This is fine.
The evening began for me with a nice warm-up sweat over at the Mohawk, but I really enjoyed the Minitature Tigers latest album, Fortress, so I rushed over to Stubbs to make sure I caught their set. Â Sorry, I had to miss the other bands, but it was a busy night in the ATX for the ATH. Â Follow the jump for more.
Everyone in Austin knows the name TV Torso by now, right? Well, it’s made up of some of the kids from Sound Team, and a few new friends, namely James Rhea. The guys have been working really hard, and we’re happy to announce that they’ll be releasing their Status Quo Vadis EP on August 31st, followed by a nice jaunt across the states. Â You can pre-order the entire EP, as well as stream it in it’s entirety over at the group’s BANDCAMP page. Â You’ll also get to hang with the guys in person when they rock the stage at Emos on August 18th. Get on board folks, this is going to be one hell of a ride.
Download:Â TV Torso – Slanderers’ Stew [MP3]
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Remember when Wavves frontman Nathan Williams broke down in Spain? Â We all expected the worst from that point on, but sometimes good things will rise out of the pit of despair. Â This is precisely the case with King of the Beach, the newest album from the group, which now includes members of Jay Reatard. Â It’s a much more confident Williams, and in that state of mind, his songs benefit greatly.
As soon as “King of the Beach” kicks in with it’s clattering drums and Williams vocals, you can see this band is on an entirely new path. Â Production value has actually been placed into the recording, giving the vocals room to actually be successful. Â There’s a summery bounce to the track, and the best part is, it sort of erases the feeling of lo-fi. Â Who really wants to be pigeon-holed anyways? Â Certainly not this Nathan Williams.
Sonic surprises abound in this record, though that might not necessarily apply to the drum section, which does show a bit of redundancy. Â But, take “Linus Spacehead,” which features a bit of “oohs” throughout, in a nice little warm pitch to boot. Â Throw that in the bag with “When Will You Come” and you have a couple of tracks that show Wavves are more than just that one trick pony. Â The latter track is so gentle, and something about the vocals in the pseudo-chorus is really effective. Â You shouldn’t be scared of this, however, if you were a long time fan of the group, as King of the Beach still has similar stylings to offer you, just with a different twist.
“Take on the World” has that traditional jangle pop, though the calmness in the song, rather than the spastic energy is what makes this far more successful than many of the tracks on Wavvves. Â You’ll also find a little bit of the lo-fi tendency in “Mickey Mouse,” which probably isn’t the strongest song on the collection, but it does show that Williams isn’t likely to stray too far off from his roots altogether. Â Tie it all together with a nice bow of “Post Acid,” the quick paced lightning bolt of jangling rhythm and pounding drums, and you have a more powerful version of the band formerly known as Wavves.
It’s great to see a lot of the progression from the band, indicating that in the future, we might expect even more powerful tracks, with cleverer hooks. Â “Baby Say Goodbye” is probably as close to a pop track as you’d expect to associate with Williams and his entourage, but including it shows that the whole group is pushing their boundaries. Â In the future, you never know what you’ll get with this bunch of rabble-rousers, but one thing you get from King of the Beach is that Wavves is actually maturing, growing their sound right before our eyes. Â If they can toss in tracks like “Green Eyes,” a personal favorite of mine, then there is no saying how far this group will go from here on out.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/09-Green-Eyes.mp3]Download: Wavves – Green Eyes [MP3]
Frederik Teige spends the majority of his days backing up Efterklang in the live setting. But, he’s just released a new single of his own, which shows a lot of incredible promise. Â The tracks is called “What is New,” and it might surprise people who follow his main gig, mostly because it’s so straight ahead in its approach to pop goodness. Â Somehow I keep thinking of David Bazan when listening. Give it a test, and tell us if you dig it.
Download: Frederik Teige-What Is New [MP3]
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After what seems like forever, Arcade Fire have finally made their return to the fold. Â Their third album, The Suburbs, is being released by Merge Records, and while it obviously deals with the modernity of culture in the burbs, will its musical concepts be greeted by the masses, re-raising the flag of the band above all others?
“The Suburbs” brings the album about with a nice bouncy piano, and Win Butler’s eerie croon. Â It’s a casual song, one thing that seems really commonplace in this collection of songs. Â While there’s a bit of a fluctuation in the vocals, there aren’t really a great deal of changes in this track. Â Moving along, you find a bit of a darker-edged swing with “Ready to Start.” Â However, much like the opening track, it finds itself stuck in a sort of complacent circle, almost going nowhere. Â In fact, the album doesn’t really go the places you’d like to see Arcade Fire go.
