Introducing The Black Watch

You’ve got to be an avid reader in order to catch some of the more obscure artists worth your time.  Luckily, I like to consider myself one such person, and going through the thorough review section in the most recent Big Takeover magazine, I stumbled onto The Black Watch.  At first, references to The Lucy Show and jangling guitars grabbed hold of me, but once I got my hands on the record itself, everything else just fell into place.  John Andrew Frederick writes lyrics the way my favorite David Gedge would put together, just without the idiosyncrasies such as comic book references.  His vocals have this warmth, as if you’re listening to a much loved mentor.  Their latest album, Led Zeppelin Five, doesn’t have any hints of metal allusions, so that’s a good thing here.  Sadly, the band had to go afar, all the way to New Zealand, to get Powertool Records to put out this release.  But, if you like your indie rock to be thoughtful, clean and worthy of abundant spins, then go find yourself a copy. Here’s a sample:

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/03-Emily-Are-You-Sleeping_.mp3]

Download: The Black Watch – Emily, Are You Sleeping [MP3]

New Old Tunes from The Lucy Show

LucyShow_RidgeFarm_520The great thing about reading solid print magazines, like The Big Takeover, is that they always put so much work into their magazines. With that, you inevitably discover new things, much as I discovered Britain’s The Lucy Show.  While I’m not sure why they named their band after Lucille Ball, I do love the fact that they re-released Undone, which has loads of great songs.  Take a trip down memory lane with me, and enjoy The Lucy Show.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/The-Lucy-Show-07-Undone.mp3]

Download: The Lucy Show – Undone [MP3]