Acetone is one in the long line of bands whose reach seemed to be coming into line with their grasp when things came to an end. Sometimes it's a car crash, sometimes it's an overdose and sometimes it's suicide. In the case of Acetone, it's the last one, the band's career cut short when bassist and singer Richie Lee took his life in 2001.

That's a real shame, because Lee's band had really hit its stride the year before. The band stumbled around for a few years after forming, experimenting with ways to find its own voice amid a wash of top-notch influences, including the Velvet Underground, the Flying Burrito Brothers and various and sundry psychedelic and surf sounds. Things gelled on the 1994 EP I Guess I Would, and then really came together on what would be the band's last album, York Blvd.

On it, the trio, which includes guitarist Mark Lightcap and drummer Steve Hadley, seemed to nicely synthesize all of those sounds into a cohesive, original whole. Mixing the laid-back vibe of California cosmic music with the phased psychedelia of the Velvet Underground and the rich harmonies of the Beach Boys, the band was able to effect a disinterested cool that was surprisingly sophisticated in its structure. Songs like "Wonderful World" and "Like I Told You" had solid hooks and were among the most propulsive things the band had done, while slower tracks like "Things Are Gonna Be Alright" simply swaggered along with a studied nonchalance.

The band was earning notice with the disc, but this clearly wasn't what Lee wanted or needed. Things stopped completely with his death, and the band has quietly slipped off the radar. But there are signs and Hadley and Lightcap are ready to revisit the past. There is now an Acetone MySpace site, and the pair have posted some rarities, as well as some Lightcap solo work, on the page. That's great news, because while Lee will be missed, Lightcap-led songs like "Things Are Gonna Be Alright" and "Like I Told You" were clear standouts on York Blvd., and it's clear he has something worth sharing.

It's easy for bands with a lower profile like this to completely fade away after they stop recording and performing. But in the case of Acetone, that would be a true loss.

MP3: Wonderful World
MP3: Like I Told You

Labels: music, OOTS