Activity

Activity is a project that brings members of the bands Grooms and Russian Baths together (with an original line-up that also included Zoë Browne of Field Mouse, who was replaced by Bri DiGioia on bass). Their music weaves a number of dark threads into a distinct sound that is parts 4AD style post-punk, part no-wave, and some trip-hop. Also thrown into this alchemical stew is the Broadcast cool, an affinity towards the sprawling, expansive structures of post-rock, and some secret sauce that may cause inexplicable flashes of early Lou Reed every now and then. The overall tone has a bleak streak for sure, but there is also a nice buoyancy to their music, some of which comes from the back and forth between Jess Rees' delicate and ghostly voice and Travis Johnson's somewhat light but expressive vocals.