Category: Reviews

Dylan Shearer – Garagearray

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dylanRating: ★★★★½

When I first began listening to Porchpuddles, the last record from Dylan Shearer, I could tell that something special was brewing in his craft.  Now, a few years later, we come to Garagearray, and I don’t even have the words to describe what he’s accomplished.  It’s an album so special at every turn that you’re not likely to hear anything of this sort this year.

“Time to Go” opens Garagearray with a piano ballad with Shearer’s deep vocal tones draped all across it.  What’s interesting to me is that despite the structure of the song appearing quite traditionally, there’s a twist to his approach.  Where others before him would simply press forward, and continue the song as normal, Dylan slows things to a crawl on various occasions, encouraging listeners to hang on every note.  The melody he creates at 2:57 is so special that it’s possibly my favorite moment in music this year. Then he brings in “Meadow Mines” to offer another intimate performance for listeners.  The recording is done in a manner that allows you to hear the buzz of the strings in the mics, while Dylan performs with his forlorn angelic voice.  Ugh. That voice.

While I typically identify with clarity in the vocals, there’s something enchanting about the way Dylan Shearer sings.  Take the track, “Garagearray Lookout,” where his vocals hold the track together.  When he sings, he seems to connect melodies together, rather than worry about proper enunciation.  It brings about an emotion that can’t easily be described, but suffice it to say, you’ll be sucked into every whispy note.  Another such example can be found in “Everyone Accept You” where it sounds as if the vocals were meant merely as an instrument, almost harmonically mumbled in the distance.  It might not be for everyone, but it works for my ears.

I think one of the possible detractors on Garagearray might be that as a listener, you’re asked to completely immerse yourself in listening to the record.  You can’t haphazardly skip through songs; each track has something unique to offer the listener.  You’ll probably waiver back and forth over your favorite, as I have, but you simply don’t want to skip ahead.  If you have the dedication, then you’ll find pop masterpieces in wait during the latter half of the album.  “Before You Know It (Its Over)” is a six minute adventure of rising and falling melodies, carefully designed to follow the careful guitar work and additional musical accents.  Shearer follows it up with another spectacular piano-laced ballad, “Barely by the Waterslide.” There’s a guitar sliding throughout too, running parallel to the pitch Dylan’s created with his voice; I’m sorry, but moments like this just don’t exist often enough. It then comes to a sublime end with “Tough on Grease (Carillon),” which might be the most pop-centric song on the album, if we’re to listen to the suggestions from the guitar.

The current musical climate often curates music that’s disposable.  You listen, you love, you discard.  But, if you’re looking for a record that’s worth sinking your teeth into for the duration of a lifetime, then I couldn’t think of a better piece of work than Garragearray.  The musical stylings are current, yet timeless.  The structure and progression of each song is dynamic, yet far from ordinary. Dylan Shearer, simply put, is at the top of his game, and that only makes you better by listening to it.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/10-mold-in-the-fold.mp3]

The album is available now from Castelface/Empty Cellar Records.

Sonic Avenues – Mistakes

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sonicavsRating: ★★★½☆

In 2012 I was stuck with Television Youth on constant repeat; every where I went I was humming along to the melodies and playing air drums.  Suffice it to say, the arrival of Mistakes. the band’s latest effort for Dirtnap Records,  comes with a lot of anticipation on my end.  Sonic Avenues deliver, as I expected, offering up 11 songs of power-pop that are executed perfectly.

“Waiting for Change” begins with a screech of feedback, followed by some understated strumming, but then it jumps into delivery of ringing guitars and hook-laden melodies.  If you were looking for a great answer to the sorely missed Exploding Hearts, then songs like this are precisely why I consider Sonic Avenues to be one of the best acts to have picked up that torch. But, while they do nod their, they’re also making things a bit noisier, exemplified in the track “Automatic.”  It’s a faster paced banger, and the vocals, while still maximizing pop sensibility, are sung in a more hap-hazard fashion.   The next few tracks live in the same realm, with a darker guitar found on “New Vogues,” but I also wanted to see where the band mixed things up a bit.

