This is fine.
So as you’re gearing up to head out to SXSW this year, you probably want to know about what’s hot or what’s cool. We’d love to help you out, and we will, but now SXSW has set up a radio station where you can stream all the artists that are showcasing at this year’s event. Keep a note pad handy, and start making that schedule for yourself. The radio is HERE.
This Friday over at Emo’s you can get into see the legendary The English Beat. Even more legendary is the fact that they’re known as a different band on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, as our British compatriots refer to them simply as The Beat. But, what stands the test of time is their music. They combined a lot of the two-tone ska elements and they combined them with really catchy pop hooks. Sure, this was over-done by many people in that last wave of ska (we’re looking at you Sublime and Reel Big Fish), but The English Beat did it with a whole lot more sensibility than the rest; they did it a whole lot earlier too! My first introduction to the group was through “Mirror in the Bathroom,” though I found the rendition from SLC Punk by Fifi a bit more my pace. The song that sticks for me though is perfect for all your dance party mixes, so throw this tune on the mix, and revisit The English Beat, or The Beat. Whatever.
So I was just listening to the Matinee Grand Prix, the stellar compilation from one of my favorite labels, Matinee Records, when I noticed something I didn’t notice on first listen. A new Cats on Fire tune! Their last record, Our Temperance Movement, was one of my favorites in 09′, so obviously stoked there is a new tune. Take a listen, and you’ll see why I love this little band from Finland.
Download: Cats on Fire – The Hague [MP3]
In an effort to become the only member of ATH with a serious twee addiction, I bring you new tunes from the Brazilian group, Pale Sunday. This is the first new music we’ve gotten from the group since 2005’s Summertime. The warmth of the vocals in this tune, “Shooting Star,” make it perfect for this chilly winter day.
Download: Pale Sunday – Shooting Star [MP3]
If you’ve been following the life of John Davis, then chances are you’ve enjoyed a great deal of music. He made waves with his role as the drummer in Q and Not U, then jumped into the pop world with Georgie James. Now, he’s playing under the name Title Tracks, which brings in some new sensibilities on It Was Easy. You’ll find traces of his work in both previous bands on the album, but you’ll also see a new direction coming through.
As it all begins, you get “Every Little Bit Hurts,” which definitely has one foot in Georgie James, yet you can feel the ghost of Ted Leo (or his spirit, since he’s not dead, thank God) making his presence known. The guitar sounds are similar, and the drumming is spectacular (done by John himself). Why we know that Ted uses The Jam and Nick Lowe as reference points, you can see John go straight to Ted; just look at the way he tries to hit that falsetto note near the end of the track.
And so he slows it down to a little dub-step number with “No, Girl.” Here yo see the pop sensibility of Georgie James coming through. If it weren’t for the reggae-ish guitar, then it might very well be one of the leftover demos from his old group. This isn’t a knock on the man, as GJ surely had some great elements across Cake Parade.
This is one of the most important notes from It Was Easy. A lot of these songs wear the mark of Georgie James, and to be honest, a lot of the sonic exploration Q and Not U did with their last album Power. John clearly isn’t staying in once place, which might be one of the reasons that this album just doesn’t blow you out of the water; you can see his next release being something ridiculously good.
One of the treats for me was listening to “Tougher Than the Rest,” a number which features my favorite Tracyanne Campbell. Her voice is simply to wonderful to be ignored completely, yet it once again brings about the idea that John hasn’t fully left the ideas behind from the whole Georgie James affair. Still, they lyrics are really heartfelt, and it’s precisely the thing you expect Tracyanne to be singing.
You’ll want to listen to “It Was Easy” and “At Fifteen” as these are two of the songs which really show you that John is trying to step out of the shadow of his past. “At Fifteen” is one of those sleeper tracks that I can see being one of my favorites. It’s nothing more than guitar and whispering vocals; it’s just the sort of think I adore.
Closing out It Was Easy is a cover of The Byrds “She Don’t Care About Time,” just one more signal to the abundance of influences for John Davis. Title Tracks have made a good start, but the one thing lacking is just a bit more cohesiveness all over. Sure, the record is full of great songs and great influences (I’m looking at you Ted), but you can see a bright future in store for John Davis once he tightens the reins and kicks into gear.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/04-Piles-Of-Paper.mp3]Download: Title Tracks – Piles Of Paper [MP3]
Sweden’s Labrador Records have a stranglehold on all things Swedish pop, and I’m grateful for it. Just recently they released a new Radio Dept EP, which features several of the songs off the bands upcoming album Clinging to a Scheme. Not much is really known about the record at this point, other than it should hit during the Spring. This track, “David,” has a sort of shoegaze-synth-pop-croon to it, and everything just sort of moves along from there. You’ll be digging this track all day long.
Download: Radio Dept – David [MP3]
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By now, surely everyone has his or her expectations of what a Hot Chip record should sound like. You’ve got the club bangers, and you’ve got the geek-tronica that makes you questions just why you’re moving to and fro. Their fourth album, One Life Stand, sees the band doing much of the same, yet they finally honed their craft enough to create an album with very few imperfections.
