The Illinois-based combo's full length debut, "The Kicks of Passion" (released 31 July 2007), sees Powerspace unleashing its own inimitable sound, a brightly colored mash-up of pure power pop and electronica-inspired invention. Tracks such as "Powerspace Snap Bracelet" and "Right On, Right Now" literally snap and crackle with the just-out-of-their-teens quartet's uncontainable charm and energy.
The Powerspace team came together back in 2005 at Ohio's Miami University. Guitarist Tom Schleiter and bassist Daniel McMahon, both of whom played in bands in their native burbs of Chicago, had long discussed making music together. A year older, Schleiter spent his freshman term at Miami working with drummer Kevin Kane in a local band, an experience the guitarist describes as "unsatisfying." He spent the next summer focusing on writing songs for an as-yet-undetermined new band. When he told McMahon what he'd been up to, the bassist suggested the two form a new combo upon Dan's arrival at school in the fall.
Once they began collaborating, the three musicians embarked on a search for a lead singer. While they were excited about this new musical outlet, they admit to treating their initial quest with a grain of salt.
They worked briefly with an avant-garde poet and a girl singer who was plagued by shyness, not a particularly helpful quality in a frontperson. Their personnel problem was solved on a car trip home from Miami, when Schleiter's mom suggested that their high school friend and fellow Miami U. student Alec Cyganowski might want to give singing a shot.
With Cyganowski behind the mic, Powerspace was complete. The band started playing shows around Miami University and Cincinnati and by the summer, felt ready to do some recording. Rather than simply cutting a standard issue demo, they decided to enlist producer Mark McClusky (Hit the Lights, Ludo, Scenes From a Movie), who McMahon worked with in one of his previous bands. They laid down five songs in five days, resulting in the "Houston, We Have a Party" EP.
The EP quickly brought Powerspace to the attention of major label bigwigs and weasels, all of whom began waving contracts under the band's noses. In the end, Powerspace inked with the label that most reflected their own aesthetic views and artistic goals – Fueled By Ramen.
Rather than splitting their focus between the band and their studies, Powerspace chose to take an indefinite breather from Miami University. They played a number of local gigs, sharing stages with such bands as June, Quietdrive, and 2*Sweet. More significantly, they spent endless time in their practice space, concentrating on their chosen craft.
By December 2006, they were ready to record, again opting to work with McClusky. But first, the producer needed the band to give him a hand setting up his new digs in Lincoln Park, dubbed "Dorisland," after McClusky's beloved pooch.
Powerspace spent much of the winter in the studio, carefully crafting what would be dubbed – for reasons the band prefers to keep close to the vest – "The Kicks of Passion." Taking off from such diverse influences as INXS, The Darkness, The Wrens, and Squarepusher, the album is bracingly creative, displaying Powerspace's multi-layered pop stance, a glamtastic sonic approach kissed with electro textures and metallic virtuosity.
"The Kicks of Passion" is alive with ingenious vigor, with soaring tracks like "It Smells Like Electricity In Here" evincing the band's artistic ambition. The skyscraping melodies and overall exuberance are counterpointed by deeply personal lyricism, often touched with a melancholy and reflection that the band attributes to its time at Miami U.
With "The Kicks of Passion" ready to go, Powerspace is turning its attention to playing out. Having spent much of the last year honing their craft, the band is full-on fired up about at last hitting the road and getting down with the kids.
Drummer Kevin Kane announced the band's break up on February 17, 2010.
The Remaining Members minus Alec are in a new band Bad City
I Put the Abs in Abstinence
Powerspace Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the millionaire with silver hair?
Does he care?
Your love affair, I am aware
Is void of love indeed
The greatest weight of all
Towers over your shoulders
Keeps playing over and over
These are simple times
And now I miss your simple pleasures
A substance state of mind
What I had left to treasure
I know it's been a while
But I swear you wouldn't be so lonely
If only you'd let me in
So look at you now
The spark in your eyes is gone, somehow
I wish you would hang up and turn around
And let me see those eyes
They'd be the same brown eyes
It would make my life to see you turn
I'd finally make my case
You'd--you'd run away and come with me
To destroy the human race
The greatest weight of all
Towers over your shoulders
While the longest wait of mine
Keeps playing over and over
These are simple times
And now I miss your simple pleasures
A substance state of mind
What I had left to treasure
I know it's been a while
But I swear you wouldn't be so lonely
If only you'd let me in
So look at you now
The spark in your eyes is gone, somehow
I wish you would hang up and turn around
And let me see those eyes
They'd be the same brown eyes
You're not here
Every night is a nightmare
So look at you now
The spark in your eyes is gone, somehow
I wish you would hang up and turn around
And let me see those eyes
They'd be the same brown eyes
Just say you're never gonna do it again
The song "I Put the Abs in Abstinence" by Powerspace is a plea to a lover who has moved on to a new relationship with a millionaire with silver hair. The singer is aware that the love affair is void of love, making the partner lonely. The lyrics bring out the longing and nostalgia for the simple times and pleasures that the singer shared with the partner. The weight of regret and mourning over the lost relationship has been overpowering for the singer, who wishes to be allowed in once again.
The singer describes a nightmare that falls over them every night since the partner has moved on to someone else. The reference to "putting the abs in abstinence" is a clever wordplay on the physical aspect of a relationship that has been lost, and the idea that it's hard to abstain from something that one previously enjoyed. The song's final plea is for the partner to acknowledge that they made a mistake and will never repeat the same mistake again.
Line by Line Meaning
So how's your affair
Asking about one's affair
With the millionaire with silver hair?
Referring to the person with whom their affair is ongoing
Does he care?
Questioning the other person's feelings in the affair
Your love affair, I am aware
Acknowledging the existence of the affair
Is void of love indeed
Implying that the affair is not driven by genuine love
The greatest weight of all
Referring to a heavy burden or responsibility
Towers over your shoulders
Symbolizing how this burden is weighing down on one's shoulders
While the longest wait of mine
Indicating a long wait for something or someone
Keeps playing over and over
Repetition of the wait indicates a longing that is not being fulfilled
These are simple times
Describing the world as less complex than it could be
And now I miss your simple pleasures
Expressing nostalgia for simpler times with the other person
A substance state of mind
Referring to an altered state of mind through substance use
What I had left to treasure
Remembering the good times
I know it's been a while
Noting the passage of time since seeing the other person
But I swear you wouldn't be so lonely
Assuring the other person they would not be lonely with the singer
If only you'd let me in
Asking for the chance to connect with the other person
So look at you now
Directing attention to the current state of the other person
The spark in your eyes is gone, somehow
Observing the absence of one's old spark
I wish you would hang up and turn around
Expressing the wish for the other person to focus on the singer
And let me see those eyes
Requesting eye contact
They'd be the same brown eyes
Noting the familiarity of the other person's eyes
It would make my life to see you turn
Stressing the importance of the other person's attention to the artist
I'd finally make my case
Referring to the singer's argument that they are better for the other person
You'd- you'd run away and come with me
Speculating that the other person would leave with the artist
To destroy the human race
A sarcastic, humorous line suggesting the intensity of the desire to be with the other person
You're not here
Noting the physical absence of the other person
Every night is a nightmare
Expressing the emotional impact of the missing the other person
Just say you're never gonna do it again
Asking the other person to end their current affair and be with the artist
Contributed by Carter M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Luke Cunningham
frostwire?