Austin Town Hall

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If you’ve been following the life of John Davis, then chances are you’ve enjoyed a great deal of music.  He made waves with his role as the drummer in Q and Not U, then jumped into the pop world with Georgie James.  Now, he’s playing under the name Title Tracks, which brings in some new sensibilities on It Was Easy.  You’ll find traces of his work in both previous bands on the album, but you’ll also see a new direction coming through.

As it all begins, you get “Every Little Bit Hurts,” which definitely has one foot in Georgie James, yet you can feel the ghost of Ted Leo (or his spirit, since he’s not dead, thank God) making his presence known.  The guitar sounds are similar, and the drumming is spectacular (done by John himself).  Why we know that Ted uses The Jam and Nick Lowe as reference points, you can see John go straight to Ted; just look at the way he tries to hit that falsetto note near the end of the track.

And so he slows it down to a little dub-step number with “No, Girl.”  Here yo see the pop sensibility of Georgie James coming through.  If it weren’t for the reggae-ish guitar, then it might very well be one of the leftover demos from his old group.  This isn’t a knock on the man, as GJ surely had some great elements across Cake Parade.

This is one of the most important notes from It Was Easy.  A lot of these songs wear the mark of Georgie James, and to be honest, a lot of the sonic exploration Q and Not U did with their last album Power.  John clearly isn’t staying in once place, which might be one of the reasons that this album just doesn’t blow you out of the water; you can see his next release being something ridiculously good.

One of the treats for me was listening to “Tougher Than the Rest,” a number which features my favorite Tracyanne Campbell.  Her voice is simply to wonderful to be ignored completely, yet it once again brings about the idea that John hasn’t fully left the ideas behind from the whole Georgie James affair. Still, they lyrics are really heartfelt, and it’s precisely the thing you expect Tracyanne to be singing.

You’ll want to listen to “It Was Easy” and “At Fifteen” as these are two of the songs which really show you that John is trying to step out of the shadow of his past.  “At Fifteen” is one of those sleeper tracks that I can see being one of my favorites.  It’s nothing more than guitar and whispering vocals; it’s just the sort of think I adore.

Closing out It Was Easy is a cover of The Byrds “She Don’t Care About Time,” just one more signal to the abundance of influences for John Davis.  Title Tracks have made a good start, but the one thing lacking is just a bit more cohesiveness all over.  Sure, the record is full of great songs and great influences (I’m looking at you Ted), but you can see a bright future in store for John Davis once he tightens the reins and kicks into gear.

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Download: Title Tracks – Piles Of Paper [MP3]

John Davis used to rock the world in Q and Not U.  Then he played some catchy tunes with Georgie James, but now he’s finding that middle ground with his new group Title Tracks.  His first album with the new group comes your way on February 9th, and fans of his later work will find precisely what they need here.  ”Piles of Paper” has a lot of remnants leftover from the Georgie James days, which is never a bad thing, as I enjoyed that work too.  So get ready for It Was Easy coming your way real soon.

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Download: Title Tracks – Piles Of Paper [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.

What?   You still listen to THAT album?  That record is so 2004!  Well, that’s okay, because we really like that one too, which is why we decided to come up with a list of our favorite albums of the last decade (2000-2009).  Sure, these might not be YOUR favorite records, or the most critically acclaimed, but we sat down and really thought out every record from the past ten years that we keep coming back to in our collections.  You’re likely to disagree with some of these, and we won’t tell you we’re absolutely right we just know that these happen to be OUR favorites.  If you think we totally blew it here, feel free to tell us so, but be nice, as our egos are kind of fragile.  Follow the jump for more.

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Personally, I am a huge fan of John Davis. His drum work in Q and Not U was phenomenal. His pop leanings in Georgie James made me warm inside. Now we have word that he has a new group together called Title Tracks, and they’ve just released their first 7″ off legendary Dischord Records, so you have to support them if you want to keep your street cred. You can head over here for a few samples, or just check the Myspace. Just a heads up on the tunes; it’s got a Ted Leo/Jam feel, which you need to learn to love.

