BOSTON GLOBE

REFLECTING SKIN AIMS TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES Author(s): David Wildman, Globe Correspondent Date: June 20, 1999 Page: 12 Section: City Weekly The tribal-but-mystical approach of Reflecting Skin really doesn't correspond to any one scene or musical genre. Rather than fit in, the musicians instead transform each place they perform into their own distinct environment by using expansive sound atmospherics and abstract film loops mixed from two projectors and shown on the wall behind them. "We can make any place we play into our own setting," says Dave McFarland, 23, the drummer and filmmaker who puts together the 16-millimeter projections. "We basically bring our own backdrops, we paint the walls. McFarland, bassist Alex Milne, and guitarist Christian Gilbert played together in One of Us, a band that was extremely popular in the city's goth community. In forming Reflecting Skin, they have tried to push the boundaries of their music and reach a different audience. The sonic theme is still bigger and darker than life, but now the black breaks into shades of gray and varying colors and textures. Gilbert experiments with acoustic guitars and mandolins, Milne sometimes bows his bass, and Mcfarland adds tribal percussion instruments to his drum setup. The real galvanizing factor in their sound, though, is vocalist Leah Chandra, who adds Indian-style quarter-tone singing, a solid three-octave range, and an innate sense of musical exploration to the mix. Says Mcfarland: "We are lucky to have a singer that is not just sitting there waiting around for the structure to happen. When we first all got together two years ago, we were amazed at the way she just jumped right into it immediately." Chandra, 27, exposed to Eastern music from a very young age, fit right into the atmospheric and improvisatory mindset of the rest of the group. "We're all equally creating the experience of the music," she says. "The freedom of expression we allow ourselves makes it happen." The songwriting is done collectively, with all the songs coming out of extended jams in their practice space. With tape recorder rolling and the group pumping out energetic reverb-drenched riffs, Chandra will take off her shoes and roam around with her microphone, as she does when the band performs on stage. "We end up creating something that we couldn't repeat exactly from memory, so we make sure to record everything we do," says Chandra. Their first CD, "Haley," recorded last year at a friend's studio in Clarksville, Tenn., and only recently released, has been exceptionally well received, bringing them a healthy surge of media attention and radio airplay. Reflecting Skin is to perform at the Linwood Grille on Friday, July 16, as part of an evening sponsored by the local magazine, The Noise.