On Mistakes, “Better Days to Come” brings some respite from the energy-fueled pop that’s been coming through your speakers.  Personally, I’ve found that the guitars, building through two different sounds creates a nice effect, allowing for the group to bring you a nice little power-ballad, though not in the cheesy since.  It allows your toes to take a rest before you tap them off.  You’ll find a similar book-end to the record when you arrive at “Lost & Found.”  It’s not quite the same ballad, but the relaxed approach is very much a part of these two tracks.

For my money, I’d find yourself stuck in tracks 6-8.  My two favorite songs, “In Your Head” and “Too Late” are located here.  The first is really just an excellent jam; I love how the song breaks down just after the two-minute mark, then builds itself back into infectious churning guitar noise.  “Too Late” on the other hand pushes you into rock mode right from the get-go.  The drums are pounding furiously, and you’ll find yourself swept up in the song instantly.  Check out the rad guitar moves knifing through at the 1 minute mark.

If you want a record that makes you feel good about loving rock n’ roll, then you really need to head out and pick up a copy of Mistakes this week.  Sure, there’s a lot of bands out there doing similar things musically, but for me, the Sonic Avenues are one of the best.  From the way the songs are mixed to the unending energy contained in each track, you just can’t get much better than this.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/06-In-Your-Head.mp3]

 

Tweens – s/t

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tweens_albumcover.134023Rating: ★★★☆☆

The official arrival of Tweens comes with a lot of fanfare, namely the endorsement of Kim Deal (Breeders/Pixies).  But, can a young band live up to those lofty expectations? Can they fill your ears with tunes that are as undeniably memorable as “Cannonball?”  On their self-titled effort, there’s room for improvement, but overall, you get the feeling that the young three-piece are on to something.

When Tweens kick things off, you can tell that they’re intent upon bringing raucous noise with just a little bit of brattiness to the table.  Bridget Battle immediately takes center stage on “Bored With This City,” belting out vocals, with the occasional hiccup to add a wee bit of sugar to the track.  And, while that song pushes forth rather quickly, “McMicken,” the following tune, is just as fast, although there’s that effortless layer of cool layered in, making the tune worthy of repeated listens.

Still, with the opening tunes on Tweens winning you over, there has to be a breather, which is why the vocal display from Battle on the next track “Be Mean” offers up a slightly different look into the band’s sound.  She discards that bratty sexpot attitude, taking on a stronger role as a powerful front woman.  This is the first track where I really felt like her vocals stood out from the meat of the song.  It’s an approach I personally feel she should take more often, as it makes that song successful, much like it does with”Don’t WaitUp” and  “Forever.”  The latter tune is possibly the standout song on the record.  Musically, the band seems to have calmed down a bit, allowing for BB to win over fans with her ability to control her pipes at various pitches.  I suppose this song appeals to me because it offers that different glimpse inside of the band, as other songs seem to bleed into each other too often.

After spending several days with the album, I can definitely see where the excitement comes from.  The songs are filled with hooks, and it’s hard to deny Bridget’s dynamism as a front woman.  That being said, there are a few songs that trip over each other, and only the smart choice of slipping in some slower tunes saves the record from being a one-note venture. They salvage that, however, with the inclusion of things like “Stoner” and “Forever,” making it clear that their future might hold more than meets the eye.  Tweens are rising stars in the music community, but only time will tell just how far that star can go.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/03-Be-Mean.mp3]

Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right

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Protomartyr-album-cover-608x594Rating: ★★★★☆

It’s weird to try to put the entirety of the Protomartyr record into any category.  For all intents and purposes, there are no true comparisons to Under Color of Official Right, though there are nods here and here.  The album’s refreshing in that it doesn’t ever seem stuck in a genre, rather it’s defined solely on the fourteen songs included in the collection.

