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Aloud
By C.D. Di Guardia
Photo by Patrick Piasecki
Henry Beguiristain has just received a message. “She’s nudging me,” says the leather-jacketed guitarist, who could easily be mistaken for a Gallagher triplet with the addition of his large shades. He points at his cohort, the raven-haired Jen de la Osa, who attempts to tilt the conversation back to real music and away from talk of videogames and Spiderman. “When someone nudges you,” advises bandmate Roy Fontaine, “you’re not supposed to say ‘She’s nudging me.’” Beguiristain shrugs, “Well, she was!”
This is business as usual for Aloud, a band that, while fairly “new” in the grand scheme of things, is still very comfortable in its own skin. The dynamic between the members of the band is palpably comfortable: a Short Attention Span Theater vibe, mixing talk of serious music with videogames and a hearty helping of the wisdom of Montgomery Burns. “Ah, yes,” hisses Beguiristain, who started the band with fellow Miami native de la Osa. Upon moving to Boston together, the two guitarists/vocalists found bassist Roy Fontaine, who speaks with an authentic, cultured-in-Watertown Boston accent, and drummer Ross Lohr.
Exuding a light-hearted demeanor, it’s clear the four members of Aloud don’t take themselves too seriously, even in light of their successful 2006 full-length album debut, Leave Your Light On. Following its release, they were invited to play in the 2007 WBCN Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble, making it to the penultimate round and receiving one of the coveted Wild Card spots reserved for the two most outstanding bands (out of the twenty-four entrants). Not allowing themselves to get too worked up over the “competition” aspect of the show, the group took it in stride. “The idea of ‘competition’ in music is ridiculous,” dismisses Beguiristain, who saw the event as an opportunity to meet new people.
With impressive songwriting chops enhanced by their vocal abilities, Aloud’s founders, de la Osa and Beguiristain, didn’t have much trouble finding a rhythm section befitting of the band’s hyper-melodic rock. “People thought we were crazy, that we were never going to find anyone,” Beguiristain recalls. But bassist Roy Fontaine makes it clear that as soon as he signed on, he knew he had found something special.
After 2006’s 11-track dynamo, the band is looking forward to their next release. “From here on in, we’re working on this record,” states de la Osa, who writes songs in bunches. “I’ll do like two or three of them at a time,” she shrugs. And now it’s Beguiristain’s turn to do the nudging; “More like eight!’” he conspiratorially whispers. “Leaving the light on” many of their influences in the first record, from Beguiristain’s George Harrison-style slide guitar intro in “Wouldn’t It Be Sweet” to de la Osa’s Morrison-esque cry of “Alright, yeah!” in the standout “Love is a Beast,” Aloud maintains the spirit of their sound with a tribute to their musical backgrounds. Overall, it seems their next offering will be decidedly edgier, harnessing their Liverpool flavor while adding in a little Clash-y spunk.
The group functions as a natural entity that changes over time. “We definitely want it to be different, but we’re not going to try to make it that,” says de la Osa. “It’s just going to be a natural thing.”