Author: nicole.baumann

Avi Buffalo – At Best Cuckold

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PrintRating: ★★★★☆

Avi Buffalo, it’s been a while. Four years, in fact, since Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg and his crew put out their mildly-radar-hitting self titled debut in 2010. You may remember this release, but chances are you may have missed out, so a reintroduction may be in order. Avi Buffalo is a group of youths from Long Beach, California, lead by the aforementioned gentleman who brought to life their growing album of “off kilter pop.” At Best Cuckold, this sophomore record, produces the challenge of recreating their success of the their first release, as well as growing from this initial sound.

“So What” picks up right where Avi Buffalo left off, with the reverb soaked high pitched, whisper vocals, the jangly twang of the guitar parts, and the sandy sounding drums pounding away. Though, as the song bounces its way along to the chorus, the band adds in elements, like a bit of saxophone and gang vocals, both coming together with the lead as well as doing their own thing to create different textures through its repeats. The whole track has this shimmery sheen to it, as if the group has rolled their music in sunshine—a simple but good beginning to the album.

On the whole, At Best Cuckold feels somehow lighter and airier than the band’s first release, and these moments of delicateness are the highlights for me on this album. Middle of the road tracks, “Two Cherished Understandings” and “Overwhelmed With Pride” both work together in the gentle warmth that is the theme of the album this go round. The first of these two tracks isn’t even two minutes in length and yet it has me coming back to it over and over again. Synthesizers waft in past some laid back gentle guitar, and the vocals—breathy, barely there—give it a feeling of easy nostalgia, something akin to an indie-pop lullaby. Carrying on this lullaby vibe, “Overwhelmed With Pride,” also brings in the horns, piano, and non-falsetto’ed vocals to put some depth and length on this stripped folksy tune that coolly comments on the pride that comes with being a human being.

But there isn’t just simple and delicate beauty here, but a strange and twisted side to this record that we first came to know on the band’s debut. You can hear this in the odd lyrics on numbers like “Memories Of You,” and “Think It’s Gonna Happen Again” in which the vocals also seem to twist into a caricature of itself. Just when you think you’ve got them pinned, Avi Buffalo keeps you guessing as to which direction they will steer you next, which is a large part as to why this album works in its twisted way.

 

Love Inks – EXI

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Processed with VSCOcam with g3 presetRating: ★★★½☆

A little less than a year ago, Love Inks gave you Generation Club, a synthesizer filled mix of tracks that took on the minimalist electro-pop genre well. Not even taking a moment to breathe, the band has lined up another album for purveyance and EXI is a stripped down approach to contrast their last work, playing with space instead of filling every empty crack with sound.

As I’ve just mentioned, this album feels like an inverted take on the sound that Love Inks doled out last go-round. The dreamy-electro pop is still there, but it’s subtler in the approach. First track, “Shoot 100 Panes Of Glass,” gives a little taste of this style, breaking in the minimalist style. Sherry Leblanc’s velvet vocals fill most of the track, but there is also a soft drum machine, bubbling bass, and traces of guitar here and there to compliment the deep vocals. The beauty is in the details here, and the minute guitar work at the end of “Regular Lovers” is a perfect instance of this, with just the faintest hint of a riff coming through at the end to top off the song.

Along with the vocals becoming even more so the central element to this band’s sound, so, intrinsically have the lyrics. The title track is a testament to this theory, with the track becoming a story, starting out with the tale of a female protagonist and then follows this character through the whole track. For the chorus, it turns personal, as the lyrics twist and turn, embodied in the Frankie Rose-esque vocal fashion. In the chorus, which comes across as a chain of word association, Leblanc chastises a former lover: “You were never there when you should have been/You could never see what was right in front.” As the song goes along, it starts to loop on itself, but then comes to an abrupt and sudden halt in which the music is replaced with what sounds like a skipping record, perhaps mirroring the end of the aforementioned relationship.

All in all, Love Inks wear this minimalist approach with effortless grace and beauty, though it becomes a little repetitive at points. However, I still find myself falling into tracks left and right, and letting the quietness of the album take me away with its soothing subtleties. Once again these locals prove that Austin is home to some great bands in every genre.

Cymbals Eat Guitars – LOSE

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59573e8eRating: ★★★☆☆

There’s a lot to be said about a band’s third record; gone are the first impressions that come with a debut and the jitters that a sophomore release present. With a buffer record under their belt, Cymbals Eat Guitars, currently a four piece from New York, can go wherever they want, and LOSE feels, mostly like a manifestation of this freedom as well as growth. This third album is mature and varied in ways that Lenses Alien was lacking.