When “Maidenhead” kicks things off there are some stabbing guitar parts that reflect the little nuances within the realm of indiepop, but as soon as you hear the voice of Joe Casey, you know that you’re in a darker world, even emphatically pushed there when the cymbals crash behind the pounding rhythm.  It’s a sign that while you listen to UCoOR you’re likely to hear bits and pieces of everything you love, just spun in an entirely original manner.  You just have to go to the next stop on the record, “Ain’t So Simple.”  Casey’s vocals steady the work of the band, but the rest of the group offer this bit of pro to-punk oddity, keeping listeners on their toes.

For me, I think the presence of Joe’s vocals throughout is what really makes this album something to write home about; he seems to work against the approach of his band mates, cooly releasing vocals while they offer their own interpretations of songs.  His lyrics are never rushed, even when the band’s pushing ahead quickly, as they do on the short track, “Pagans.”  Still, somehow his approach to delivery fits for Protomartyr, especially when you take in tunes like “What the Wall Said.” This is a track that feels almost as if J. Casey is singing, as his minimal melody slides nicely into the punishing drum work and the ringing guitars.

If you’re looking to pick up a single you’ve got options though I suggest you go all the way through.  The two singles “Scum Rise” and “Come and See” both are great options, thus they were chosen as the promo tracks.  Personally, I think you’d do just as well to stop at “Violent,” which is the track I think I’ve come back to most often.  This song exemplifies the band’s sound the most to me, with Casey offering a great vocal performance while the drums heavily roll in the background and crisp guitars ring out.  I’ve also taken a liking to “Trust Me Billy,” which offers up the most pop sensible music, for my two cents.

However, your listening experience with Under Color of Official Right will revolve around careful scrutiny of each lyric and each tempo change within the album. No one song stands next to a copy of its predecessor, and each movement sounds fresh, making the whole of Protomartyr sound like a well-oiled machine intent upon creating music on their own terms.  There’s no historic embellishment and no ties to their home; it’s an album living out on its own, the way a great album should.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Scum-Rise.mp3]

Download: Protomartyr – Scum, Rise! [MP3]

Under Color of Official Right is available now from Hardly Art.

 

EMA – The Future’s Void

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OLE-1054-EMA-The-Futures-VoidRating: ★★☆☆☆

Erika M. Anderson, the lady behind the moniker EMA, has been creating music in various ways for years, but broke out on her own in 2010. Two album releases later, EMA has become what the kids these days are calling a Buzz Band; this lady has been the talk of the indie music blog scene. Which leads me to a pertinent question: should we believe the hype? The short answer to that question should already be apparent to you via the star rating I gave The Future’s Void, but the long answer is much more interesting.

While I applaud the overall reach of this album, there are too many aspects that are impossible to listen past. Take “So Blonde,” or really any of the songs on this record for example. You start out alright, some simple acoustic guitar, and stadium rock drums; a departure from the opening track that is layered with synths, ambient noise, and drum machine. The second track is EMA’s take on a straight rock song, but sadly, its humble beginnings are a bit misleading. While you hope that the music will build into an explosive chorus, what you get is Anderson screaming “So blonde!” without a real change in the instrumentation. The lack of diversity within a single song is monotonous and fails to make me want to listen.

Maybe I just don’t get it, but this record never really pulled me in. The tracks blur together, and the vocals subtract from the overall direction of “lo-fi” or “electronic” that I feel the record is trying to go for. That is to say, the usage of vocal effects seem to be gimmicky, and not only that but grating to listen to. A perfect example of this comes on “Cthulu,” which begins with dramatic fuzzy synth slow beats, which makes the sound seem like it is building up to a climax. As it progresses, we get Anderson’s vocals added to the mix, but other than that the song stays where it started, not steadily building, but static in its sound. Then, all of the sudden, we are suddenly elevated, Anderson’s shriek bursts into the song and serves as a bit of a fright, but the small dose of hazy screeching doesn’t seem too bad, but kind of an electronic punk rock-move that would suit a bold front woman. However, later in the song, what was a brief moment of passionate screaming becomes repeated over and over, which not only diminishes the passion from earlier, and takes away from the awesome instrumental build that’s happening in the background, but also becomes so grating that I found it difficult not to immediately skip on to the next song. This is not a phenomenon that is uncommon on this album.

