Austin Town Hall

Man it seems like it’s been ages since anyone has heard from Seattle boys Minus the Bear.  While the wait may have been long, it looks like the indie rockers are finally back and prepping some new material for a early 2010 release.  Two songs have been made available as a preview of that as of yet titled album and we have new one “Broken China” for you below.  You can also stream another new tune called “Into the Mirror” on imeem.  Both are making us think that this album will be something to watch for next year.

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Download: Minus the Bear- Broken China [MP3]

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Prior to listening to Thao with the Get Down Stay Down’s new album, Know Better Learn Faster (Kill Rock Stars), I knew absolutely nothing of Thao Nguyen or her band.  Boy, am I glad that has been remedied!  Know Better Learn Faster has got to be one of the most pleasant listening experiences I have had in some time.

Those who have met me know that I am not drawn to dance parties or music played at dance parties, but I have to tell you, Nguyen has crafted a tight and whimsical long player that is essentially a dance party on a five inch piece of plastic (or a twelve inch slab of vinyl, depending on your tastes).  Starting with rowdy hand clapping and foot stomping of ‘The Clap’ you are transported to a sweaty living room filled with pulsating bodies.  The thirteen tracks on this album are sweet and sexy and just plain fun.

The influences on this album tend to shift from song to song, which would normally irritate me, but somehow on Know Better Learn Faster, it works.  The music goes from Minus the Bear to Andrew Bird to No Kill No Beep Beep era Q and Not U sometimes in the same song (see the title track).  Nguyen’s vocals are a little harder to pinpoint.  They are at time reminiscent of Nico, Rebecca Pearcy, or Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, which are all really good things!

I have a hard time finding something  bad to say about Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.  Know Better Learn Faster is perfect for the changing seasons; it will continue to bring sunshine into these dreary Fall months.

Minnesota Public Radio continues to give us great in studio sets with a recent performance by Minus the Bear.  Listen to the entire show and download the MP3s now.  While were on the subject, here’s the band’s most recent single “Guns & Ammo” off their recent EP Acoustics.  Have a listen and enjoy.

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Download: Minus the Bear – Guns and Ammo [MP3]

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For influences, local Austin band The Boxing Lesson could do much worse: the songs off Wild Streaks & Windy Days reveal an appreciation for the hypnotic swirl of The Secret Machines (“Lower,” “Muerta,”), the pop-prog-trips of MuteMath (“Timing,” “Dance with Meow,) and the grandiosity of Muse (“Dark Side of the Moog,” “Scoundrel”). And like these bands, and Minus the Bear, another group with nonsensical song titles, The Boxing Lesson attempt to synthesize these influences into something greater and original.

What The Boxing Lesson is lacking is not simply talent, restraint, or any lyrical insight at all – although throwaway songs like “Hopscotch & Sodapop” and “Freedom” would suggest they’re missing those too.  Their most notable problem is they have no direction. With songs like “Scoundrel” and the title track lasting nearly seven minutes but offering no payoff, no climactic build, The Boxing Lesson aren’t giving us more, they’re making us wait longer for less.

Encompassing Pink Floyd synth washes provide pleasing backdrops for clean guitar lines on nearly every song, but when it takes more than two-and-a-half minutes to get to the opening verse of the title track, only to have it rip off the music and lyrics from the title track of The Secret Machines’ “The Road Leads Where It’s Lead” – albeit slower and with less passion and intent – you can’t help but feel cheated. The Boxing Lesson seem to have their hearts and ears in the right place, but singer Paul Waclawsky’s lyrics go nowhere, and without something to set his voice apart – aggression, passion, any feeling – the album ends up getting carried away, lost in the large-scale but rootless sweeping effect they created.

Read more about The Boxing Lesson and hear songs from the new album on the bands myspace page.