Author: nathan.lankford

Jaguar Love – Hologram Jams

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Rating: ½☆☆☆☆

When the Jaguar Love project first came to fruition, it was initially 2 parts Blood Brothers and 1 part Pretty Girls Make Graves.  They released an incredible single with “Highways of Gold.”  That was then.  Now the band is 2 parts Blood Brothers and no parts PGMG; will this affect the sound of Hologram Jams?  The answer is yes, and you’ll be surprised how much.

Take Me to the Sea, the group’s first album was fueled with the energy you would expect from Blood Brothers, but this new band doesn’t even really resemble anything of that, other than that you can always recognize Johnny Whitney’s vocals.  That’s about the only thing remaining that you will find on Hologram Jams.

Unfortunately, the missing percussionist Jay Clark really leaves a huge gaping whole in the music.  Instead of turning to another drummer, the remaining duo went straight to a drum machine.  The Nylon Tour in 09′ featured the group as such, but many hoped that this was just a temporary solution.  Without Clark, the beats seem really uninspired, and the guitars of Cody Votalato don’t really add an extra dimension.  If you take “Cherry Soda,” it just sounds like programmed beats with auto-tune. 

After all the promise of the early recordings of this band, Hologram Jams is an enormous let down.  Lyrically, it just seems extremely cheesy. Here’s a sample from “Up All Night” : “We stayed up all night, and saw the sun come up.”  This is disheartening, as the lyrics just come across as if they were written by a teenager in the midst of his first experience with partying. 

While your nostalgic tendencies want to recall the glory dates of Blood Brothers, this album seems to damage everything that they established.  People remarked that this was a New Order meets Black Flag, but instead it comes across like a hardcore Kesha album, only cheesier. 

Perhaps the criticism is extremely unfair, and I’m being overly harsh.  I thought about that sincerely, especially after I praised this band all during the summer of 08, but I feel like I owe every person who read that stuff an apology.  This is possibly one of the least enjoyable listening experiences of my life.  I can back this up with four simple comments: 1) These sound like the beats already programmed into any keyboard you buy at Wal-Mart 2) The guitar doesn’t even seem to serve a purpose on this record 3) Lyrics are pre-pubescent 4) I just deleted this from my iTunes.

Sorry guys, but while I love early Jaguar Love moments, Hologram Jams is the least listenable thing I’ve come across in a lifetime.

2/26 Tegan and Sara @ Bass Concert Hall

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We here at Austin Town Hall were fortunate enough to get our hands on some tickets for the much anticipated Tegan and Sara at Bass Concert Hall on Friday night.  Touring in support of their latest release, Sainthood, the girls were accompanied by the beautiful Holly Miranda and Steel Train.  A sold out crowd filled the hall, and you could hear the buzz as all the fans anxiously awaited the beginning of the night. Follow the jump for the full show review and pics.

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Rogue Wave – Permalight

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Rating: ★½☆☆☆

Let’s face it, Zach Rogue hasn’t had it easy.  He was forced into rock n’ roll because of the dot-com bust, and his band lost a former member/friend in a fire, not to mention his own health issues. Through it all, Zach has tried to put a light on his life with Rogue Wave.  Now comes the release of their fourth album, Permalight.

“Solitary Gun” begins the album on the right foot.  It features Zach’s cool California vocals with a twangy guitar.  Percussion here correlates to the song itself, brightening the aesthetic quality of the tune, despite the underlying dark theme. But, this is about as good as it will get.

“Good Morning” has Zach channeling a bit of Passion Pit as he uses synthesized beats to build the hook within the song.  Somehow, the chorus sounds a lot like Postal Service (or Owl City if you like).  It comes across really generic and uninspired, especially the bouncing beat that goes with the chorus.   Such a song is shocking considering the depth in all the songs on Asleep at Heaven’s Gate.  All that depth has clearly gone out the window; disappointing.

A lot of Permalight seems really mundane, if not a bit forced.  “Stars and Stripes” features more of that out of place electronic palette. But, what hits you the most is the redundancy of the lyrics; you here the words stars and stripes too much to recollect any of the other banal details in the song.  Similar issues plague the lyrics on “Fear Itself;” you can only repeat lyrics so many times before they lose all importance.

