ON A BURNISHED fall day, Ryan Heyner and Josh Kolenik of Small Black sit side-by-side at Williamsburg’s Manna restaurant. Both Long Island natives wear punchy sneakers and a heartfelt manner that matches their music.
Fittingly, the duo’s first EP, out last month, is “a lot about Ryan’s and my friendship, and the experiences we’ve had together,” says Kolenik, who arrived late because of a football game and covers his brown waves with a Baltimore Oriole’s cap.
Just by listening to “Despicable Dogs,” the first track on the self-titled record, you can picture where it was recorded. Heyner and Kolenik don’t need to tell you that Kolenik’s uncle was sleeping in the next room.They don’t need to say they curled under blankets near the radiator in the Long Island house with peeling wallpaper, where Kolenik and his dad both grew up.You can hear it all.
Small Black recorded the EP during weekends spent joking with Uncle Matt and drinking Crystal Light tea.They sung in hushed tones so they wouldn’t wake their host, a lifetime surfer and long-board builder who would peek into their recording sessions to ask, in his telltale accent, “So, how’s the record goin’, guys?” On their self-titled EP, Fischer-Price drumbeats, falsetto singing and distortion like a warped memory make Small Black sound so nostalgic for home, it’s hard to believe these guys traded Long Island for Brooklyn.They say reviewers compare them to glo-fi bands they hadn’t heard of before, but now collaborate with, such as Washed Out. A warm blanket covers their wellcrafted melodies and makes each track feel like a barefaced love song (though Kolenik says the effect is so hard to achieve, it’s hi-fi).
Both musicians say they’re torn between the ‘burbs and the city, though there’s nothing they miss about “Bud Light and bro culture.” Heyner still commutes to Long Island for his IT job, and Kolenik says he misses the trees there, but Brooklyn (Kolenik lives in Bushwick, Heyner in Fort Greene) offers concerts just a bike ride away.
“I’m finally comfortable living here, as hectic as it can be,” Kolenik says. “Once I started biking, I loved it. I have a better per spective on what neighborhood bleeds into what neighborhood, and I can see two shows in one night.”
Back home, Kolenik got his start rapping, while Heyner bounced around in the emo and hardcore scenes that thrive on Long Island. In a suburb where every other kid has a garage and a drum kit, they were friends with bands Brand New and Taking Back Sunday. Heyner ultimately decided it was “a good place to cut your teeth.
“But when I went away to college, I was jamming with different people, and I realized I wanted to do something more my personality. Not necessarily screamo at 100 miles an hour.”
And although their tastes have changed over the years, Heyner and Kolenik say they’ve, “finally gotten to the point where we’ve listened to enough that we know what our musical gestures mean.”
Settled in Brooklyn, they escape to Long Island to tinker with nostalgic tones fueled by the friction between their two homes.The outcasts of bro culture work “like zombies” on ProTools to layer precise effects and moods.
Even Uncle Matt appreciates the hours of work the thirty-somethings put into their project. He recently wrote, “Sounds great, guys!” on Kolenik’s Facebook wall.
“I love getting his perspective,” Kolenik says. “I have too many interactions with twenty- or thirty-somethings. It’s like, let’s hang out with a baby or some old dudes.”
Brooklyn has welcomed Small Black’s homespun warmth.The band is enjoying plenty of buzz now—it got lots of CMJ love—and the boys even have city apartments big enough to record in. But, for Heyner, the trip to Long Island sharpens his mind and buys him time to dissect his music during the hour-long commute.
“It’s nice,” he says, “just to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn to enjoy life simplistically with your family.”
> Small Black
Nov. 7, Market Hotel, 1142 Myrtle Ave.(at Broadway), no phone; 8, $TBA. Also Nov. 10 at The Bell House.
