See See Me River rock right out of its restraints

There's little respect for restraint in rock 'n' roll. Rock is built on more of everything — volume, energy, attitude, hair — so the idea of pulling back for stylistic reasons is taboo. At first blush, See Me River seems built on restraint — acoustic strumming, rudimentary rhythms, vocals not so much sung as intoned by baritoned bandleader Kerry Zettel. Watch the Seattle band live (which you can do on Wednesday at the Tractor), and the sense that Zettel is intentionally holding something back elicits a vague pang of wanting more, not getting it and feeling OK about it. This feeling is unusual and highly gratifying if given time to settle, much like See Me River's dark, Gothic Americana itself.

Another thing about restraint is the delicious tension generated by that part being held back. What could it be? There's something to wait around for, a little mystery to resolve. Listening to See Me River is an exercise in wanting to find out.

"I just wanted something mellow that I could do, just sit down and have a personal experience with me and who-

ever's listening," Zettel says. When it first began in 2006, See Me River was the foil to Das Llamas, Zettel's older project, which he describes as "very yell-y, very shout-y." See Me River was just Zettel, an acoustic guitar and his deep droning voice. When Das Llamas folded, Zettel started adding instruments to his See Me River songs: upright bass and percussion and piano and glockenspiel and lap steel. As he added instruments, he added musicians to play them and inadvertently put together a band.

"I realized while we were recording that this is a band, it's not just my project with people helping me out," he says. "I realized that if we're doing that, it's going to get louder."

"Time Machine" — See Me River's second album, released late this summer — is a snapshot of that process. It was recorded in an old house in West Seattle and a cabin in Montana and an apartment in New York City by Zettel and a core backing group, plus assorted friends and guests. Zettel's stoic voice possesses the gravity and finality of an undertaker; he sings about hangovers and dreams and death. The music is spare and close, creaky and eerie, akin to the Cave Singers' dirge blues. It's a subdued album that takes effort to digest and then ends up lingering, haunting.

And then there's the brand-new song See Me River played at ReverbFest earlier this month — the same one with a pro-grade music video produced by the marketing branch of Dell Computers that's on the band's MySpace.

This is the current state of See Me River. Keyboards roll, drums thunder and Zettel opens up and really sings. The song — still untitled — is loud and soaring, a dire take on the arena-sized, glory-bound grandeur of the Who or the Killers or the E Street Band. The restraint is gone.

"It's meant to build layers; its meant to hold back and then become something bigger," Zettel says of the new tune. "I'm a firm believer that you should never be bored listening, there should constantly be something else going on. I'm a big fan of change and keeping things interesting, so layers is a huge thing for me. Four or five more instruments on top of the piano is gonna be really cool."

Sounds like rock 'n' roll. Expect the new See Me River album in January.

See Me River, Great American, and Blind Pilot play the Tractor at 9 p.m. Wednesday; $6.

Other must-see shows this week:

Today

The High Dive hosts a hip-hop smorgasbord with the gloom-meisters of Grayskul and the artful debauchery of Champagne Champagne (9 p.m. today; $7).

Saturday

For the poppier side of Seattle alt-Americana — or whatever you wanna call it — check out the always-sharp, always-upbeat 17th Chapter at the High Dive. (9 p.m. Saturday, $7).

Tuesday

If it weren't for Seattle's support — via its label Light in the Attic and KEXP — Austin, Texas, psych rockers the Black Angels might not exist. They certainly wouldn't be backing up 13th Floor Elevators' Roky Erikson at the Showbox (8 p.m. Tuesday; $22 advance, $25 day of show).

Thursday

Portland psych-metal masters Danava opens for Down at Showbox SoDo (8 p.m. Thursday; $28)

Jonathan Zwickel: zwickelicious@gmail.com