Don’t forget, however, that Rogue Wave has always been capable of crafting really good pop moments.  “Right With You” seems like something Nada Surf would have done long ago, or maybe Ok Go.  “I’ll Never Leave You” is also standing near the end of the album, but it’s one of the few tunes that really tugs at your heart.  It’s a mostly acoustic number with some sort of shaker echoing in the background while Zach’s vocals carry the whole of the song. Much can be said, too, of “All That Remains.”  It ends the album on a high note, at least as far as quality goes.

Looking back on Permalight as a whole, you can’t help but feel really let down.  There are some moments here, like “I’ll Never Leave You” that show the abilities of Zach and his band, but you get the feeling throughout that the album is somehow left unfinished.  It’s as if the label needed something, and this was all there was, which perhaps explains the foray into electronic backing during certain moments.  Despite a few enjoyable moments, the album struggles to rise high like the previous Rogue Wave records.

Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Two years ago Jonathan Meiburg released Rook under his project, Shearwater; it was an operatic endeavor, which came across forceful in moments, while resting quietly in others.  His band returns with The Golden Archipelago, along with an abbreviated dossier, unless you opt to shell out the bucks for the completed dossier.  An album such as this is not something to take lightly; it’s full of depth and precision, all of which successfully push the listener into the realm of masterpiece as created by Meiburg and associates.

“Meridian” is a tricky album opener, especially for those mindful of the band’s past releases, Rook in particular.  Slowly the song builds upon the quietest strum of guitar matched perfectly with Jonathan’s falsetto.  The tone is somewhat ominous, especially with echoing vocals in the background and the orchestral touches.  You expect a crash of some sort, similar to that exhibited on the first track of Rook, but instead, the song sort of fizzles to an end suddenly.  It pushes you into “Black Eyes,” which is perhaps the loudest of the tracks on this collection.

Once you arrive at “Landscape at Speed” you begin to arrive at core of the album.  Consistent rim shots provide a hollow percussive element to barely audible strumming.  Instead of focusing this number on the guitar work, Shearwater fills out the space with various snippets of noise.  It’s the sort of restraint demonstrated in the work of fellow Austinites, Spoon; these sorts of approaches tend to keep listeners in a holding pattern of sorts, asking you to indulge yourself in the cinematic quality of the record.

However, songs like “God Made Me” are precisely what make everything Meiburg does relevant to the broader spectrum of music listeners.  His strong vocal performance in front of string instruments begs you to hold onto every emotion within, only to release it during the semi-chorus that leaves his vocals feeling somewhat scratchy like his one-time bandmate from Okkervil River, Will Sheff.  The barrage of banging pianos only heightens such a release, yet he manages to let you rest quietly as the song fades into thin air. Finally, he seems to have taken his songwriting as seriously as he’s taken the orchestration of his previous albums.

Those looking for an album constructed of singles and hits might not find such numbers here, at least not apparent to the naked ear, so to speak. “Castaways” has a pounding drum beat that illustrates that Shearwater is more than just a project of Meiburg.  But, his vocals cresting and crashing warrant the song one of the most accessible on the album, though time spent with The Golden Archipelago finds all these songs as such.

Perhaps the best summation of this album is the second to last song, “Uniforms,” existing in a dense world brought on relative noise before kicking in with powerful vocals.  Just as the vocals signal for bombast, they’re immediately pulled back in favor of a more gentle confrontation with the listener.  At  2.5 minutes into the song, you’re greeted with the complete ensemble of the band smashing everything into a raucous moment, all before the song peters out.  With that, you find yourself at the end of an album that seems to revel in the contrasting experiences of quite and loud; it’s a trick used by many in the past, yet never done in such an operatic manner as we find here on The Golden Archipelago.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/08-Castaways-1.mp3]

Download: Shearwater – Castaways [MP3]

SXSW Watchlist: Grand Atlantic

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We’re falling in love with the South Pacific this year.  Bands like Crayon Fields, Surf City and The Clean have made their mark on our site, and I’ve found another gem in Australia’s Grand Atlantic.  This band shoots straight for the heart of those in love with power-pop.  There’s a little bit of fuzz in their sound, which recalls Teenage Fanclub or the lesser known band, The Comas.  But, the tune I’m bringing you today reminds me a lot of Dandy Warhols.  All these little markings demonstrate just what a wide array of influences go into the band’s most recent album How We Survive. In a year where guitar bands are making their comeback, this is a group you’ll want to catch during SXSW.  It’s just simple poewr-pop, made for those about to rock. They’re playing Sounds Australia party, as well as a few other dates, so do yourself a favor and get into Grand Atlantic.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/02-Tripwires-1.mp3]

