Unique instruments define D.C. trio

In much the same way that indie-pop group Tilly and the Wall revolutionized tap shoes, band True Womanhood breathes new life into church organs and industrial blades. The group takes these items and turns them on their heads, creating unusual and different sounds out of items that aren’t part of a classic rock band.

Its melancholy, magically dark music is filled with unexpected sounds from unexpected places.

True Womanhood, a three-piece hailing from Washington, D.C., comprises Thomas Redmond, Melissa Beattie and Noam Elsner.

Basement Membranes, the group’s first EP, was released by the band’s Baltimore label Environmental Aesthetics but recorded in a do-it-yourself venue in Brooklyn called Death By Audio.

The band’s sound reflects the same hipster-driven dance sensibilities that are espoused by the underground studio.

“Magic Child” uses the same dark rolling guitars of bands like Interpol or Joy Division but with some added layering of sounds and eerie, often atonal, noises.

“The Monk” is the first single from the release, which was made available this week. The track is notably lighter than many of the band’s other songs and is characterized by a dreamy quality not found anywhere else on the record.

“Dignitas,” on the other hand, is a slow, ominous track that incorporates vastly different sounds into its six-minute playtime. The song even slips into a funk sound in certain parts. In that respect, “Dignitas” offers a lone break from the heavily layered darkness that constitutes the rest of the album.

Immediately after the funk-sounding interlude has run its course, however, the sounds once again become heavy and intricately layered. “A Diviner” uses sunshiny guitars that peek out of the wailing lyrical sounds and rolling drums.

“Shadow People” begins with layered vocals that sound ghostly and are almost a little frightening. When the guitars kick in, they are raw and gloomily war-driven.

Although the sounds of the Basement Membranes are experimental, the album is repetitious and the tracks feel interchangeable.

It makes the entire record seem more like a concept album rather than a conventional album, which is expected to have more variety from one track to another.

The group’s use of household items is impressive and inspiring, and it suggests that other musicians can artistically create a multitude of different sounds from ordinary things. There’s also something very visual about the instruments they use: The band would be interesting to see live since the D.C. rockers consider themselves just as much an art installation as a rock band.

It is the group’s unique approach to music that stir more interest than its music alone. True Womanhood markets exclusively as a music act, however, so it’s likely that they’ll only attract audiences interested in seeing an exciting, exuberant performance.

Just as people love seeing guitars being smashed on stage and lights that color the audience, seeing an organ plugged into a computer and watching how the trio creates out-of-this-universe sounds could be more of a draw than its music, which isn’t necessarily groundbreaking — melodically or stylistically.

On first listen, its songs sound typical to alternative rock dance beats, but it is one to watch for its category–evading methods of creating music.