“Jackson,” begins as the open that you would expect from the group, but quickly grows into a slightly reformed version of the group. You get the same quiet, growing introduction, but just when you expect them to burst into the song with all guns a-blazin–’ and they do burst in quickly—they jump with more control. The electric guitar squalls in the background, but the percussion aligns with the subtle “oohs” that glide in smoothly. It’s as if the band has entered off the high dive with a precision, effortless trick, instead of just a cannonball. “Jackson” undoubtedly brings the rock too, it comes through with D’Agostino’s vocals that cut through the instrumentation with his occasional guttural screech as well as the back and forth between quiet and peeling out. This track doubled down with “Warning,” that has D’Agostino reeling off lyrics line after line with a quick tongue and a bitter heart, saying things like “friendship’s the biggest myth” and “the shape of true love is terrifying enough.” If these lines don’t scream unhappy endings, I’m not sure what does.

While LOSE shows a lot of growth, some of the tracks fall mediocre and fail to hold on to my interest as they go through. “XR” begins with promise and a little bit of harmonica, but then spins around itself a few times and ultimately goes no where—this isn’t to say that every track has to build to a climactic ending, but the sound is grating at the end of the 2:35 time, and feels like a step back from the first two songs. This is to be a pattern: you get a few solid songs that pique your interest and show progress, and then a little step back.

When you reach the end of LOSE, you will feel an immediate desire to return to some really great tracks, such as “Chambers.” This is the best song from the album and maybe one of the best that Cymbals Eat Guitars have put out, but there isn’t the cohesive qualities of a spectacular-knock-you-off-your-feet album here; it’s good, just not great.

The Sour Notes – Do What May

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sour1Rating: ★★★½☆

Local darlings, The Sour Notes have been at it for some time now, creating a great deal of music in a rather short period of time and trying to make a name for themselves. They’ve experimented in a good number of genres since their origin in 2008 and have changed band members even more frequently. On this fifth release, Do What May, they venture into a pop psych realm and give it their own spin on this genre.

First and title track “Do What May,” opens things up with a bit of distorted electric guitar, and then the band bursts into the song, building it up with layers. They add some funky synthesizer, stark and concise percussion, a looping clean sounding guitar riff, and add to this with some “oohs.” After they build this up, all of the sudden they’ve switched to a crunchier sound, with heavier effects on the electric guitar, and then Jared Boulanger chimes in with his post-punk sounding vocals and the music has switched back to the psychedelic pop that it started with and the song is in full swing, going back and forth between these two established sounds. Some female vocals come in for the lead in the chorus, balancing out Boulanger with a great texture—this seems to be the trend for the rest of the album, and with no complaint; it’s an interesting and enticing dynamic.

There are tracks on Do What May that will instantly spark your listening ear upon first listen, but also some slow burners that require a bit more of your attention for you to sink your teeth into them. Perhaps it’s up to you to decide which of the tracks fit into which category for you, but “In The Meanwhile,” while it would most likely fit into the slow burner for most, immediately plucked my interest. In an album full of psychedelic pop jams, all of the sudden, stark in the middle you get this sweeping and delicate number with violin to start out the number. The effect on the vocals make them feel far away and soft, building to broader sweeping choruses that seem to go on forever, even though the track only lasts about three and a half minutes. On the contrary, earlier number, “With Ease, With Time,” will immediately stand out, the catchy nature of the chorus and the grooving bass giving it this infectious rhythm.

Though the album starts quite strong and dissipates slightly as it progresses, it picks back up for its close and ends on a high note. The Sour Notes have done good work on Do What May, and I invite you to pick up a copy; you won’t be disappointed.

Wand – Ganglion Reef

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wandRating: ★★★½☆

Just when I think I’ve reached a point where I seem to be teeming with enough lo-fi garage rock, Wand comes around with their debut album Ganglion Reef  to let me know that you can never have enough. Cory Thomas Hanson and company from L.A have won me over with their simmering and psychedelic rock music that they’ve crafted on their impressive ten track album.

Though admittedly Ganglion Reef took me a little bit of time to wrap my head around; it didn’t immediately catch my attention, but faded into the background of my multitasking. It wasn’t until the last two tracks that I somehow caught on that this group had something special they were giving out. The second to last track, “Growing Up Boys” is a subtle song, reminiscent of Dr. Dog via the vocals. A soft combination of vocals, acoustic strumming and a brooding bass line carries the song while these lines of what sounds like high-pitched synthesizer strike through, cutting the track with the psych elements. It’s a gorgeous song, with Hanson’s vocals soaked in reverb giving it a hazy glow and you just have to let it hit you with its waves of sound.

This mellow take on the garage rock genre works well for Wand, but then again so does the straight up rock and roll. Last, but certainly not least in value track, “Generator Larping” has buzzing guitars to the max and Hanson dropping into a falsetto voice that is somehow even hazier than the proceeding track. The result is great ending to the record, and these two back-to-back tracks will surely spark your interest and send you back to the start if you hadn’t already been hooked on the way, which is easy to get when you give this record your full attention or a second spin. Tracks like “Broken Candle” have catchy choruses that will get you moving, but also full on guitar solos that follow them with garage rock goodness.

