Andrew Bird – Hands of Glory

Rating: ★★★★☆

It would be an understatement to say that Andrew Bird is an accomplished musician, as his work in the musical field spans a great distance. Through his work with Bowl of Fire as well as his own well-developed solo career, he has made a name for himself in the singer/songwriter category. He has generated quite a number of fans to support him and was asked to write an entire soundtrack for a film. Folksy tunes are his game, and his talent shines through everything he does—Hands of Glory is no exception.

Though this album is a fairly short release at thirty-five minutes, Bird doesn’t compromise on substance in the slightest. The first song is an excellent example of the brevity, yet complete nature of each individual number on Hands of Glory. “Three White Horses,” at three minutes, blazes by, building to a dramatic crescendo at its finish. It’s pretty classic to Bird’s style—folksy and slow burning, at least in the beginning of the song. It starts with a bass-line and Bird’s bluesy voice, accompanied soon by backing harmonies and the track is mild, but then explodes into something more fiery; the wall of sound builds and then breaks in emotion that can be heard in Bird’s vocals.

The emotional quality of this album can be felt the entire way through, but it never gets too heavy. You have deeper cuts like “Spirograph,” on which Bird’s voice matches the guitar riff in a melancholy melody and the songwriting of this gentleman is exceptional if you really listen. But there are also lighter numbers like “Railroad Bill,” which evokes a classic country-blues number, complete with a barnstompin’ beat and a fiddle solo to match.

It all comes to a close with a blissfully serene nine-minute number whose simplicity overwhelms you. “Beyond the Valley of the Three White Horses” is a treat to behold—the elegant over-arching string-work drifts in and out, alternating with opposing casual guitar strumming. I find myself swooning over the beauty of such a song, getting lost in the heavy violin sound and then picked up once more with the guitar and Bird playing out in his gentle way. Though it is nine minutes long, there isn’t a point in the song in which you even think about its length. On the contrary, you wish it would continue.

Here in Austin we’ve just experienced our first real cold snap of the season, signaling perhaps the hope of fall, but if you’re anywhere else really, cold weather is here. Hands of Glory makes a great listening companion to warm your inside with folksy bliss as you watch the leaves change colors. So throw on a sweater and jeans and let Andrew Bird keep you company.

Black Moth Super Rainbow – Cobra Juicy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I always have a great deal of respect for bands who aim to keep as much about themselves secret as possible, allowing their music to do the talking. Such is the case with Black Moth Super Rainbow—although this is their fifth studio release, little is known about the members of this group and they plan to keep it that way. An enigma or not, this is not their first rodeo, as they’ve been producing electronic experimental music for years.

Unnatural would be one way to describe the music of this group. Gone are all traces of humanness from these tunes, replaced with distorted and robotic vocals, layers of space-age synthesizers and mechanic percussion that never misses a beat. All of these elements make it very easy to get lost in the world that Black Moth Super Rainbow has generated, but something about their material keeps you along for the ride. Take the first number, “Windshield Smasher” for example. The song starts out with a bouncing beat and then dripping-with-distortion guitar joins the mix—at first it doesn’t quite sound too experimental. Then, the vocals, or a robotic emulation of vocals, and synthesizer are added to the mix, which adds a peculiar spin on the sound, leaving you wondering what exactly you are listening to, but grooving along nevertheless.

It seems that there are two ways to listen to this album: analyzing what you are listening to, or getting out of your head and jamming along with the band is offering to you. For me, I waiver back and forth between these two— certain songs just appeal more than others. Although, instead of the normal disparity between the merit of numbers, I find these songs to fall under the ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ umbrella. You have songs like “Windshield Smasher,” and “I Think I’m Evil,” that hold your attention for their duration, providing you with something different than your normal electronic beats to jam to.

However, there is a lack of variety in the songs that don’t call to your attention—all of this mechanic and inhuman sound begins to grate upon you as you progress in the album. Less and less do you find tracks that you are keen upon listening to, and instead are kept waiting for the knockout numbers that never really come on Cobra Juicy. The album slowly swirls into a mass of bass and beat and then ends, leaving you wanting for the enthusiasm that you possessed when you first began. Perhaps it is my own inability to pick up on the nuances from song to song, but Black Moth Super Rainbow get a little lost themselves on this release.

Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man

Rating: ★★★★☆

If you’ve been paying attention to the state of music in the indie world, it should be apparent to you that there has been a rise of the powerful female archetype. This year, there have been a number of powerfully female-centric albums that have been released—names such as Cat Power, Metric and Beach House come to mind. Natasha Khan is no stranger to the music scene either—this is her third studio album under the Bat For Lashes moniker, and shows a vast amount of growth for Khan. Stripped down and reliant on vocal power, The Haunted Man is work of fine production and even finer artistry.

At a little over fifty-one minutes, this album is epic in nature, but is gripping upon first listen—it just depends at which point in your first listen that you yield to Khan’s enchanting spell. Some will fall in love upon hearing the opening number to the album, “Lilies,” which is a softer number for Bat For Lashes upon surveying the whole album, but still holds the understated power of this female. The number begins quietly: minimalistic instrumentation of synthesizers and other electronic sounds are held together with Khan’s voice, which easily explores her range. As it progresses, the song builds upon the instrumentation, adding in orchestral sounds to the electronic beat to give it the signature electro-bohemian pop sound.

But if the first four numbers haven’t called your attention to Bat For Lashes, “Laura” ought to, or perhaps you should stop listening. Fairly hard to ignore, this track gives listeners a bit of a break from the pulsating beat that his been effervescing in the backdrop of previous songs and allows you to really focus on what is the main-event of this album: Khan’s vocal strength. Lana Del Ray done right, the song doles out a raw cut of emotional vulnerability that pulls at your heart. It’s quite a dramatic number, tough to follow, but “Winter Fields” does a good job at transitioning to the rest of the songs with it’s mellow, pan-flute sounding intro that transitions into a driving rhythmic section. Another song with overt rhythmic dominance comes a little later with “Marilyn,” whose drum machine beats will have you grooving right along.

With each and every twist and turn of this album, Khan is there with you, her strong presence serving as a guide to traverse the electronic as well as stripped down tunes that are found on The Haunted Man. All the way through its duration, the energy level never falls, or loses your interest. So sit down and have a listen, or maybe a few listens, to this release—maybe you won’t be sitting for too long.

Sun Airway – Soft Fall

Rating: ★★★½☆

When Sun Airway came out with their debut, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, two years ago, it was hard to project the longevity of such electronic laden music. With its never-ending loops of distortion and synthesized beats, I was convinced that this would be a one-and-done band; it would be hard for future releases to match the freshness that the first release possessed. Luckily, Soft Fall denounces such an assumption.

My first inclination that this sophomore release would be just as special as its predecessor came when I first heard the single “Wild Palms.” At three minutes and forty-three seconds, it does a pretty good job of giving you a little taste of everything that Sun Airway does well and making you crave even more. It opens with an infectious beat that dominates the soundscape and some electronic orchestral sounds. The distorted, echoed and simultaneously here-and-there vocals of Jon Barthmus quickly make their appearance to hypnotize you with their irresistible serenity amidst the chaotic atmospheric sounds happening behind them.

In the album this single comes a little before the halfway point of Soft Fall, serving as a nice standout track, but by no means is it the only hit this Philadelphia duo has in store for you. Before you reach this number, they hit you with “Close,” that introduces you into the quickened pace that is apparent through the whole album. After the midpoint of the record, you also have other contagiously good numbers like “Symphony in White No.2,” which is sure to have you dancing along. Though the pace is noticeably faster on this album, you also have slower jams like “Laketop Swimmers” and the title track “Soft Fall” that serve as deeper cuts like “Shared Piano” from the prior release.

While it is every bit as infectious as Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, it is a smidge less listenable and leaning on the lazy side of things when it comes to variation, specifically in the lyrics department. Yes, this band is producing electronic music that focuses on the beats and filling sounds produced, but what I really enjoy about this band is their ability to keep the music down on a human level with their lyrics. In some instances, the words are repeated so much that it detracts from the aesthetic of the song and leaves me bored.

Such instances are few, leaving Soft Fall to be exactly what its title proclaims it to be and in more than one way. Yes, it is a gentle step down from the beauty of this band’s first work, but it is also the sort of record that you can listen to distance yourself from a long day and fall softly upon something a little more magical.