“Empty Room” is the first song, well, the fifth, where you actually see the band pushing themselves in a way we’re used to seeing them do. Â It begins with a flurry of strings, cutting in through almost the entire song. Â Beneath it, quietly, is a pounding rhythm that drives the pace of the song. Â Interestingly, the band is exploring a bit of some odd atmospherics, but in doing so, they give the listener a different dynamic altogether, something that lacked in the earlier moments of The Suburbs. Â The two mutually inclusive songs, “Half Light 1” and “Half Light 2” also show some changes in the structure of the band’s traditional writing, but all within reason. Â Elements of strong synths and layers of noise provide a little bit more depth to these tracks. Â That being said, there’s still not a lot of power behind these tracks, even when they do venture down new paths.
Oddly, while nothing immediately stands out within this album, as many of the tracks did on past works, you can’t really hate on a lot of these songs. Â “Modern Man” is by no means the world’s most creative song, and perhaps its not meant to be pushing boundaries. Â But, criticism on simplicity will only get you so far, as the song slowly grows on listener’s ears. “Deep Blue” is a great little ballad, but again, the band isn’t pushing too many limits. Â It sort of gives the impression of a demo track that would have benefited from better orchestration or production, yet at this point, it’s probably one of the tracks I’ve most enjoyed. Â For some reason, depth and passion seem to have waned throughout, which is personal opinion, of course, but it takes a lot of the luster away from songs that at their core, are quite enjoyable.
Everyone will surely appreciate the undertaking of commentary on the burbs, and you have to credit Win’s writing, as it is probably the strongest we’ve seen from him, at least in parts. Â However, as the album goes on, one might find themselves losing interest in it all, as it clearly drags out in parts. Â Arcade Fire will be the most polarizing talk this week around your water cooler, as brilliant moments do exist within The Suburbs. Still, it all seems a touch to mundane. Â If we weren’t talking about the band that came out with Funeral, then this might be a great piece of art, but knowing the band is capable of more, you get the feeling like they’ve sort of settled down, perhaps in the middle ground of their own musical suburbs.
A few years ago someone somewhere told me that Capstan Shafts would be right up my alley because they had the whole Guided by Voices quality. Â It’s true, and you can’t really complain with anyone who makes bedroom recordings, or in that style, sound really interesting and worthwhile. Â So here we are, and its time for the new CS album, Revelation Skirts, to come out on August 24th. Â You can label me excited.
Download: Capstan Shafts – Quiet Wars [MP3]
Anyone who spent the late 90s and early 00s jamming away to indie rock and post-emo tunes definitely will appreciate Meridene. Â You’ll find that the group has a lot of nostalgic indie references, but you’ll also notice that nothing feels antiquated, as their sound is entirely fresh. Â This track comes from their upcoming record Something Like Blood, which will hit stores on September 28 via Amble Down Records. Â Give this a spin or a whirl or a tilt-a-whirl, but be sure to give it a listen.
Download: Meridene – Gone Baby Gone [MP3]
Mars Field is an old Irish group who never seem to have reached a lot of acclaim over in the United States, which is kind of a bummer. Â Their sound is sort of that melodramatic slow-core that we adored in the late 90s. Â It’s heartfelt, sometimes tragic, but always beautiful. Â The good news is that you can now get all three of the band’s albums: The Blue Buildings are Burning, Upwards Like a Well and Talking Makes Things Worse. Â You’ll want to do this immediately, as they’re all FREE! Â Just visit the band HERE.
Download: Mars Field – Michael [MP3]
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It seems like Sub Pop is on a roll lately giving us lots of rock n’ roll to pump really loudly in our cars, and Jaill is no exception. Â The guitar work on their new album, That’s How We Burn,” is meant exactly for that, kicking you in the face. Â Okay, so they aren’t mean enough to kick you in the face, but one listen to this record and you’ll find yourself indulging in heavy foot stomping, possibly some air drums.
This year hasn’t seen an album open with such a ridiculously powerful guitar/bass line as “The Stroller.”  It begs  you to get on board right away, pushing you to the limit from the get go.  While singer, Vincent Kircher, might not have a harrowing yell, but his vocals provide the perfect accommodation for the guitar licks. Then you get sucked in with the super-angular guitar pop of “Everyone’s Hip.”  For some reason the vocal delivery recalls nerd pop of the nineties, like a heavy-footed They Might be Giants. All albums should begin with such energy.