Ganglion Reef is a psychedelic trip into another world from start to finish, but takes a bit warming up to if you don’t fully fall into the hazy waters the first time around. Keep falling for and with Wand… I sure will.

The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers

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c0c1c6baRating: ★★★½☆

When it comes to indie rock super groups, you really can’t beat the likes of The New Pornographers. Making music together since 1999, this Canadian band consists of the best of the best, each of which have their own successful career be it alone or with another band. There’s Carl “A.C” Newman, Dan Bejar, Neko Case, and Kathryn Calder, just to name off a few, but let’s be honest: you should probably know who this band is as they’ve been around for longer than a decade and Brill Bruisers makes for their sixth full length release. Though it is sixth in a line of solid releases, by no means does it feel trite or banal—The New Pornographers have managed to do it once again.

With a band that is a culmination of so many great individual artists, I’m always flummoxed as to how this group can create a cohesive sound for their group. Sure, different artists take the lead on a track-to-track basis, incorporating their own styles, but Brill Bruisers manages to come together fairly easily. From opening title track to the last and glittering “You Tell Me Where,” the group hits their stride multiple times and gives you some great tunes.

I think it partially depends on which lead vocalist you like the best that will leads you to your favorite numbers. There’s Newman’s opening “Brill Bruisers,” which kicks the album off en medias res with the groups shimmery indie rock; the percussion is essentially all cymbal, the guitars’ blend in with the mix, synthesizers wander around through the song and the vocals of Newman lead you fearlessly through these airy walls of sound. Of course, he’s not alone, you get a lot of gang vocals singing back up through the whole song, which gives it an even lighter, poppier feeling. Later on you get Bejar’s unmistakable warbling vocals up to bat on “War On The East Coast,” which happens to be my favorite track on the record. The track seemingly makes comment on today’s general feeling of chaos and disarray—“look what we’re living in.” While the track rages on in full fury of to a build at the end, the choral hook has Bejar crooning “Oh, I don’t care, I don’t care,” making you want to scream right along with him, even if the sentiment is apathy, it’s still relatable. However, it’s not just the tracks with an outright lead vocal that will get you falling for them. On the contrary, “Fantasy Fools,” has a shared lead vocal that elbows its way into your list of highlights as well.

Though there’s a lot to love on Brill Bruisers, for me the album doesn’t go above and beyond to give you a sound that you want to sing to the world about. Sure, you’ll come back and jam with this group of lovable indie-poppers now and again, but there’s just a little bit missing from this release to push it to the next level.

Geoffrey O’Connor – Fan Fiction

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homepage_large.1b99a5d7Rating: ★★½☆☆

When front men, or women, step aside from their group efforts to strike out on their own, I always fear that the effort will be, well, too self-indulgent. Geoffrey O’Connor, of the Crayon Fields, created a record of his own back in 2011, when he broke out a bit from his guitar and moved into the synth pop side of things. Fan Fiction is another trip into the world of danceable beats and narratives that take place or belong in a nightclub.

Nightclub beats may be one thing, but it’s a whole different animal to be able to go back and forth from dance floor to the other parts of your life. While we all like to shake it, I have to have a little bit of substance to accompany my dance tunes and set them apart from all the rest. The general sound on Fan Fiction is interesting—something along the lines of a mix between Cut Copy and the vocal quality reminiscent of Owen Pallett. It’s synth dance pop with 80’s flair; the presence of the electric guitar through the whole thing adds a neat little element that sets it apart from other takes on this genre. However, there really isn’t a whole lot of variety from track to track that add up to something other than a collection of songs that all sound somewhat similar to each other.

Though my main issue with this album is its lone dimension, there are still some pretty fun tracks that you can groove to. Take “Jacqueline” and “Another Time,” for two great examples of this—both of these tunes are dance floor ready. “Jacqueline,” kicks open with some drum machine, synth riffs and what sounds like a hint of crisp guitar riffs. The beat pumps through the song, and the lead vocals take on a quality that resembles the pulsating electronic sounds as he wonders after the title character now that he knows nothing about her. While the song doesn’t really build to anything in the end, it’s no doubt catchy and will have you lamenting “Jacqueline” along with O’Connor and the feminine vocals that join him for the choral hook. Similar in interest is “Another Time,” where the rhythm is picked up and the lyrics twist around in little endless loops of tongue twisters while instrumentation sounds like scattering fragments of synth that go on forever in the background.

Overall though these few really detailed and stick out tracks weren’t enough to pull me into the rest of the album. I was left feeling a little bored with Fan Fiction and longing for a little more substance.

