This is fine.
The Parish has a nice lineup of local artists this Friday night with headliners Balmorhea leading the way. Fellow up and coming Austin bands Ume and Sunset will also be a part of the night’s event. Tickets are available now for $10.
Download: Balmorhea – Harm & Boon [MP3]
Recently I was reading a book from the 33 and 1/3 Series on Bee Thousand. It was perfect timing because everything else lately had seemed a bit stale, so I went back and played the album. Over and over again, it reveals new sounds to me, just as the band’s output does for most listeners. It’s great to see that Bob Pollard, sand Guided by Voices, is still trucking along, releasing new albums to this day, but for those of you who missed out on the genius of this man and his band, I suggest that you go revisit the entire catalogue. Here’s a little old school, straight off of Bee Thousand.
We always get excited when Los Campesinos! come to town so we’ll be making a point to see them on Friday when they come to Emos. We’re even more excited this time around because one of our new favorite bands, Girls, will be playing as well. Chicago band Smith Westerns will be providing opening support. Tickets are only $14 and doors are at 9pm.
Download: Los Campesinos! – Don’t Tell me to Do the Math(s) [MP3]
Le Loup are about to drop their sophomore debut this fall and first single “Beach Town” is available now as a preview to the new material. Upcoming album Family will be hitting stores September 22nd via Hardly Art. Should be one worth your time.
Download: Le Loup – Beach Town [MP3]
Calm Blue Sea is an Austin band that have been known for their innovative take on music and their willingness to try things in a unique way. That being said, it should come to no surprise that the locals have embarked on this new project of scoring an entire film and releasing the soundtrack completely on their own. You may remember way back in March when we told you about CBS live scoring the old black and white cult favorite film Siegfried. Yes? Well shortly after that show, the band spent some studio time recording all the tracks for a double CD Calm Blue Sea soundtrack. The results are really quite beautiful. You can buy a digital copy of the soundtrack starting August 18th on your favorite online media outlets like itunes & Amazon or you can stream the entire thing at lastfm. If you’re interested in seeing the music synced up to Siegfried, try searching youtube or snooping around one of those bit torrents you aren’t supposed to use. For now, here’s two tracks from the soundtrack “The Treasure” and “The Hunt”.
Download: Calm Blue Sea – The Treasure [MP3]
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2-15-the-hunt-1.mp3]Download: Calm Blue Sea – The Hunt [MP3]
One of those classy bros from Menomena has a new solo project under the name Ramona Falls. His record with said name, Intuit, hits stores next week on Barsuk Records, and we’ve got a new little tid bit of tuneage for you to hear. It starts out slowly, but then it bursts forth, which makes many of us salivate for the upcoming release. Buen proveche.
Download: Ramona Falls – Intuit [MP3]
We’ve really been looking forward to this Bowerbirds show with Megafaun at Mohawk for awhile now and the time has finally come! The show will be on the inside stage and should start around 10pm. Tickets are only $8 at the door. Even better news, our very own Martin Crane of Austin band Brazos will be opening things up.
Download: Bowerbirds – Northern Lights [MP3]
Everyone’s been talking about this Volcano Choir collaboration between Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Milwaukee band Collections of Colonies of Bees for quite some time now and a single is no available from the project. “Island IS” will appear on the supergroups upcoming debut LP Unmap due out September 22nd via JagJaguwar. Sounds like this will be something you’ll want to get your hands on.
Download: Volcano Choir – Island IS [MP3]
Rating: 
It’s funny that Cale Parks spent the majority of this summer touring with Passion Pit, as the member of Aloha seems in an entirely different league altogether on his latest, the Swift Mars EP, which is out now on Polyvinyl Records. As a musician, he most well known as a drummer, but his usage of electronics and layering on this EP tells a story of a different sort.
We’re first presented with “Eyes Wont Shut,” a precursor to the electronic features on this album. While the music doesn’t sound too far from many of his peers around the park, his stalled delivery of vocals here actually strengthens the beats beneath the track. A warm chorus breaks into a throwback glam-dance as the song sparkles to and fro, until it comes to an end.
On “Knight Conversation” we find his understated vocals accompanied by a female counterpart. While the music here isn’t entirely out of this world amazing, it does just enough to push the song to its focal point, which definitely has to revolve around the vocal duets going back and forth. The strength of the song lies in this recipe.
“Crystal Air” hits the album at its peak. Here we see Cale layering just as we know he does best. Simple progressing piano walks along the song itself, with various electronic atmospherics entering from stage left. Although you might strain to hear the vocals at some points on the song, and the album for that matter, you are definitely drawn into his barroom persona, somewhere between Sinatara and Patrick Wolf. “One at a Time” supposedly is the single from the album, but it isn’t as pronounced as a winner as some of the previously mentioned tracks. Vocals sort of seem drawn out, and somewhat secondary. It’s just not a strong effort, and an odd choice for a single.
“We Can Feel It” closes out the EP with a swirling set of combined noises, from steady drums to the bursting of bubbles as they boil. It’s a new setting for the album, somewhat reminiscent of a more experimental Grizzly Bear, minus the remarkable vocals harmonies. As it ends, you can’t help but think that Cale Parks has a clear path ahead of him to break new ground and accomplish great things as his musical career continues to blossom before us.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/01-eyes-wont-shut.mp3]Download: Cale Parks – Eyes Wont Shut [MP3]
The White White Lights are a band that have been receiving a whole slew of positive praise as of late from the local music blog roll. We decided it was just about time we joined in the fun and featured the band in our artist to watch feature. Not much information can be found about White White Lights, but we do know that the band has been around for a little over a year and features members of Austin bands Lomita and Monster Girl. You can also expect a debut self-titled LP from the band sometime this October coming out on local label Indierect Records. We think they sound a lot like one of our other favorite Texas bands, Eisley, mixed in with a bit more of an atmospheric touch. You can experience that sound this Wednesday at Mohawk for only $7 along with fellow locals Sleeping in the Aviary. Give ’em a chance and let us know what you think of this new Austin band.
Download: White White Lights – It’s Cold Here In Japan[MP3]
