This is fine.
| Date | 11/1/09 |
|---|---|
| Location | Stubbs |
| Doors | 6pm |
| Tickets | $27 from Frontgate |
Stubbs has a very impressive lineup on Sunday night with headlining Eastern Europeans Gogol Bordello and Canadian group Apostle of Hustle. If you aren’t worn out from your Halloween night, this is the place to be for another night of fun.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/10-Never-Want-To-Be-young-Again.mp3]Download: Gogol Bordello – Never Want To Be young Again [MP3]
Finally. After a long and patient (sort of) wait, Yeasyer are ready for us to hear new music from their highly anticipated sophomore effort. This new single is called “Ambling Alp” and will appear on the band’s upcoming LP Odd Blood. The new album will be made available on Feb. 19th on Secretly Canadian. Anyone ready to offer up some first impressions?
Download: Yeasayer – Ambling Alp [MP3]
| Date | October 31 and November 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Beerland |
| Doors | 1000PM |
| Tickets | Tickets at the door |
I’ve alluded to the great spastic shows that Thomas Function puts on, and I have been spinning their newest album, In the Valley of Sickness, non-stop for the last few weeks. Well, lucky me, they are doing a two-night stand at Beerland. Sure, one of the nights is on Halloween, but if you’re like me, and not into costumes, then you’ll want to find your way here for their jangle pop. And, Austin’s hardest working band, Harlem, will be opening for these fellows on Saturday night. But, in case you miss them, check out the show on Sunday too!
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/06-Belly-Of-The-Beast-1.mp3]Download: Thomas Function – Belly Of The Beast [MP3]
Not long ago we dropped a new track on you from the Will Johnson (Centro-matic) & Jason Molina (Magnolia Electirc Company) collaborative project. Now, just a week away from the release, we have another new track to get you excited for the release. This one’s called “Almost Let You In” and will appear on the duos self-titled debut album out Nov. 3rd on Secretly Canadian. This one is just as quietly beautiful as the first.
Download: Molina & Johnson – Almost Let You In [MP3]
| Date | 10/30/09 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mohawk |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $13 from Frontgate |
What’s that you say? You still haven’t seen locals The Black Angels yet? Where have you been? Do yourself a favor and head down to Mohawk on Friday night to take in a show from one of the best Austin bands around. The lineup also includes talented acts Kurt Vile and Shapes Have Fangs. You won’t want to miss out on this one.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/the_black_angels_-_young_men_dead.mp3]Download: The Black Angels – Young Men Dead [MP3]
Way back in February we told you about a new song & video from Drew Danburry about Artex, the “stupid horse” from Never Ending Story. Well now Drew is back and he has a new EP called Geraniums which you can download for free (go here and look towards the bottom right under free album downloads). You can also check his free downloads page for some other free tunes that should brighten your day. Here’s one from the new EP called “Lynette, I Love you” which features Drew’s usual silly lyrics and catchy pop stylings. Once it gets inside your head, you won’t be able to get it out.
Download: Drew Danburry – Lynette, I Love You[MP3]
| Date | Thursday, October 29th |
|---|---|
| Location | Emos |
| Doors | 900p |
| Tickets | $10 at the Door |
We won’t deny that we’ve been in love with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson since his self-titled debut came out a few years ago, pushing it into our Top 40 Albums of 2008. Now, he is making his way to Austin in support of his newest album Summer of Fear, which is equally as stellar, if not a bit more developed sonically. You should definitely make your way out to Emos tonight to check on him. He’ll be on stage at 11PM, followed by Warpaint, and preceded by My Education.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/03-The-Sound-1.mp3]Download: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Sound [MP3]
Rating: 
I’ve always had rule with the music to which I have chosen to listen. This rule can be encapsulated into a single word: variety. Having limited space on an mp3 player makes for a stringent selective process. You can’t have too much metal, indie rock, hardcore, country, or hip hop for fear of over saturation of that particular genre.
This rule applies even more strictly for “epic” (mostly) instrumental post rock. The bands in this genre (Godspeed You Black Emperor!, A Silver Mount Zion, Explosions in the Sky, etc.) ask a lot of their listeners. When your compositions range from 10-20 minutes you are begging for patience, since the songs pay off is often buried somewhere in the middle or the end. Frankly, too much off these type of bands can kill the shuffle function of an iPod, so I usually keep only about two or three of these bands in a rotation.
Since the release of 2000’s Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead, Toronto’s Do Make Say Think, have struggled to fit into this rotation (I know they have been eager to make it!). Every album DMST put out is a solid release. They are great albums to put on and get creative, but aside from a few really strong tracks, they tend to be ultimately forgettable. That is until 2007’s You, You’re a History in Rust and it’s accompanying 2008 EP, The Whole Story of Glory. These two releases stood leaps and bounds above DMST’s previous ventures. They felt like whole releases rather than a couple of bright spots held together by solid, but meandering, interludes. The high bar set by You… and …Glory had me tremendously excited for what would come next from Do Make Say Think.
The four tracks, clocking in 43 minutes, of Other Truths (Constellation) brings me both excitement and trepidation. The first time I put the album on and listened to the album opener “Do”, I thought that this album would definitely make my year end best of list. “Do” is probably on of the best songs this band (or any band, for that matter) has released in their long career. It is propulsive, carrying along the staccato guitar riffs and fuzzed out bass to epic heights (Seriously, this song is [EXPLETIVE DELETED] unbelievable!). Unfortuneatly, like with most of Do Make Say Think’s albums, Other Truth’s peters out into the comfortable territory of jazzy noodling and repetitive phrases that lead us nowhere.
It’s a shame that bands in this genre become so comfortable with just being background music. It is possible to provide atmosphere without being tremendously boring and predictable.
From now until midnight on Saturday you can download the entire self-titled album from Timber Timbre for free. This critically acclaimed 3rd album from the band is made available by Canadian super label Arts & Crafts. Check it out here. It’s perfect for a rainy day.
Download: Timber Timbre – Demon Host [MP3]
Austin band Golden Bear are a band that don’t really fit in with the rest of our Austin artist to watch bands since they’ve been around the scene for a while and aren’t exactly new to this game. Even though they are moving into more of a veteran status around town, we do feel like these guys are still not getting the respect they deserve. Well maybe respect from hardcore music fans (and crazy bloggers) but not from the casual listener. To know Golden Bear, you must know that they began back in 2003, and after doing many years of local touring, released their debut self-titled LP in 2006. Shortly afterward in 2007, the band dropped their sophomore effort To the Farthest Star on our ears. Moving forward to 2009 has seen a few personnel changes with the band and a brand new EP Everest. That’s the brief summary of the band anyway. Below you’ll find a couple Golden Bear tracks from their latest EP which you should totally purchase if you’ve got the cash. Right away you’ll notice the heavy garage rock sounding guitar riffs that mix in nicely with some slick pop sounding drums. I’d hate to write them off as just straight pop music, but their tunes are extremely easy to enjoy even for the casual music fan. Their track “Night Lights” will also probably go down as one of our favorite local jams of the year. We hope you enjoy.
Download: Golden Bear – Night Lights [MP3]
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/03-Future-Blues-1.mp3]Download: Golden Bear – Future Blues [MP3]