Download: Grand Atlantic – Tripwires [MP3]

New Tunes from The Bewitched Hands on Top of Our Heads

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Occasionally you get an email with an MP3 from a band you really know nothing about.  Usually, you listen once, realize you don’t dig it, and discard.  Just the opposite happened when I first put on The Bewitched Hands on Top of Our Heads.  Their single “Hard to Cry” went by easily at first, but something about the building harmonies caught me, and I had to play it again. Made up of six folks from France, The Bewitched Hands will grab hold of you, tugging you into their world of intelligent pop music.  The band will be around all during the week of SXSW, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted on those events soon.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/HardToCry_48-2-1.mp3]

Download: The Bewitched Hands on Top of Our Heads – Hard to Cry [MP3]

The Strange Boys – Be Brave

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Rating: ★★★½☆

It’s been a little over a year since the release of their last album, but already The Strange Boys are returning with another album.  Here we find the local Austin heroes doing their twangy R&B meets country on Be Brave.  This time, however, the boys don’t seem nearly as rambunctious, instead they’ve chosen to slow it all down, spending a lot more time with swinging numbers that might just have you wrapping your arms around your favorite pal (or lover) as you swing them to and fro.

There’s an elephant standing in the corner of the room, and it’s best to get that fella out in the open right away.  Singer Ryan Sambol doesn’t have the most pristine vocal styling, and some might even call it grating at times. But, despite the fact that he never seems too polished, there is an underlying bit of charm behind such an approach.  It seems rooted in the tradition of singers who had very little traditional training, but put every ounce of emotion into their performances.  That being said, it is not a vocal style for everyone.

The first song to really put the listener on notice has to be “A Walk on the Beach.”  At first, the song seems to stumble through the first two minutes, as Sambol does his warble croon over  a light guitar track.  But, once that two minute mark hits (1:32 actually) you get a quickened pace, almost as if a train’s coming for you.  Just as soon as you get there, you get a switch, as the boys turn into a twangy swing band.  The music isn’t really swing, but you can feel the band twisting and turning you with each guitar chord, and after all, there is a blaring horn.

One of the things about Be Brave that shows a bit of a shift in musical strategy, as alluded to earlier, is that the slow burners here have a lot more of an emotional appeal this time around.  Take “Between Us” and play it on your back porch while you’re drinking with your pals, and you’re guaranteed to have your arms around each other laughing at old tales of glory.  It just has a sort of swing that gets you into cherishing times past.

The Strange Boys clearly have discovered that they can continue along the lines of their self-created genre while still pushing their sound, and their career for that matter.  “Dare I Say” is a wonderful tune, and it’s probably one of the simplest numbers on the record.  There’s a touch of barroom piano, but mostly it’s just guitar and vocal; it remains one of the more “mainstream” tunes they’ve tossed out. It’s also the song that kicks off a steady string of slow, yet solid, songs.  From this point until the end, you’ll find mellow numbers that seem more like solo affairs than anything else.  Funnily, “All You Can Hide Inside” sounds like The Strange Boys covering Jeff Buckley, yet you’ll still find it enjoyable.

Be Brave comes to you with little press, at least in contrast to …And Girls Club, yet for those who listen closely, it’s the most complete recording The Strange Boys have managed to put together.  Aesthetically, it remains the same, but it’s their ability to find the groove from simple guitars and vocals that manages to make this album more successful than the last. Cheers boys, you’re doing us Austinites proud.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/08-Dare-I-Say.mp3]

Download: The Strange Boys – Dare I Say [MP3]

New Tunes from the New Pornographers

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newpornosIn a year that already seems full of releases from our favorite bands, there is yet another one to keep us on pins and needles.  The New Pornographers are set to release their fifth album, Together, on Matador Records on May 4th.  Thanks to the Matablog, we’ve got a new tune to bring your way this morning.  Enjoy!

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new_pornographers_your_hands_together.mp3]

Download: New Pornographers – Your Hands Together [MP3]

Fyfe Dangerfield – Fly Yellow Moon

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fyfeRating: ★★★★½

For most on U.S. soil, Fyfe Dangerfield might be a name largely unknown, but you might recognize his work with his band Guillemots.  They’re a quartet of indie popsters who’ve made waves with British press, but now it’s time for Fyfe to take flight on his own.  Fly Yellow Moon is a remarkable debut affair, and one that will surely find fans on all sides of the Atlantic.  If you’ve ever been in love with British pop, then this is the record for you.

