This is fine.
Hardly Art will be releasing Seapony’s Falling next Tuesday. To make sure you know full well what you are getting yourself into, the full thing is available to stream on the Hardly Art Soundcloud. We are here to help you, so you can stream it by aiming for and clicking on the read more right over there.
Oh Internet, I thank you for bringing the musical world together. If it weren’t for our trusty WorldWideWeb I mightn’t have stumbled across this track from the Paellas, a Japanese act who’ve been making my Labor Day weekend a solid listening experience. The four-piece group is crafting music that definitely falls in the vein of bands like Ducktails or even Ariel Pink. Vocals hide in the background, while the rest of the music holds onto a dark angular tone. You can’t figure out if you’re supposed to chill or let dive into some active listening. Either way, you’re going to have fun jamming to this tune. It’s part of their Following EP, which you can pick up free from the group.
Download:The Paellas – Following [MP3]
I feel like today’s going to be a recovery mode sort of day…the sort where I just want the music to hang in the background. I think this track from Astronauts, etc is the perfect way to get into that mood. The Cali man is releasing his Supermelodic Pulp EP next week, and it’s spaced out dream pop to soothe your inner spirit. I really enjoy the pacing on the track, as it crawls along with carefully placed guitar lines walking about in the back of the mix. You’ll find airy vocals to help encourage your ultimate dream relaxation. Welcome back to the working week.
Download:Astronauts, etc. – You Can Yell [MP3]
Long ago I raved about Becoming a Jackal, an album by Villagers that I think a lot of people really overlooked. But, now they’re back with a brand new single that is scheduled to come out on October 22nd, and with a recent tour with Grizzly Bear, I think they might finally start to break into the big time. “The Waves” is every bit as dramatic as the earlier output from the band, but this one has a different approach. For me, this tune utilizes the electronic production as its backbone, and the emphatic beauty ensues. I just picked this up on iTunes, so you too can grab it early if it suits your fancy.
Rating: 
I listened to this record 8 or 9 times, all along thinking it was on the verge of either a 3.5, but not quite. I figured my love and adoration might just push it over the edge, so I gave it a few more spins. Then it hit me, Long Slow Dance is perhaps the most focused and complete the Fresh & Onlys have completed up to this point in their short career. Given, they’ve stripped away a little bit of the reverb, but it makes way for a clarity that is really appreciated by those following Tim Cohen and company.
“20 Days and 20 nights” opens with a bit of a catchy jangle, holding back on the pace just a bit. It allows for the perfect introduction to a more polished-sounding Tim Cohen. His voice sounds steady, rather than wavering in the hazy distance as you’ve come to find on Fresh & Onlys records. If you listen closely this time around, you might even catch a bit more emotion in his voice–it’s barely audible, but listen closely. For me, an avid fan, it all indicates a more confident singer, and group for that matter. Years ago I couldn’t have imagine them creating tunes like “Long Slow Dance,” which closely resembles a folk ballad. Percussion is turned down low, giving the strum of the guitar and the dancing tambourine a little bit more emphasis. While they hold back in spots, they do unleash a little bit more power in various spots.
My first notice was “Yes or No?” Once that guitar enters accompanied by the drum, you know exactly that these guys mean business. Like most tunes on Long Slow Dance, it’s clearly linked to the annals of the band’s previous works, just with more punch. Or, you can listen to “Euphoria,” which again utilizes more pronounced drum work, not to mention some cascading guitar-lines. Honestly, the first ten second almost gave me a punk rock feel–that’s until Tim came into haunt the track with his heavy vocals. And, such emphatic songs are great in the scheme of things, but I really like the extra touches outside of the group’s normalcy that they’ve chosen to include.
Have you listened to “Fire Alarm?” It’s got a strong electronic bent to begin, and while that remains slightly in the back, there’s a definite groove that doesn’t sound too familiar on most Fresh & Onlys albums, being one of the reasons I really like it. Take the group’s psychedelic touch, mix it in with hints of the 80s swatch, and you have one of the most intriguing songs on the record. Or you might want to take a look at “Foolish Person,” where you’ll find the band flirting with touches of modern pop construction, using Tim’s vocal to captivate listeners while the rest of the posse work their magic…and then it just blasts off into experimental noise to wrap out the 6 minute track. There’s not much else like it in the band’s catalogue.
While I may have been on the fence a bit, that’s just my own idiocy. Long Slow Dance finds the San Francisco group mixing in newer influences and stronger studio production to knock this one out of the park. You know Fresh & Onlys can write great songs, but this time they’ve written twelve, using every bit of their influences to create a refreshing record that only gets better the more you listen.
Last week featured back to back nights at Red7, outside to inside. Wild Nothing was fantastic. I had relatively light expectations for Tanlines. When I found out it had sold out, even given the smaller capacity of the inside venue, I was quite surprised. I think the band was, too.
Tanlines is Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm. They throw down calypso-electro dance jams. They asked Love Inks to open. Learning Secrets spun between sets.
Take a look back.
Factory Records made an impact on my listening in the days of old. Tony Wilson and Aaron Erasmus started the label in Manchester in the late 70’s. It was the mid-80’s run that took my ear over with artists like New Order and Happy Mondays. The label also featured tons of eclectic post punk, funk, new wave and dub jams that hold up to anything out today. Compiled and released on Strut Records, FAC DANCE 02 picks up where 01 left off, a scatter chart of what the Factory guys were promoting and distributing to the scene. Jazzy jams from Kalima, smooth darkness from Durutti Column, harder edged tracks from Section 25, Jamaican dub from Sir Horatio…
FAC DANCE 02 is out September 18th on CD and Vinyl. Digital versions include a few extra tracks. Here are couple tracks to show you what’s up.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1-12-12.-The-Durutti-Column-Self-Portrait.mp3] [audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2-10-10.-Section-25-Sakura.mp3]
