The Nuance, “arguably, pound for pound Sacramento’s tallest band” formed in early 2004 with the sole purpose of creating music that the band felt was no longer being made by mainstream artists: Music created for the sake of creating something pure, something original but most of all, music made with soul. “Intricate Simplicity” is their debut, self-produced album released in January of ‘07. Recorded in two consecutive weekends at the renowned Paradise Studios in Northern California with double-platinum recording engineer Scott Reams (Cake, The Bennys, Sans Similar) this is the album fans of their increasingly packed out live shows have been asking for. Essentially a rock band with a solo cellist, the band has found a way of creating one of the rarest things in music: An original sound. Blending elements of rock, funk, reggae, the blues, and classical music, The Nuance lives up to its name by fusing these different styles to create a new sound unlike anything currently in your ipod, CD player or on the airwaves. At times it is progressive-sophisticated chord progressions featuring cello solos with odd key changes-and at others, you find yourself transported to the dark side of the moon and you say to yourself, “Hey, that feels nice, haven’t been here in a while.” The album kicks off with “Hide n Seek” sounding like the genetically mutated lovechild of Voodoo Chile’ meets the funky monks. We then segue into a groove that your moneymaker will be happy to shake along to with “The Place”. If you’ve ever woke up in a strange place you should be able to relate to the soon to be feel-good-hit-of-the drinkin’ season “Tequila Good Times”. The epic, near seven-minute “Swan Song” is almost worth the price of admission alone with a cello/Hammond organ outro that caps off the album leaving you wishing there were more. This band can blend electric, acoustic and slide guitars together and shift gears in a way that hasn’t been done since Zeppelin, at least not done very well. From the blues of ‘High Maintenance Girl” (whose lyrics reveal a strange sense of humor) to the acoustic rock of “Until Then”, this album doesn’t miss a beat in integrating styles of music and lyrics that were more popular in the peace and love era of the sixties and early seventies than anything being done these days yet still finds a way to sound contemporary in a non-adult contemporary kind of way. Sit back and preview some or all of the material and see for yourself, I dare you. The music is as diverse as the guys that made it with members comprised of musicians from San Diego to Chicago, Salt Lake City to the East Bay of California. They are currently touring the greater Pacific Northwest in support of the album, entertaining labels' promises of fame and fortune and accepting all takers in a game of basketball.