You’ll start your listening experience with “When You Walk in the Room,” and you’ll find your feet stomping.  This number wears the influence of all sorts of British pop, primarily from the late 90s.  Fyfe’s throaty vocals find their way into your heart; this has to be one of the single’s of the year.

But just as he has you stomping your feet to the pop, he spins around and goes all Richard Hawley on you.  For the next couple of tracks he’s a barroom crooner, and one that seems every bit as passionate and believable lyrically. “Barricades” might rest a bit too much along the lines of Travis, but there’s really nothing wrong with that now is there?

Just as you get comfortable sitting in a bar with your favorite pint, he mixes it up again.  The piano-laden”Faster Than the Setting Sun” has a darker quality than previous tracks, as guitars atmospherically fill out the background.  At this point, as a listener, you should remark to yourself the dynamics of Fyfe’s vocal performance on the album.  You can throw the variance of each song on the Fly Yellow Moon into the ring of praise; it’s clear that you’re witnessing one amazing songwriter.

And so the album goes into a bit of an acoustic interlude, pushing two great acoustic songs upon you.  While “Livewire” has a generally folky feel to it, “Firebird” sneaks in with a bit more of an ominous tone to it. Everyone should appreciate Dangerfield’s ability to mix it up, even when the instrumentation seems to be somewhat of the same vein. It’s hard not to say it too much, but not a single song here holds onto its predecessor, yet they all fit together extremely well.   Just wait until you go from the quiet “Don’t Be Shy” into the steady beating “Any Direction.”  If you added a little bit more bass and snare to the mix, the latter would surely be a club hit across the globe.

Stepping out from behind the safety of a band is never an easy task, but Fyfe Dangerfield seems to have done so with such grace that you’ll be astonished at how remarkable a debut this actually is.  It’s not an album bogged down by modern indie rock conjecture or hipsterdom. Fly Yellow Moon is just a refreshing collection of great pop tunes, and in being such a record, you’ll fall in love with just how refreshing it feels.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/05-When-You-Walk-in-The-Room.mp3]

Download: Fyfe Dangerfield – When You Walk in The Room [MP3]

Balmorhea – Constellations

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balmorheadRating: ★★★☆☆

Last year, Austin’s Balmorhea released their grandiose coffee-core album , All is Wild, All is Silent, to much critical acclaim. Its epic sprawl captivated listeners.  Celebrating the dynamics in the title, it was an album of polar opposites, sometimes soft, and other times more upbeat. However, with their newest album, Constellations, there is nothing for the musicians to battle, only the black emptiness that is dotted by billions upon billions of sparkling stars.

For the most part, the band succeeds in fulfilling the aesthetic instilled in listeners who pay close attention to the title of the album.  Everywhere you look, there seems to be empty space on the album, or places the band could have easily filled with limitless touches of their inspiring instrumentals.  But, where as they chose to let those moments loose on All is Wild, All is Silent, here they show restraint, barely letting the control out of their crafty hands.

Some listeners might yearn for the more moving moments of the past, but Balmorhea seem keen not to repeat themselves, which is an honorable stand for an up-and-coming group; Constellations is not the same album, and it refuses to be such.  Instead of forcing violins and piano work into the organic construction of the songs, these kids hold back, filling the spaces with just the right amount of music necessary to hold onto listeners.  The most spirited you find them is on “Bowsprit,” a song you will adore if you love to hear the sounds of a string instrument (even guitar or banjo) plucked properly.  But, if you came in search of a repeat performance from last year, then you will be severely disappointed, as the one thing this album lacks if proper movement; at times it seems far too stagnant for its own good.

But, one thing that made their debut album so convincing was the way the songs built upon little moments, creating a voyage for listeners to take.  Constellations, which is a fantastically cohesive grouping of tunes, doesn’t seem to operate along those same lines at all.  Where you expect to find a rapid pace, or just a guitar that rolls you along, you find Balmorhea pulling back upon the reins.  Where they could increase volume, they instead choose to hide in the vastness of the night sky.

Perhaps this is what the band expected of their performance.  They wanted to dot the night sky with their own inspirations; they wanted to fill the void in our listening experience with their own light touches of instrumental genius.  If it is to be read as such, then Constellations is one of the most successful concept pieces you will find as of late.  It is a record that defines looking into the night sky with your telescope whilst putting musical notes inside your head.  Balmorhea have filled that black canvas in the night, or in our lives, with generous drops of light, and for that much we can be thankful.

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