Perhaps I missed something vital that would give me the key to enjoying The Future’s Void. If you find it, please let me know, as I really wanted to like this record, but for now my feeling is that EMA fell short.

The Mary Onettes – Portico

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The-Mary-Onettes-PorticoRating: ★★★½☆

When The Mary Onettes released their self-titled album, everyone was enthused.  They crafted those pop songs coated in dense atmospherics that created contradicting emotions; the songs were warm, yet they offered up a cold and sterile mood.  But, along the way, they’ve experienced various changes, most recently on Hit the Waves.   That album encompassed more of a direct pop feeling to it, shying away from the dark craftsmanship that was present early on.  Now we’ve got Portico.  This record succeeds in both its brevity and its return to the days of old.

“Silence is a Gun” immediately starts with this delayed effect with an occasional note thrown in, affecting the listener almost immediately. But, while the song returns to the darker aesthetic, it doesn’t mean the group has left their pop ambitions at home.  Instead, this song represents the work the band has put in since 2007, honing their sound, finally perfecting the best of both worlds. Similarly, “Naive Dream” takes the same approach, though this song goes straight for the point, offering jangling guitars from the get-go. while dreamy vocals rest atop the mix.

Then we move into slightly darker territory with “Ritual Mind,” which seems crafted to slow things down a bit in the structure of the record. You can just take the pacing alone, here, realizing that this is a song where you just let yourself go, immerse yourself in the realm crafted by the combination of guitars and keys.  But, you’ll only have brief respite as “Everything Everything” comes along to move things back into the more danceable direction.  It’s hazy house music, crafted by a tight-knit band, making it much more enjoyable than the previous approach The Mary Onettes took a year ago.

It’s all leading in one direction however, towards the opus titled “Bells for Stranger.”  Here you’ll find the band employing more of a soundtrack approach, coating the song in layers of atmospherics and sparse notes before lyrics even enter the fold.  Personally, I love how some of the notes evolve, going out of key as they dwindle in the space left behind by the slowly delivered vocals.  It’s clear, here, that the band set out on the journey of writing Portico with something in mind, something that they had planned and mapped out carefully.  And yet, they add more to that fold by using the album’s title track as an instrumental bookend to close things out.

For me, it’s a really refreshing piece of work.  I’ve enjoyed the Mary Onettes for some time, but I’ll admit that from time to time they stay in one play, musically speaking.  Portico is not that record.  Instead, it’s an album with a purpose, a statement.  All the songs have a lineage to the group’s sound, but they’re composed and organized  in a fashion that ultimately rewards the listener.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/02-Naive-Dream.mp3]

Mac Demarco – Salad Days

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Mac_DeMarco_Salad_DaysRating: ★★★★☆

Salad Days marks the artist known as Mac Demarco’s third full-length record, and while cult fans will argue for this gentleman’s inherent merit from the very start of his career on Rock and Roll Nightclub. Others, myself included, are somewhat newer to the Demarco train, with Two signifying a great deal of growth to his sound. Whether you’ve been a fan from the start or are just joining in, fans new and old both agree that Salad Days is a pleasure to listen to, showing a maturation to the Hill Billy meets jangly Rock & Roll style that Mac Demarco has come to signify.

What makes this third album a hit is that is seems like everything has finally come together: the sound is polished, but is still far from prim. Take the title track and opening number for a testament to this sentiment. The record starts with the line “As I’m getting older, chip upon my shoulder,” sets us up for the combination of whimsy and gravity that Mac Demarco is bringing to the table this time around. You have the playful rhyming couplet that describes a coming of age and seriousness. Here there is a genuine juxtaposition of sound and sentiment that seem to take on the perils of life without taking things too seriously. The sound is light and airy, bouncy as it lyrically tackles not-so-light topics. There’s a tightness to the jangle of the guitar riffs that come across as a stripped down version of Weezer a-la “Island in the Sun.”

