Experimental SF Post-Punk Heroes Play Rare Show at the Make-Out Room
By Dave Pehling
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Mixing intricate twin-guitar interplay and the noirish spoken word of frontman Pete Simonelli, San Francisco post-punk experimentalists Enablers have been making their unique style of music for two decades.
In 2002, Simonelli formed a partnership with guitarists Joe Goldring (Swans, HIM, Porn, Mark Kozalek) and Kevin Thomson (Nice Strong Arm, Timco), who at the time were playing in their established post-rock instrumental band Touched By a Janitor. Interweaving alternately cinematic atmospheres and angular, noisy riffs into an ever-shifting bed anchored by the pulse of drummer Joe Byrnes (Broken Horse, Tarnation), the three players provided a nuanced, evocative musical foundation over which Simonelli spun his dark, sexually charged ruminations.
The band released its debut album End Note in 2004 on Neurot Recordings, the forward-thinking imprint run by maverick Bay Area psychedelic punk/metal band Neurosis. Its follow-up effort two years later entitled Output Negative Space earned Enablers substantial critical acclaim, further refining the band's dynamic, more jazz-influenced approach and Simonelli's vivid tales of characters clinging desperately to the urban underbelly.
The band's international reputation grew thanks to glowing reviews of that hypnotic album and subsequent tours on both sides of the Atlantic that showcased Enablers kinetic live performance, leading to deals with labels in the UK and Germany to release later albums.
The departure of Byrnes would lead to a hiatus in band activity, but Enablers continued with gifted drummer Doug Scharin (Codeine, June of '44, Rex) -- who Goldring had played with in HIM -- joining to record the band's 2011 release Blown Realms And Stalled Explosions. Sadly, Byrnes would die under mysterious circumstances the following year at the far too young age of 44.
The busy Scharin would end up leaving the band, with current drummer Sam Ospovat (Beep, Naytronix, Timosaurus) joining in 2013 and making his recorded debut with Enablers on their 2015 album The Rightful Pivot. Despite Simonelli relocating to New York City, the quartet has continued to release new music regularly, most recently issuing their album Zones in 2019 and the single extended track 12" single Pidgeon Diaries the following year.
While the band has been working on new material during the pandemic, its most recent project was the limited reissue of their acclaimed second album Output Negative Space by UK label Human Worth. Marking the 15th anniversary of the album's original release and the tenth year since the passing of original drummer Byrnes, the effort was remastered for vinyl release by San Francisco studio maven and early Enablers collaborator Alex Oropeza, who played piano on one of the record's tracks when it was originally recorded. Enablers return to their regular Mission District stomping grounds for this early Sunday night show at the Make-Out Room.
Enablers
Sunday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. $15
The Make-Out Room