 

Levek – Look a Little Closer

Rating: ★★½☆☆

When a band deems itself belonging to the “Mickey-Mouse Tribal” genre, it’s difficult to know exactly what they mean. I take it to mean music that’s paying homage to another time—a sort of nostalgic music. Still, what does this entail? For Levek it means music coated in synthesizers and old-fashion elements of sound that bring you back to yesteryear, but which yesteryear is this band evoking? The 70’s, the 60’s, or neither?

To be honest, this album is a little all over the place: on one song you’ll find chill experimental music, on another you’ll find a track that sounds like something you’d hear in an elevator, and another evokes Grizzly Bear in its slow burning intensity. While all of the songs on Look a Little Closer fall along the same level of calm, there is a large disparity in the sound of this band from song to song, and this overall discontinuity disrupts the flow of such a record.

This disparity is present at the beginning of the album, until the sound that Levek decides to stick with appears. The first song, “Black Mold Grow,” has a chill, 1970’s vibe to it, complete with the meek vocals of front man David Levesque. The track is soft and seems to float on a layer of thin air, bouncing on light percussion and sugary harmonies, but then it bursts into a disco-y sound at the end, with layers of warmth that give it a full and rich texture.  Such rich texture dissolves by “Terra Treasures,” the third song on this album, which reminds me of a song you’d hear only in an elevator; the synthesized organ and the flat percussion doesn’t really go anywhere. Fourth up is “With a Slow Burn” whose bubbling serenity calls the sound of Grizzly Bear to mind. However, the second half of the album falls into the exact opposite pattern in which the songs begin to blend together in their similarities.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m all about diversity within a band’s sound, as it is what prevents all of the music on an album from meshing into one giant song. There is, however, a difference between continuity and the over-repetition of sounds. Look a Little Closer could use a little more of both of these elements in separate doses.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/08-Girl-In-The-Fog.mp3]

Download:Levek – Girl In The Fog [MP3]

Catherine Irwin – Little Heater

Rating: ★★★☆☆

It’s not often that I delve into the country-side of the music world, but when I do, it has to be for something pretty special. So when I first began to listen to this second solo record from Catherine Irwin, it was hard to really take notice of the deep songwriting, simple, yet suiting instrumentation. However, what was instantly evident was the copious amount of soul in this woman’s work.            

Such soul is evident on the first track, and runs strong from start to finish on Little Heater; the blood that courses through this album’s veins. “Mockingbird” enters with some gentle guitar and Irwin’s twang-y, classical country vocals. The lack of percussion is made up with the rhythmic strumming and the vocal help that Irwin gets from the backup singers. The result is a fuller sound, with a central focus on the songwriting and lyricism that Irwin brings to the table. The first few songs are pretty mild: “Dusty Groove,” and ”Hoopskirt” pander around shortly after the opener with similarly simple arrangements. There are still other musical elements to spice up the classic guitar/vocal acoustic sound such as some steel guitar and string work.

The heavier, and in my opinion, more interesting numbers come towards the end of Little Heater. “Save Our Ship,” employs Irwin’s deeper range, although her voice never loses that unmistakable country twang. This song stands out after things get a little one-dimensional in the progression of tracks and picks the energy up a little after a long series of songs. A big part of this song is the elegant and somber strings in the background that makes its way to the front of the mix by the end of the song. This plays for a darker, resigned sound that continues on “Pale Horse/Pale Rider.” However, on this number there, the dark aspects come from the bluesy guitar rather than the strings in the background. It’s subtle changes like this that provides for variation within the Irwin’s country style.

At the close of this rather long album, it’s clear that a whole lot of effort and time went into crafting all of these tracks. Despite not being the biggest country music fan, I still found songs that related to my musical palate in their soulful nature, but there is no doubt in my mind that those who are big country fans will love this album.  Such is a testament to the talent of a musician.

Grizzly Bear – Shields

Rating: ★★★★½

With their release of Veckatimest in 2009, Grizzly Bear essentially placed themselves on the map for those of you who had no prior knowledge of these indie rockers. Receiving accolades upon accolades, that album made it to the top of end of year lists and fans swooned over the brooding, yet airy sounds of this band.