The most refined song in my opinion comes toward the end, fittingly on “Chamber of Reflection.” A tinny synth accompanies the musical elements that Demarco has already laid out for us, spicing things up and combining the jangly rock with an R&B spin to it. Falsetto vocals open up the song, and also build upon themselves with harmonies through the repetition of “alone again.” This track is a push for the overall sound that we’ve come to know, and it makes me hopeful for the future of this gentleman’s work: he doesn’t shy from growth and change, but incorporates it into his stride.

At the end of the record, you’ll definitely be ready to start it over again. What you have is not an hour-long album of epic proportion with cinematic lyrics and complicated string arrangements, but rather a simple combination of jangly guitar riffs, groovy bass lines, plain percussion and vocals that don’t try to be anything they aren’t. Such is what makes Salad Days enticing: the simplicity and ease are the centerpiece to which Mac Demarco has learned to build upon to create an enjoyable and tireless record. It’s easy to shy away from all the hype around this artist, but I invite you to see for yourself what all the talk is about.

RF Shannon – Hunting Songs

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rfshannonRating: ★★★★½

When it comes to the local music scene around these parts, it seems we are in abundance of prolific artists. Our scene may be whatever it is you think it is—synth pop heavy, indie rock centered—you name it, one thing you should be able to agree on, whatever your qualms may be with the local scene, that diversity is never something we seem to have too much of. With this diversity in mind, I invite you to talk a step a little bit back in time with RF Shannon, who seem to have found a way to take you back to the days of Rhythm and Blues through the lens of alternative rock.

Hunting Songs is RF Shannon’s debut release, and at five songs and almost thirty minutes in length, one might consider this a savory introduction to their ‘desert R&B’ style. The group kicks things off with “Egyptian White Musk,” and you can instantly grasp what exactly is indicated by this genre; ambient noise generates a feeling of desolation before the bluesy guitars kick in and the slow percussion lulls you into a delicate trance. Vocalist, Shane Renfro soon croons his way into the song, and straight into your heart. With his soft, haunting vocals at the core of the music, he harrows back to the days of yesteryear of singer/songwriter reign ala Jeff Buckley or the likes; you also get a little contemporary aspects of his mellow pipes that remind me of Zach Condon. Their sound is refined and yet not over-processed, a lovely balance of slow rock and raw emotion.

Though there isn’t a track you will need, or have any desire, to skip through on Hunting Songs, I daresay it would be impossible to neglect the overwhelming beauty of “Twin Flame,” the penultimate track. Here, RF Shannon is at their bluesy best—the guitar takes center stage, complimented by the slow rolling drums, punching forward deliberately. The choral arc of the song is hauntingly resonant and all of the elements of this group mix together for a shining moment of radiance: I can’t get enough of it.  If this wasn’t enough, the finale of the album challenges the slot of favorite track and the group gets back into their slow groove to round the album out.

That’s the thing about Hunting Songs: each seems to build upon the last, and yet strike into new territory. It’s short and utterly sweet, so please do yourself a favor and spend a bit of money on this album that will transport yourself elsewhere. Or go catch RF Shannon playing somewhere around town: you won’t regret it in the slightest.

David Novick – Your Sister’s Hand

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David-Novick-Your-Sisters-HandRating: ★★★½☆

David Novick is only a few years into his solo career, yet he’s already claimed a great deal of acclaim in that brief span.  His latest LP, Your Sister’s Hand, offers listeners more strong songs from start to finish, though I’ll be the first to admit that I’m more attached to the lyrical numbers that are present.