One of the record’s longest songs, “Thieves in the Night” kick off the whole affair. While the beats remain catchy, they aren’t as in your face as you’ve found on previous efforts, which actually propels the song along without letting the listener grow tired of redundant house beats. You can follow that up with another similar tune, “Hand Me Down Your Love,” where the electronic elements actually aren’t forcing you to dance at all, yet you can tap your feet along just as well. It’s reminiscent of Erasure (or Republic era New Order), a band who wrote love songs that could just as easily be enjoyed lyrically as you could dance to them. This is sort of the story of One Life Stand; it’s no longer about creating great dance tunes, but just great tunes period, which Hot Chip does for the most part.
Middling point kind of dies down the minor tempo, slowing it down just a bit further. The trifecta of “Brothers,” “Slush” and “Alley Cat” all take a step back from focused electronica in favor of fleshing out complete songs, albeit ones that include electronic components. “Alley Cat” is possibly the best of the three tracks, due mostly to the fact that the band has composed such songs without going too far out with their experimentation. In the past, the usage of too many elements often busied certain tracks, rendering them irritating upon repeated listens; this is no longer the case. The away the created “Alley Cats” leaves the perfect amount of room where it should be, whilst still including certain touches for the die-hard Hot Chip fan.
Closing out the album, Hot Chip go back to where you want them, hitting you with the edgier “Take It In.” It’s a dark number, but then it opens up in the middle, bringing you back to the light. It sort of encapsulates the whole of One Life Stand. You’ve got some electronic fused tunes kicking up the pace in the beginning, only to sort of relax and leave room for sitting back in the middle of the record. You can’t argue with such an ending, and you don’t need to do it, as the group has clearly closed the record in the most appropriate way.
Throughout the years, we’ve watched Hot Chip tinker with their own recipe of electro-pop. Finally, they’ve made enough breakthroughs, as well as missteps, to have landed upon what seems to be their final recipe. It’s hard to imagine that they’ll create much better than One Life Stand; of course, we can always hope they take the lessons learned and push even further into their development of great electronic music.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Hot-Chip-Take-It-In.mp3]Download: Hot Chip – Take It In [MP3]
We all braved the cold winter night for a chance to catch Bowerbirds and Julie Doiron Saturday night. Luckily, the wintery weather seemed suitable for the music, and with Lone Stars in hand, we caught a solid set from the North Carolina crew. Follow the jump for the full review.
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Once again New York hits right at my heart, now offering me the great sounds of The Octagon. They’ve released their latest album, Warm Love and Cool Dreams Forever, on Serious Business Records, but I have a feeling not too many people have heard much from this group yet, but that should change soon. The group has the ferociousness of old punk tunes with a lot of lo-fi tendencies, which might recall a little bit of Guided by Voices. You can even grab a free EP from the group with several B-Sides HERE.
Download: The Octagon – Radio Days [MP3]
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Finally the time has come for the release of the much anticipated follow up to All Hour Cymbals, and Yeasayer has switched it all up for you with the newest release, Odd Blood. Where they once dabbled in world music with a hint of electronic elements, they have turned the tables, choosing instead to go with electronic music that takes aim at taking over the world. Your first listen might not offer too much, as this is a listen that requires several listens to completely unfold what lies beneath.
“The Children” opens up the album with some gothic samples that recalls old industrial music from the eighties, and the dark auto-tuned vocals keep the mood quite eerie, but there are some moments of lightness, which set the tone for the rest of the album.
We then come to the spectacular “Ambling Alp,” the band’s first single off Odd Blood. You wouldn’t be too far off if you didn’t notice some resemblance to Animal Collective, at least in the usage of samples, but the vocals don’t seem as intrusive as the latter band. Really, this song is all over the place, which is perhaps why it’s so charming after repeated listens.
For the next three tracks you get transported immediately back to the eighties with Yeasayer. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, as the group doesn’t in their own particular way, incorporating more of their tribal meets world music instrumentation to the tunes. The opening moments of “Madder Red” as the vocals kick in just bring pure ecstatic joy, and “ONE” is just wonderful. I love the way they play with the vocals, and then bounce right into the dance elements for the chorus. All these songs benefit from the fact that there are extemporaneous elements all over the place, which makes the spin on such music more diverse than most of their modern-day equivalents.
When you come to the latter half of Odd Blood, you’ll find that the energy isn’t as fast paced as the early part of the record. It feels as if the band is rushing themselves, especially when you come to songs like “Mondegreen,” a song full of horns and rhythmic vocal displays, but the elements here don’t seem to be as cohesive as they were on the early half. Those extra touches that added so much to the first six songs sort of dissipate; this is something that causes the second half of the record to seem a bit less powerful than the first.
Throughout its duration, Odd Blood is full of so many different twists and turns that you have to give the band credit for being so exploratory in their efforts. It might not be the most complete album the band will make, but it demonstrates that Yeasyer are willing to push themselves, and their listeners, towards a maximum musical listening experience. Cheers to that.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/01-Ambling-Alp-1.mp3]Download: Yeasayer – Ambling Alp [MP3]