While I was a fan of that last album, I have to confess that I didn’t enjoy it to the same obsessive level that others seemed to. After too much repeated listening, I found myself tuning out of the music and forgetting I was listening; the passive and subtle nature of this band made it easy for them to slip into the background. Thus, the biggest change I was hoping for in Shields was a shift from the passive, to a more aggressive and gripping sound dispersed through the whole record.

The singles for this release foreshadow the success of this album. “Sleeping Ute” and “Yet Again” have that same edge to them that prior Grizzly Bear singles, like “Two Weeks” possessed. First up is “Sleeping Ute,” which is guitar heavy, to say the least. Loops of distorted guitars welcome you in, and then the crash of the lighter-than-air-percussion follows and it isn’t long before the familiar calming vocals of Ed Droste break into the mix. At four minutes and thirty-six seconds of experimental rock bliss, this track is excellent for you to embark on your journey through Shields. It grips you right from the beginning, doling out a rockier jam than expected from Grizzly Bear, but the band also backs off for the last minute of the song, introducing a winding and equally interesting sound. “Yet Again” holds this same outright rock flair, complete with the catchiness of the aforementioned past single.

Unlike Veckatimest, it’s not just the singles on Shields that really catch your attention—the way it should be on cohesive album. Each song is enticing and an important part of the record. Even on the slower numbers, take “The Hunt,” for example, on which it’s difficult to slip away from the captivating nature of the music. Even late in the game, the band still manages to cram in another fully fleshed out song in “Sun in Your Eyes.” This closing piece is multi-crescendo’ed and epic in nature, spanning seven minutes in length, but never losing your complete attention through each swell and fall.

Grizzly Bear have certainly stepped up their game—fans of their previous work will grow impossibly more smitten and newcomers will have a hard time resisting to fall in love.

Seapony – Falling

Rating: ★★★½☆

These days there seems to be a real abundance in lo-fi, dream and twee pop. In recent years, the indie world has witnessed and transitioned into a world filled with that of these genres, but with the overwhelming growth of the shoe-gaze movement, how does a fan sift through the vast amount of music and find the bands that do it right? What makes a lo-fi band stand out against the masses?

Seapony stands out in the overwhelmingly bright and sunny nature of their pop tunes as well as the ever-apparent guitar hooks that are featured throughout the music. A little over a year ago, they introduced you to their take on dream pop with Go With Me, which seemed to fit perfectly into the summery bedroom listening category. On this sophomore release, lead vocalist Jen Weidl and company are back with more cheery guitar riffs and jangly percussion to dance to. Up first is “Outside,” that throws listeners into the swing of things right from the start. Weidl’s sugary vocals are a distorted, making them a bit heavier on this song than on the majority of the other songs that can be found on this album. The guitars jangle along with these gritty vocals, while the drums punch in the background. It’s not the fastest of songs, but it certainly gives you a taste of what Seapony is all about.

There isn’t much to complain about on Falling. The songs work together well so as to avoid repetition and banality, but there are also standouts to be found in this mix. Such a noticeably grand number is “Follow,” which relies on the dreamy and ever feminine voice of Weidl and the glorious focus on the guitar riff. It’s a song that sounds so blissful that you can practically feel a cool breeze on your face. An equally beautiful song comes on the single for this album, “Prove to Me.” As opposed to “Follow,” the guitar is set further back into the other instrumentation and the vocals so that it blends in, but is also able to float to the surface and become the center of the song in places.

My only qualm with this record is that it is perhaps a little too sunny, if that’s possible. It feels like Falling should maybe have been released a few months ago, when the weather was heating up and not cooling down. But it’s still quite hot here in ATX, so soak up this radiance before the leaves start to change and the wind blows cold.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Seapony_ProveToMe.mp3]

Download:Seapony – Prove To Me [MP3]

Falling is out now via Hardly Art. 

The XX – Coexist

Rating: ★★★½☆

Back in 2009, The xx made their way into the hearts of indie fans with their sleek and sensual first album. It was breathy, moody, electronic, and danceable: a combination of elements that seemed to strike resonance in younger audiences with their minimalist R&B sound. Consisting of guitar, bass and drum machine, the first album made waves and ended up atop a lot of year-end lists as this band transitioned from unknown to popular in the scope of the indie world in their buzz-band success. Now, three years later, Coexist begs the question: can this band power through their rapidly achieved success and be more than a buzz-band?

