“The Fall of Ambrose” has some pretty slick guitar and drum work going on, although I don’t care for the lead vocalist. However, lead vocals were great on “I Sing the Body Electric” along with everything else. That song is by far my favorite from the band.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I wonder, but did anyone notice that this band actually did something really cool? I’m no literature major, mind you, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw that one of the songs Stiletto Formal has in its playlist is “I Sing the Body Electric.”
Now, unless I’m crazy, that’s perhaps one of American poetry’s most famous titles, and it dates back to the 19th Century, when Walt Whitman first wrote a poem by the same title.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Good catch Fardreamer. I would have never picked up on that myself. I wonder if the band purposely did that or was it mere coincidence ? Since that line is of America’s most famous poetry lines, I tend to doubt it was by accident.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Seriously…it would have to be one of those “if you put one million monkeys in a locked room with a million typewriters/PC keyboards for a thousand years, you eventually end up with the complete works of Shakespeare” scenarios if that song title was coincidence. I therefore second Leighdu’s wisdom and agree totally….I also doubt it was chosen randomly.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Hmm. Yes, the words ‘odd, strange, or different’ would be an understatement for this band. The thing is that their songs both repel me AND are catchy as all heck. Take Murder at the Stiletto Formal. That song is totally rocking with so many different styles that I’m not even sure what it should be properly called! I think I could get used to listening to these guys. They are alright.