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When Beep Beep released their first album off of Saddle Creek Records, one was hard pressed not to find the similarities to heralded post-punk groups like Q and Not U, which is not really a far off comparison, seeing how far the group have gone in changing their sound on the group’s second album, Enchanted Islands.

Of course you will notice that knife-like guitar licks still cleverly cut through the album with precision, but what has evolved beyond the angular guitar-play is the evolution of the funk.  Bass lines are much more pronounced this time around, at least on songs like “Secrets for the Well” or “The Whispering Waves.”

More pronounced on this album, however, is the conceptualization, or the effort that Eric Ray and Chris Terry put into telling a story with each different tune.  Some stories revolve around traditional mysticism, such as struggles with mermaids, while others like “Seppuku” are interested in Japanese ritualistic suicide through disembowelment.  It’s not necessarily a unified concept that runs throughout the album, but one of different perspectives on enchantment. It’s is this disjointed approach to the album that both succeeds and holds the band back at moments.  In success, the band has crafted a varying album, layered with changes in tempo and structure, as well as vocal pitch.  Each song opens up like a Russian matryoshka dolls, revealing pieces within pieces.  At the same time, the effort seems disjointed at moments, as if the epic storytelling proved too much for those at the helm.

You will find some straightforward songs in the presentation of this album, both seeming to tie into each other, lyrically.  The ease with which a listener can approach these songs allows for them to shine in the mix of the album, as they step out for just a moment before being consumed again by the whole of the album.  ”Return to Me” and “I Miss You” both loosely rely upon a classic approach, with gentle guitar accompanied by soaring lyrics.  Odds are that most casual listeners will find these the standout tracks, as they are easily consumed, but more rewarding moments exist throughout the entirety of the record.

And that is how it all comes to be on Enchanted Islands, as one must journey with the band, through the dark and light moments, behind the chords and into the lyrics.  Each time you find yourself traveling one way, the wind blows, moving you in an entirely new direction within the album, which makes Beep Beep one of the more interesting listens to come out at this point in the year.

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Download: Beep Beep – I Miss You [MP3]

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Sometimes a picture sums everything up, which is precisely what the cover art for Pretty & Nice’s new album, Get Young, does.  The girl frivolously jumping in the air seems to have been listening to this album for quite sometime, as this is exactly what the band prescribes to listeners with their most recent effort.

Influences are abundant, and a trip to the band’s Myspace page yields one key influence that seems to dominate the band’s sound, albeit in an entirely different light; that is the listing of Q and Not U. Several of the more straightforward tracks definitely dwell in that post-punk aggression made famous by the Washington D. C. scene. But, influences don’t always give you a starting point for a conversation.

A band not listed, but definitely in the same vein, is Of Montreal. A few listens to the album and you will find that the vocal inflection of Kevin Barnes is definitely a shared characteristic with Pretty & Nice. It’s not just the vocals that emulate the allusion, but the mixing of electronics inside a rock-fueled song structure.  This tactic is used to extremes in the latter half of the album.

Oddly, that contrasts with the hard-hitting punch of the first few tracks, which makes the listening experience unfortunately imbalanced.  The opening power definitely draws your attention to the speedy guitar licks and hard-hitting drum sound.  It’s this fury and vigor that immediately warrants a positive attitude in regards to the Get Young.

But, the strength of the first five songs wanes as the band begins to sink into a bit of repetition.  Each song seemingly blends into the other as the album draws to a close.  It’s this element that leaves a question mark on this release.  As the band carries you towards the end, it’s almost as if they wore you out too quickly, leaving you with less passion in the end than they offered at the beginning.  Sure, they’re still going strong, but it just becomes a bit redundant.

Brash and courageous, Pretty & Nice come out of the gates swinging for the fence, but you can only jump around for so long before your legs go weary, along with your ears.  Too good too quick, and then its done all over again, much to the possible demise of this album.