 

Comet Gain – Paperback Ghosts

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CometGainPaperbackGhosts_535_535_c1Rating: ★★★½☆

I’ll admit it, I’m a little late to be jumping on the Comet Gain fan express, as they’ve been making records for the past 22 years and I am just now becoming acquainted with David Feck and company and their epic jangly indie pop tunes. I say epic because though they specialize in the jingly-jangly guitar that is textbook for indie pop, Feck brings in this heavy element of poetic narratives that pervades all of the tracks and brings it to a whole new level of detail. Paperback Ghosts is an exploration into love lost and the nostalgia that seems to haunt long after its disappearance.

It would be easy to dismiss this record as just jangly indie pop, when in reality it’s that and so much more. Yea, there are tracks that do this genre more than justice, like second up on the album “Sad Love and Other Short Stories” which begins with familiar angular electric and backing acoustic guitars while Feck spins tales of morose love tales, musing “what’s the saddest love of all?” and then offering his interpretation of what could be the answer to this question. His lyrics are quick and witty, giving you vivid images alongside the jangle pop. The words and vocals are mixed as equals to the instrumentation, making it clear where exactly your attention and focus should be. To finish it off you get some string arrangements that coat everything in a nostalgic bath as the song comes to its close. They give you quality jangle with other layers and textures that push it beyond.

While they give you solid tunes like the aforementioned track, Comet Gain also brings you the blues a bit, or some heavier tracks. On these numbers, the band digs in, and the guitars get a bit fuzzier and the synths more prominent. “(All The) Avenue Girls” brings in some female vocals and the old fashion organ-esque synthesizer that runs through the whole tune, and for some of the rest of the album gives it a timeless flair. End number “Confessions Of A Daydream,” is another example of this bluesy tinge, complete with gritty guitars and Feck’s vocals straying the furthest from where we first met him at the beginning of the album. We get the image of a disheveled frontman instead of a put together poet, but the imperfections of the song make it an interesting twist to finish the album.

Paperback Ghosts is an adamant testament to the talent of this man and the musicians that have accompanied him through the years to keep putting out relevant records of indie pop. It takes a lot to stay current, but Feck doesn’t seem too preoccupied at all with keeping up with the times, rather more with doing his own thing. It’s worked for 22 years and it has worked once again this time around; beautiful songwriting abounds and you have yourself a collection of deep tunes to spin around your office or house and really sink into. Let’s just say Comet Gain has made a fan out of me.

Literature – Chorus

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litRating: ★★★★☆

Back in 2012, Literature should have made your radar with Arab Spring, their debut LP that ATH Records helped put out. If somehow you managed to miss that gem of a first record, not to worry, the four gents are back to give you another opportunity to fall in love with their jangly guitar centric rock music. One listen and you’ll be devoid of excuses not to be smitten with Chorus and this band.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I’m going to liken this album to those instances in your life, or in the movies when everything around slows for a second in a moment of golden enlightenment. For the twenty-nine minutes that Chorus lasts you are swept away in a fury of glittering and shimmering tunes. Each song has a pearlescent quality to it—the guitar licks ripple and glide with each other in endless loops while the percussion is like the foam on the edge of the waves of synth as they crash in. The album on a whole has the golden vibe, but there are also some extra special standouts that will have you instantly wanting to replay them over again.

A few of these songs that have got me especially hooked are back-to-back middle of the album stunners “Court/Date” and “New Jacket.” The first of these two songs starts with an infectious guitar riff that peels right through the center stage, then you have Nathan Cardaci’s voice that comes in deep and rich, but gets pushed to its peak as his voice weaves in and out of the instrumentation. The drums never stop, constantly simmering and then breaking into this epic deep rolling builds during the choral hook. Before you know it you’re on to “New Jacket,” which is less power from the start and more of a tune that builds at its end. There are still the glitter guitars from the start and Cardaci’s breathy hazed vocals, but the guitars feel passive until the song grows and grows to the last minute of the track. Really, I had a hard time critiquing and describing these two tracks as they are so infectious that I would start to play them and have the phenomenon of getting lost jamming.

Thirty minutes comes and goes, but like the movie montages, it’s somehow the apt amount of time for everything to happen; Literature don’t overstay their golden moment. Despite the vast majority of the tracks bordering on spastically fast, the speed of this record works perfectly with the music they have created. Yes, the record is brief, catchy and straightforward, but frankly I feel like the music scene these days could use more records like this to get lost in.

Show Review: Miniature Tigers @ Stubbs Jr. (8/6)

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mini-t-press-600x600

Wednesday night at Stubbs Jr. offered a bill of three gracious acts that seemed to be happy to be playing to the live music scene of Austin, let alone to a crowd that was quite amped up. While the crowd was ready for almost anything, the bill didn’t stray far from the indie and synth pop that Miniature Tigers put out, and each opening act did exactly their job as openers; tantalize the crowd with enough pop jams to get them warmed up for the headliner.

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