The two songs that they released as singles make their appearance early on this sophomore release. “Angels,” is up first, and it serves to introduce the band’s new sound. The familiar deep and soft vocals of lead female vocalist Romy Madley Croft greet you, along with impossibly more minimalist backing instrumentation.  It’s a slower, mellower track, which is a common theme for this album. The next song and other single “Chained” picks up the pace, with a faster beat provided by the drum machine, and a groovy guitar riff towards the end. Both of these songs provide a palette for the rest of the album, as most of the songs fall under the categorization of these two tracks. Other immediate standouts include “Sunset” and “Swept Away,” which fall as more musical and sonically interesting tracks.

It’s difficult to categorize this album as either interesting or fairly dull when it is so far in the shadow of the first album. At first glance, the sound of Coexist feels overwhelmingly empty; it’s missing those sharp guitar riffs that made the music edgy and playful in the first place. However, when you’ve gone through the album a few times and let go of your qualms that it’s not, in fact, the exact same tone of the album that was released three years ago, this collection of songs becomes a natural progression for The xx. The group relies less on breakdown after breakdown and focuses on a deeper, more somber overall sound. You won’t find the overwhelmingly playful waves of electronic elements that previous tracks, such as “VCR,” but instead you’ll find that waves that don’t bounce quite as high, keeping a lower profile.

Coexist is very much a sophomore album in that the band progressed their sound, making it drastically different from their first album and garnering a label of ‘maturity,’ which allows them to move past the hype and establish themselves as a sold Such a change can be noted even upon the differences in the artwork of these two releases. The first is stark, with harsh lines in a bold, black and white display, whereas this album displays the same ‘x,’ but with a soft swirling of color on the inside. What will be different about the design of the next album, and will this band be able to progress yet again, while keeping the fans of their original sound?

Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn’t

Rating: ★★★★☆

When it comes to classic indie pop, Americans sure do love their foreigners. Whether it be the infamous pop darlings hailing from Glasgow, Belle and Sebastian, or the like, we do love a good soft spoken pop band and so it’s no surprise that Swede Jens Lekman has been a force to be reckoned with since his debut album released in 2004. Since then, his delicate tones have made their way into the hearts of many, perhaps owing to the melancholic brightness that can be found on any given release from this man.

And if it’s sunny melancholia you’re looking for, then I Know What Love Isn’t is surely the right place for you to be. It’s clear from the title that this will be an album about the lack of love that Lekman has grown familiar with and with this, comes the implication that these songs will reflect upon a failed relationship and the desire to move on to something better that resembles the love that Lekman hasn’t found yet. The album opens and closes with two tracks by the same name that serve as the front and back covers of this somber story. Both of these numbers run along the same lines, but the opening “Every Little Hair Knows Your Name,” is solely piano, whereas the closer elaborates and expands to a track that matches the others on this album. The first track trickles in faintly and gently—the piano generating a sorrowful, yet hopeful tone to start things off. It’s a beautiful little number that helps set the stage for the rest of the songs to follow.

“Erica America,” picks it up a bit into the pop world, carrying the piano in from the first song but also introducing the other elements of a Jens Lekman track. Lighter than air percussion, natural acoustic guitar and the sleepy vocals of Lekman resound strong and smooth, combining with a saxophone solo and some chimes towards the end to produce the juxtaposition light and dark elements. Lekman sings “I wish I’d never met you,” and other regretfully heavy sentiments that contrast the bright and clear instrumentation; a residual theme across the album. There are plenty of catchy tunes on I Know What Love Isn’t, such as “Some Dandruff on Your Shoulder,” as well as the title track. Along with these catchy pop numbers are also some slower numbers that provide for some interesting recesses, like “I Want a Pair of Cowboy Boots,” that express some rather bitter emotions.

Mr. Lekman knows what he is doing; each song stands alone, strong enough to hold its own, but all together they form a snapshot of the emotions and stories that combine to generate an album professing the same thing without getting repetitive and dull. Such is a great feat in today’s age of singles.

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