New Music From Pomegranates

Cincinnati indie pop band The Pomegranates are offering up a new song from their soon to be released album One of Us.  Recently coming off a lineup shake down, this will be the first new album with the new band members.  Check out new track “Your Own Reality” below and hit stores October 26th for their new LP on Afternoon Records.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Pomegranates-Create-Your-Own-Reality.mp3]

Download: Pomegranates – Create Your Own Reality [MP3]

Will Johnson @ Ghost Room (8/12)

Date 8/12/10
Location Ghost Room
Doors 9pm
Tickets $8 @ Door

The great Will Johnson is making another stop in town without his band Centro-matic at the Ghost Room on Thursday night.  Joining the highly under appreciated musician is Austin Collins.  Go check this out if you haven’t seen Will do some of his stuff solo.  It’s truly great.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/will-johnson-closing-down-my-house.mp3]

Download: Will Johnson – Closing Down My House [MP3]

Fresh Millions @ The Parish (8/14)

Date 8/14/10
Location The Parish
Doors 9pm
Tickets $7 @ Door

The week of shows sponsored by Austin Town Hall continues on Saturday night with a show by 3 of our favorite local bands.  All ATH Summer Mixtape bands, we proudly give the stamp of approval to all bands on this lineup.  Headlining the evening’s events are ecltro group Fresh Millions along with alt-rockers Love at 20 and indie rock kids SuperLiteBike joining in the fun.  At only $7, we’re sure this is the best bang for your buck in town.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/02-The-Helicopter-1.mp3]

Download: Fresh Millions – The Helicopter [MP3]


New Music From Eternal Summers

Eternal Summers are a band that have been on the mind of most every music blogger around the country.  We’ll officially join the hype machine band wagon with this new song “Pogo” that just got sent our way.  The track will appear on a new 7″ single from the group hitting stores at the end of the month.  Debut LP, Silver, from Endless Summer will also feature this new track and looks to a release date on September 28th via Kanine Records.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/03-Pogo.mp3]

Download: Eternal Summers – Pogo [MP3]

Gentleman Jesse and His Men @ Beerland (8/12)

Date Thursday, August 12th
Location Beerland
Doors 900p
Tickets Around $6?

I’ve been all about Gentleman Jesse for ages, and I haven’t ever gotten the chance to see him, though he’s been through town on several occasions.  He’s going to blow Beerland away with his straight power pop with a twist of punk.  You have no idea how fun this could really be. Other great bands will be on hand such as White Mystery, The Barreracudas and Pleasure Kills.  Sounds like a solid way to spend a night on the town.  Want to meet up?

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the_rest_of_my_days.mp3]

Download: Gentleman Jesse & His Men – The Rest of my Days [MP3]


WRSTLRS

WRSTLRS is a brand new project brought to you by John Lamonica and Matt Bergeland, both formerly of ATH favorite emo band My Spacecoaster.  Now I’ve been following Lamonica since his days in MP until he moved on to form Tiebreaker and then joined Polyphonic Spree for some time.  This new project sees the duo creating tunes most similar to the short lived days of Tiebreaker:  heavily layered electronic beats over the subtle and calming voice of Lamonica.  Right now the duo have 5 songs they are pushing on SoundCloud as they work to a full LP for release sometime in October.  Have a listen to “Did You Come to Save Us” and see why I think Lamonica is one of the best kept secrets in the underground.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/01-Did-You-Come-To-Save-Us.mp3]

Download: WRSTLRS – Did You Come To Save Us [MP3]

ACL Spotlight: The National

If you’re searching for background information on The National, you’re bound to find enough valid information dominating their Wikipedia page, but we’re not here to focus on a bland press release that will give you meaningless insight into the band’s history, Political/Social Support and Discography. We are here to offer up a look at music as literature, music that provides meaningful views into the modernity in which we live. This is The National, ladies and gentleman. Follow the jump for more.

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New Music from The Authors

We’ve been hyping up Austin’s new IT band The Authors for some time now, and we’ve got great news for you all.  These rocking fellows now have a new single to toss your way from their upcoming full-length debut, Get Haunted, which is coming your way September 7th.  You’ll get exactly what you need with this track, offering up a little bit of their pounding guitar sound, fueled by hours of perfecting their danceable garage sound.  Come on folks, let’s help make this band huge. You can also preview another new track, “The Night,” by downloading our sweet Summer Mixtape.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/01-Timebomb.mp3]

Download: The Authors – Timebomb [MP3]

Kathryn Calder – Are You My Mother?

Rating: ★★★½☆

You all might know Kathryn Calder from her role in The Immaculate Machine.  You might have also seen her grace the stage as a member of The New Pornographers.  But, now she has stepped aside from it all to record an album of her own, influenced by time spent with her mother during a terminal illness.  Are You My Mother is just another step in her progression as one of the great female voices on the scene.

“Slip Away” begins with some small maracas draped over a tinkering piano progression. Once Calder steps into the fold, you can see precisely why she has the ability to go it alone, as her vocals have an innocent quality, but one that seems established and confident at the same time.  You’ll find the power behind the chorus enchanting, though it’s little more than “oohs.”

While she establishes strong vocals from the beginning, her range is shown on “Low,” which recalls early recordings from Rilo Kiley.  Here, the piano treads lightly, and in the same manner, Kathryn softly lets her voice float atop the musical accompaniment, not pushing too hard to make it all work cohesively.  This same approach to her songwriting is used a lot on Are You My Mother, but she has the capability to turn her vocal tool in different directions, such as she does during the chorus on “Arrow.”  Such warm vocals definitely encourage you to fall head over heals with every word, and every uttered sound.

One of the great things about the record is that despite the vocal similarities on many of the tracks, she seems to push herself into direction that you might not expect her, challenging you, the listener.  “Follow Me Into the Hills” has a folk quality to it that you can grasp from her other collaborations, but it’s successful here in that it takes you down a different path than the preceding songs.  “A Day Long Past its Prime” takes a driving momentum to push the song forward, and male vocal accompaniment gives the album a bit of a heavier tone, albeit for a brief moment.  It’s those little touches that demonstrate her willingness to build her own musical resume, differentiating herself as she goes along.

Closing out the album is a soft little touch titled “All It Is.” Her voice has a bit of a whisper to it, giving you the impression of listening to an intimate confession.  It ends things with a crashing chorus, a magnificent summation of the record and its emotive powers.  From the production of Are You My Mother to Kathryn Calder‘s incredibly delicate voice, you see the rise of a solitary musician.  Her hard work honing her craft definitely has paid off here, creating a gentle collection of pop songs capable of warming your heart and spirit.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Kcalder-Arrow.mp3]

Download: Kathryn Calder – Arrow [MP3]

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