Your Sister’s Hand starts off with “Gate.”  If you’re one to read into the title of the track, then perhaps this tune is your careful entrance into the world of Novick. The careful guitar work demonstrates just how talented he is; I particularly enjoy the buzz of the strings as they echo through my speakers.  It serves as the perfect opening to the record, leading you right into what many might consider the best tune on the album, “Beneath the Line.”  Musically, the song’s filled with quiet guitar balanced against a discordant solo, at least during the opening moments.  You’ll probably find this track pretty good, but you’ve got to wait until about 2.5 minutes for the song to truly blow you away. Claire Plumb enters here, giving you a gentle whisper of a vocal performance that elevates the song to perfect balladry. These are the sorts of songs where David Novick finds his groove.  For instance, the following track, “Inside the Eye,” brings with it this forlorn vocal that rides along the music.  My favorite bit is how the guitar strumming is accentuated by the careful percussive work at each turn; it’s a special touch for sure.

For me, there are some missteps, but that’s just my personal taste.  I think on “Until You Show” that there are great gifts, but I felt like David put too much on this number, perhaps cramming a touch more than he needed to into this one.  However, it’s a stark contrast to “Ash,” which follows.  This tune has a stark nakedness to it, in both the style of recording and the composition itself.  I imagine the musicians carefully sitting around a campfire quietly singing atop one another.  In doing so, the song is both powerful and subtle.  It’s not going out there to blow you away, yet it does, perfectly.  It helps lead to the bookend of the record, closing in a fashion that reminds you what a unique talent we’ve got here.  Put side by side, “Carry Home the Light” and “Memory” are perhaps the strongest ten minutes of Your Sister’s Hand. The former is one of those tracks that seems so simple and obvious you can’t understand how a track wasn’t written exactly like this before, but further listens allow you to see beneath the surface to the careful touches that make the song mesmerizing. The latter is a 7 minute opus that you’ll have to listen to fully in order for you to really grasp what has been accomplished here.  Rather than rush everything into the first few minutes, the song unfolds effortlessly, taking its time to warm you over. Together, these two tracks close out a wonderful collection of songs from David Novick that only careful listeners will truly appreciate.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DavidNovick_BeneathTheLine.mp3]

Download: David Novick – Beneath The Line [MP3]

Web of Sunsets – Room of Monsters

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webofsunRating: ★★★★☆

This three piece from Minneapolis are fairly new to Web of Sunsets, but each member is not new to being in a band. The culmination of members from three different bands, this group originated in 2012 and began to create their take on ‘acid country,’ or what you might consider psychedelic soft folk rock. Room of Monsters, their debut full-length release, will have you swooning over dreamy soundscapes and delicate arrangements.

What’s special about the sound that is presented to you on Room of Monsters is the cohesive and smooth nature of all the nine songs on the record. There’s a general golden haze that coats the whole thing in a bath of twilight. Starting from “Wildflowers,” the opening track, you get the twang of the guitars coated in reverb and a ton of ambient noise generated by a synth and perhaps the soft twinkle of a keyboard. There’s a nice balance of acoustic folk sound that is mediated by electric guitar riffs echoing in the background. The vocals themselves, raspy to match the haze of the instrumentation, are also sugary on this first number; the feminine sweetness as well as their ghostly warbles simultaneously juxtapose and compliment the twang of the guitars. The result is an immediate hook to the music, enchanting you to keep listening.

This isn’t the only dynamic offered to you—on the contrary, each of the three members seem to trade the role of lead from song to song, sometimes grouping together for harmonies to grace the chorus of a song. Take the title track for example, “Room of Monsters, ”which comes to you in the middle of the album—we get Chris Rose’s vocals leading the way, but the ladies of the band join him for the group vocals. Though the sound is beautiful and delicate, there’s an interesting aspect of eerie that seems to haunt the album. It’s the odd sensation of being on the whole comfortable with a cool breeze, though it still gives you goosebumps; the haunting resonance of this group is sure not to leave you.

Oddly enough, despite the lack of percussion as well as variety on this album, I don’t find myself bored or sick of the sound when it comes to a close. The constantly rotating lead vocals and precision harmonies keep it from getting stale or uninteresting. Instead you have Room of Monsters, a stunning debut from this three piece that will have you lost in its elegant simplicity, akin to a radiant sunset.

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