Category: Reviews

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.

The Rosebuds – Sand + Silence

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rRating: ★★★☆☆

Whenever your album is produced by a big name in the indie rock world, let alone Justin Vernon, there’s going to be a great deal of attention drawn to you by this simple fact, and not by the catalogue you’ve already generated as a group that’s been around for 13 years now. I was impressed with Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard’s last effort on Loud Planes Fly Low and thus, regardless of big names, my expectations were high for Sand + Silence, but perhaps a bit too high.

When I heard a single for this album, “Blue Eyes,” I was pretty stoked to hear the rest of the album; it seemed like the band was stepping into this surf rock tinged version of their previous sound. Instead of garage rock as the base for the surfy jams, this track offered up a pop base for those surf rock guitars to move around in. It’s a downright jam; Ivan Howard’s vocals warble and soar, backed with Kelly Crisp’s arcing “ooh’s,” and the jangly guitars to make it a beach tune to throw on your latest mix.

However, when listening to the rest of this album, it’s hard to find this continual current, or even a continual current of enticing tunes. I find myself being pulled back to the music once every third track or so, getting interested in a track, only for the band to switch it up for the next song. There’s something be said about creating a collection of songs that are different but somehow work together in some fashion, but the tracks sprawl out far in different directions. That being said, I still really enjoyed “Looking For,” where you have the beach vibe returning in the guitar parts as well as the fading “ahhs.” On this song we also encounter Crisp’s small presence on this album via the form of her backing vocals. Here, some of the enticement of infectious pop tunes that The Rosebuds started to reinvent on their past album.

While there are some nice tracks on Sand + Silence, I really am missing some vital cohesiveness that would make this album go from good to grand. The beginning of the album feels a bit lost and muddy, and while the ending starts to pick up on that subtle surf vibe that “Blue Eyes” sparked, it’s hard not to skip over the first few numbers, after “In My Teeth” to get to the goods. Perhaps this is a record that requires some extra time for a deeper undercurrent to arise. See for yourself.

 

 

Film Review – Land Ho!

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landho!Rating: ★★½☆☆

Before I jump right into this review, it’s worth mentioning that this will be our very first film critique.  That’s right folks, ATH is getting into the movie review game.  I’ve always been a movie buff who enjoys talking shop with friends, so this seemed like a natural thing for me to undertake.  And of course a free screening or an advance copy will always warrant some type of posting here.  Which leads me to…..

Land Ho! – An American-Icelandic adventure comedy

Like I said, a free movie is a free movie, and I’m always grateful to those who think we are important enough to offer us their art for free.  Thanks goes out to Sony and Violet Crown Cinema.

As I start this review I am unsure of what to say about the film, because honestly, not a whole lot really happens.  Is that such a terrible thing in our day of Michael Bay explosions and former wrestlers dominating the weekly theatre numbers?  Not at all, Land Ho! just seemed to fall a little short at times as a movie that chooses to focus mostly on scenes of dialogue and social interaction.  The film certainly had some entertaining scenes between the two Grumpy Old Men style characters, but  sometimes the interactions just grew a little stale and drawn out.

We begin our film with senior citizens Collin and Mitch, the later of which refuses to go by his God given name Leslie because it “sounds like 606x340_270940a girl’s name”.  From the first few scenes, you can tell that Collin is the intellectual, more well spoken one of the two, who speaks with an Australian accent and seems to enjoy the finer things in life.  Mitch on the other hand is a crass, loud mouthed, fun loving good ‘ol boy from New Orleans who hasn’t seen a movie since Sleepless in Seattle and consistently refers to the female sex in the crudest way possible.  For a large part of the film, this is basically what you get; Collin attempts to have thoughtful, provocative conversations about art or music and the audience giggles as Mitch attempts to lighten the mood with inappropriate jokes and “a little doobification” as he calls it.

In the opening scenes we establish that the pair know each other by formerly being married to a set of sisters.  Mitch has been divorced for quite some time, while Collin’s wife passed away years ago only to see him remarry and divorce a short while after.  Both men are also currently retired from working as a doctor and french horn player/banker respectively.  Can you guess who did what?  So both men are a bit down on their luck, reminiscing on old times, and Mitch surprises Collin that he has purchased first class tickets to Iceland and he plans to cover the entire thing with his riches from working in the medical field for many years.  Why Iceland?  Why not.

cq5dam.web.420.270From here, the movie sort of turns into Grumpier Old Men (yes the second one) set in beautiful Iceland.  I of course enjoyed the wonderful scenery and smiled to myself seeing several major landmarks that I saw with my own eyes just a month ago.  At times though, the film almost seems like a shameless, tourist enticing travel video to boost the local economy.  Yes, Mitch offers some funny one liners, but it starts getting a little old after the creepy comments seem to never stop.  Collin even appears more and more irritated as the movie goes on when the pair have a mini verbal argument after Mitch leads them out into a pitch black night for an adventure only to get them lost.

Honestly, that’s about all you’re going to get here.  An Icelandic travel video with a retired man making dick jokes while his companion rolls his eyes.  Again, the movie can offer some laughs from time to time, but I felt like the characters needed more time to develop for us to truly care about their self discovery trip.  At one point, Mitch even begins to tell the story of his recent forced retirement with the “short-version”, as I’m desperately hoping for the full version so maybe we can find out what really makes this guy tick.  Not to be so, we get a 1 minute story and almost genuinely care about these guys, but rather we’re left with another reference to tight asses and Meg Ryan’s breasts.

