The ATH crew rushed from prior arrangements to get to The Parish on Monday in order to catch a good evening with some of Canada’s finest, along with one of California’s best. It was a great show for a Monday night and all bands involved wowed the crowd. Follow the jump to read our thoughts on the show and see some sweet pics.
One of our favorite Canadian acts, The Dears, are stopping into town next week at The Parish. We’ve been pretty excited about this show for a while now and we were even more excited when leading man Murray Lightburn took some time to answer a few of our pressing questions. We talk to Murray about all sorts of interesting topics. Follow the jump to read our full interview.
So we just updated our Dears + Eulogies at the Parish ticket/merch contest. Now you can enter the contest by leaving a comment about almost anything on the contest post or hit us up on twitter with something about the contest in your @. Do it now. Get to the choppa! Contest ends on Tuesday – May 12th.
Alright listen up, we’ve got one helluva contest for a couple lucky winners out there so pay attention. Upcoming on May 18th, The Parish has one very solid lineup in-store featuring The Dears & Eulogies along with The Great Northern as opening support. If you aren’t feeling spendy, we’re going to giveaway some prize packs to two lucky winners. That’s right, first place AND second place. Deets:
1st place – 2 tickets to the show, a copy of the Eulogies latest LP Here Anonymous on vinyl, and a fancy Eulogies t-shirt
2nd place – A copy of Eulogies last EP Tempted to do Nothing on vinyl, The Dears Latest album Missiles on vinyl, AND a Dangerbird Records hoodie.
If that doesn’t spark your interest, I don’t know what will! Let’s try something new for entry in this contest… Simply leave a comment OR hit us up on Twitter and mention something about the contest in your @. Please remember to leave a valid email address so we can get in touch with our winners. Contest will be open until May 12th (one week from now).
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download: The Dears – Meltdown in A Major [MP3]
Sometimes a seasonal change will require a certain approach to listening to music; sometimes it will require that you ask something extra of your most recent purchase. Here Anonymous, the debut album from Eulogies is precisely that record; it’s the one you have been waiting to blast from your speakers as the windows roll down on that perfectly sunlit afternoon. It’s packed full of melody, throbbing bass lines and a certain sense of catchiness that just won’t let the album leave your head.
Bass and vocals open up the album on “Day to Day,” but it’s not until the guitar begins to chug along in unison do you really get a sense that you’re in for an afternoon joyride. Once you’ve taken a brief listen, your ears will require you come back for more.
It would be easier to type-cast this band; they are the next Tokyo Police Club; they sound a lot like Ra Ra Riot; these are all completely understandable, yet entirely unfair. The one thing that differentiates Eulogies from other such bands is that they don’t seem to come across as overly repetitive. Where as some bands in the same sphere of swirling guitar pop have a tendency to rehash the same moments from time, this band escapes it. This is largely in part to singer Peter Walker, who is able to change the pitch just enough so as not wear one down with his voice.
Another attribute that allows for the band to push through the more monotonous moments is the bass-work. It would be easy to use the angular guitar approach throughout the record, as this is a commonly used tool, but here, the bass seems to lay the ground work for a lot of the songs. This is beneficial because, well, you can’t go wrong with a solid rhythm section, but also because it allows for more space for the other instruments to meander and do as they please. A much more interesting listen.
Just to make sure you don’t get bored with the upbeat tunes, they toss a couple of slow-burners your way for kicks. ”Two Can Play,” “Goodbye” and “The Fight” all have mellow moments that leave time for you to turn down the stereo long enough to see if the rest of your friends in your car need to stop for a drink. The latter is probably the more memorable of the slower songs, though the shared male/female vocal on “Two Can Play” is likely to hit home with some.
Now, the one detractor from the album, if you were to find one, is that the band isn’t breaking any particularly new ground with this release. They will draw numerous comparisons over and over, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have peers. Still, Eulogies benefits from the fact that at least they keep the game interesting. And they’re sure to keep you interested, at least the first two dozen times you play this on your drive home for Easter.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download:Eulogies – Out of Character [MP3]
With such a direct reference to sadness in their band name, you’d think that Eulogies might just be another one of those sad bastard types. Leading man Peter Walker clarifies that he doesn’t focus on remembering the dead, but rather “saying those things that someone would say only at that moment but wish they had said right now”. Take that idea of true sincerity in the lyrics with a superb backing indie rock band, and you’ve got Eulogies in a nutshell. The band is also about to release their sophomore effort LP Here Anonymous out April 7th on Dangerbird Records. Follow the jump to read a brief interview with front man Peter Walker, see some SXSW dates and hear a tune.
©2010 Austin Town Hall, a venture of Paravel
Follow ATH on Twitter
