Minimized
Let's face it. There are a lot of good bands out there. There are a lot of bad bands out there. But if there's one thing that about 90% of bands that make, or at one time made, albums is that they're pretty standardized. See if this looks familiar.
*4 man band
*guitar, bass, drums, vocals
*4 man band
*guitar, bass, drums, vocals/other guitar
*3 man band
*guitar/vocals, bass, drums
*5 man band
*guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, vocals
Yep, I just described nearly 90% of the bands in the vast world of rock. Sure, there are the greatest of greats who fall under this heading. Hell, I'm quite sure Led Zeppelin is the greatest band there is despite being a "standard" 4 man ensemble. But what I'd like to do is just take a minute to recognize the minimalists who still sound incredibly boss despite missing that "extra" member. These are the best minimalist bands in music today.
LOCAL H
There is no duo that brings it as raucous and deliberate as these guys. The brilliant crafting and dominant performance of each cut brings as much force, consistence, and substance as other, more "standard" 4 man bands. After failing to recruit a bassist, Scott Lucas rigged his electric guitar with bass pickups. Whether he was the first one to try this experiment is debatable and is forever unknown. What is known is that it's a stroke of genius. The addition of the bass pickups still manages to give the guitar a kick of lush sound with every flick. It has become the band's unmistakable calling card. Living up to their name, they are among one of the greatest live bands still touring. Scott's unabashad wailing and guitar skills are unmatched, while the ferocity of Brian St. Clair on the drums is a sight to behold. They've been on the seen ever since "Bound For the Floor" set them on the modern rock map back in 1996. And there are no signs of slowing down.
ABANDONED POOLS
Though he's shown here with two of his cohorts, Abandoned Pools is really the brainchild of Tommy Walter. In just the span of two albums, 2002's Humanistic and 2005's Armed to the Teeth, Walter has proven that he sat at the front of his music theory class. The best word that I can use to describe his songs is "eloquent". Hearing them resonates this feeling of elegance, yet without the arrogance. Walter does all the writing and producing, and records most of the guitar lines, bass, vocals, and certainly some extra instrumentation. He gets a little help on drums from Josh Freese, but still warrants it enough to be "his" band. Plainly put, Tommy Walter has a gift. He writes eloquent, majestic pieces that tragically go unnoticed in this fickle music world. Seriously. When typing in "abandoned pools" in Google, I literaly got sites about pools that were abandoned. Sad.
the WHITE STRIPES
By now, they're no longer Detroit's little secret. The career of the Stripes can easily be cut into two. THere were their early days. The Crash Bang Boom Days. Jack played with way too much distortion. Meg sounded like she was 12 hitting the drums. Yet it worked. Well. It became their "stijl" (shout out to De Stijl anyone... anyone at all?). Then with their 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan they took this huge left turn into Eclectic Pianos-&-Marimbas Art-Rock Land. But something weird happened. It still worked. Well. It became their style. It's amazing how a band can have two completely opposite sounds define them. They are different, yet you can hear them both and recognize them as White Stripes. This may be why their newest album, Icky Thump, works exceedingly well.
KIDNEYTHIEVES
This is just their touring band. A picture of just the two "real" members seems to not exist.
kidneythieves maintain to be a harshly beautiful mixture of hard rock and pure industrial. The way they play sounds like the two were meant to be together. Figuring in the band is Free Dominguez, who lends her silky smooth voice to the works, and Bruce Somers, who does ... everything else. The one thing they have going for them is their impeccable ability to power-produce their tracks. Every track on Zerospace has the magic touch of "real" instruments, electronic noises, and scathing feedback. This is what happens when you get two geniuses in the same room with a guitar, a keyboard, and a microphone. Unfortunately, Free and Bruce have essentially departed from each other's geniosity as of 2004. However, rumors remain strong they are in the talks to reconvene to finally make a follow up album. I'm crossing my fingers. You'd better too, for the sake that is all hard rock/industrial goodness.
NINE INCH NAILS
Need I say anything? Nay, I needn't. Trent Reznor's genius speaks for itself.
Rock on, you minimals. What you lack in numbers you more than make up for in action.