Land-Ho-MovieThe credits roll as the pair stroll into the famous Blue Lagoon spa in Reykjavik and I swear you can almost hear Mitch whispering in Collin’s ear that they definitely have a chance to score with the Icelandic babes in the pool.  Movie over.

Final Verdict: The movie certainly has some genuine laughs and beautiful scenery, however it falls a little short with what could be interesting characters if given their due.  Think Road Trip with your dirty grandpa.

Land Ho! will be coming to Austin theaters on August 15th.

Spoon – They Want My Soul

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spoon-they_want_my_soul-608x608Rating: ★★★★☆

Over the years, these Austinites have gone from local darlings to nationally successful rock stars. They’ve given us gems of albums like Gimme Fiction, and 2007’s brilliant Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which still holds its charm seven years later. Though when frontman Britt Daniel appeared in a new form with his side project, Divine Fits, I thought perhaps Spoon was done for, or at least on the backburner. They Want My Soul proves this theory to be utterly incorrect, and has this band back and at the top of their game.

Though on Transference we heard Spoon step away from the openly bombastic pop rock that they had previously ruled, here we get a return to this style, but with a new twist of sleek and extra-cool, and the singles that the band has already promoted with music videos are only the tip of the iceberg. “Do You,” has the obvious chorus repetition but is complimented by all the subtleties and nuances to offset this—like the fast word slinging, the little “do”s, and synth presence to end it gracefully. “Inside Out,” which Daniel calls “the most beautiful thing [they’ve] done,” is dominated by electronic elements; synth riffs and patterns that scatter and explode in different directions while the vocals are soft and half-falsetto for a large portion of the song. It’s a simple yet elegant number that feels mature and streamlined.

For me, while I’m digging all the songs on this record, the tracks build on each other and get more interesting as the album progresses, as a great album should. The last two songs, “Let Me Be Mine” and “New York Kiss,” give the album an ending sleek and smooth ending and makes you want to instantly start again from the beginning. “Let Me Be Mine” has Daniel giving you some advice about love, some acoustic guitar, handclap-esque rhythm and campy piano from the start, before it jumps into its full scale with electric guitar. It has this driving rhythm that propels the whole tune, but the guitars all scream the blues, as Daniel’s raspy drawl screams along too. Frankly, it’s an addicting tune and when I first heard it, I immediately had to listen several times before moving on to the next.

The album comes to a close with “New York Kiss,” ending on a nostalgic yet fast pace, which is the general emotion that worms its way in and out of the whole record via several elements and layers. Each song fits into the next, and on the whole complimenting each other. They Want My Soul feels like a natural and right step for this band, one that I’ve had a blast listening to. They combine the outright gritty alternative rock and roll of their past with a newfound texture of polish and gloss. Have a listen—these old dogs aren’t done learning new tricks.

 

Hikes – Hikes EP

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hikesRating: ★★★½☆

Sometimes I like to test out a band on my fist listen by putting on their album while I am preoccupied. Its a little game I like to play called “Can you grab my attention?” The idea behind it is to see if the music is interesting or powerful enough to climb to the top of my cognitive pyramid. It also is also a great way to divine the most immediately noticeable tune of the album.
I decided to put on Hikes’ EP during a slow afternoon at work. I had heard the name tossed around in conversation and decided it was time for a listen. I popped in one ear bud and hit play while I caught up on email. That was the plan at least. Halfway through the intro of Spring Forward I had popped in my second ear bud and stopped working. Sorry boss, thank you Hikes.
It’s hard to find something I don’t like about this EP. Which is honestly strange as Hikes employs a few musical pet peeves of mine. First off, they are undeniably Prog. Ok sorry, they are math folk, but let’s be honest the “math” genre is a bunch of Prog players trying to avoid being called progressive rock. Second, as a guitar player myself, I almost unilaterally hate tapping. It always make me think of an Ibanez add of an airbrushed Steve Vai with awkwardly long, highlighted hair. Tapping is a flashy technique that almost always results in an audible loss of tone. And you know what? It’s a guitar, not a piano.
That being said, Hikes has managed to meld intricate tapping melodies and counterpoint with standard picked riffs and rhythms in a way that does not detract from their tone. My hats are off to the Hikes guitar players.
Hikes’ songwriting style is expansive and free flowing. They note water as being a main inspiration, and it’s easy to hear that in their songs. Their songs go through quiet, thoughtful phases that evoke a slow moving creek wandering through pastures. Then, they surprise you by turning the bend and quickly transforming into a rushing rapid of notes and syncopation. As a listener you feel very much like a passenger on this river, drifting off during the gentler sections only to be pulled back in through stretches that demand your active attention.
After making it through the lengthy EP, I couldn’t help but wonder how these songs would work out in an album setting. The 4 track EP is already nearly the length of most pop albums, clocking in at just over 25 minutes. I am not sure that a full album worth of Hikes’ intense, meandering songs could captivate the average listener’s attention for more than a few songs at a time, or even for the entirety of a 8 minute song. That may be the point, though. Hikes’ is surely not your average band. While searching and striving for the zenith of musical creativity, they appear to be intentionally ignoring the lowest common denominator. If you are someone who enjoys a challenging listen, I would recommend this EP. If you are someone who prefers to consume his audio in 3 minute bits… you know what, give yourself an aural stretch. It’ll be worth it.

 

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