“Thank Us Later” demonstrates that Jaill don’t just have to push the limits with pacing and clever guitar chords. Â Instead, they allow for space and Kirchner to sprawl all across this song, giving you a bit of time to absorb the tones the group has to offer up. Surely they could amp up this song live to keep the step going, but the fact that they slow it down, gives the album more of a groove. Â Following is “Summer Mess,” giving the listener that breather, but in a different manner than the preceding song, going with a more roots folk appeal of strumming guitar, met later on by an ambling electric guitar that walks you to the end of the track, right back into the energy fueled tracks.
“She’s My Baby” brings you back to the rock element of the rock, with quick slicing guitars and steady drum work. Â Kirchner seems to go with a bit of a higher pitch here, which might be aided by backup singer Austin Dutmer, who is playing those solid drums. Â It’s even got a surf rock guitar line cutting in at the end of the track, probably included to stay on top of the trends. Â But, That’s How We Burn is meant to be a well-balanced machine, so while you have those rockers, you also find that slower tracks serve as a counterbalance to the record, like “Baby I.” Â It’s got the feel of a high school prom band, but one that’s really good, playing nice jangling guitar lines with a bit of boogie to it all. Â Everything here just works perfectly.
By this point in the year, you’re searching for an album that erases the ones before it, and for just a minute, That’s How We Burn will cleanse your soul. Â It erases popular trends, focusing on what it’s all about, solid drumming and great guitar lines. Â Jaill have now established themselves as a band to be reckoned with, and we should welcome them to the fold, as this piece of work shows they deserve it.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/01-The-Stroller-1.mp3]Download: Jaill – The Stroller [MP3]
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A couple of EPs and a full-length under their belt sees Miniature Tigers returning to the fold, offering up another gem of an indie pop record for the masses. Â Fortress has the band coming off confident as ever, backed by popular demand and praise from the blogosphere, not to mention classic print media like Rolling Stone.
A little bit of tinkering with percussive elements brings the listener’s ear closer on the album’s first track “Mansion of Misery,” just before the drums bounce in, along with Charlie Brand’s vocal presence. Â It climaxes with a crashing bit of cymbals, right before piano and rising vocals carry us into the end. Â It’s a formula indicative of where the band lives, switching things up to meet their fancy. Â They employ it again on “Rock n Roll Mountain Troll,” going in three different directions in just over a minute, but the chorus is where you’ll grab the most pleasure from this track, not that there’s a bad spot in it.
Single “Gold Skull” has the benefit of working with Neon Indian, though you have to admit that a producer can only do so much, you know, if the song isn’t actually there. Â Electronic blips raise the bar on the band’s pop elements, giving it a bit more of a pulse. Â Warm melodies come in and out of the song, putting this group on a competitive level with every other band out there. Â However, this song just has a certain something that rises above the rest, making it a favorite for many lists come the end of the year. From here they go right into another grand number, “Bullfighter Jacket.” Â Aside from the somewhat annoying “yayayayaya” throughout the song, there’s this ridiculously glorious drum work that accompanies every harmony created by the band. Â It’s like a more elaborate version of the Dodos, working with better melodies and higher pitches.
But, you should know that this isn’t all about pop goodness and sweeping melodies. Â Miniature Tigers have a bit more to offer you here. Â You can take “Dark Tiger” and the fragility in Brand’s vocal display, and you’re in some different world entirely, as if you’ve gotten lost in a world of lollipops and gumdrops, finding yourself reflecting in a bit of solemnity. Â Sure, there are some light touches of multiple harmonies within this track, but for the most part, it’s lightly picked guitar and a fragile lead singer.
In the end, Fortress is exactly what you wanted it to be; it’s an album with crafty melodies in the pop spectrum, but leaning to the left of the main vein in American music culture. Â Listening to this album, it seems to have the same craftiness of Grizzly Bear, using delicate touches here and there to build the sonic element within the tracks, but at the same time, Miniature Tigers are a lot more accessible in the long run. Â This is an enjoyable listen, giving you a sense of positive emotions listen after listen. Â Definitely a good place to find yourself as summer winds down, and you need a little revitalization.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/play.mp3]Download: Miniature Tigers – Gold Skull [MP3]
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