Category: Reviews

Hurricane Bells – Tonight is the Ghost

Leave a comment

Hurricane_Bells_FNLRating: ★★★☆☆

Many may not remember the band Longwave, the band that bubbled just beneath the breakthrough success of bands such as Kings of Leon and The Strokes.  Working hard for years, differentiating themselves from their contemporaries, they sort of disappeared.  Yet, all along, they continued to create vibrant music with creative guitar work.  Why does this matter?  Well, at the heart of Longwave is Steve Schiltz, the core songwriter for Hurricane Bells.  He’s been collecting demos and working on fleshing out the first full-length under the new moniker; here we have the story behind Tonight is the Ghost.

One of the things you’ll enjoy the most is how soft Schiltz’s vocals are throughout his recordings, with old band and new.  It’s somewhat reminiscent of Albert Hammond Jr., but you can rest assured he has got much more range than the aforementioned character.  It’s this pleasant delivery that makes Schiltz the perfect person to go into the singer/songwriter sphere of things.

Alas, the music isn’t too far off from where you usually find him. “This is a Test” reminds you immediately, for those that are familiar, with Longwave, albeit a less grand version.  You can even tell in the harmonics of the guitar as they stretch out into the atmosphere where he’s coming from, but you can’t blame a guy for relying upon what he knows best.  Such are the opening moments of Tonight is the Ghost; he doesn’t clearly step out of the shadows of his own career.

Yet as the record progresses, you can find yourself seeing the variance in the craft of writing that Schiltz must have endured when recording this album.  “Tonight I’m Going to be Like a Shooting Star” is the first moment when he doesn’t seem to completely revolve around his writing of the past.  It’s a more direct approach to writing, as simple as it gets for this chap.  And in such a fashion, you won’t find yourself surprised when that slide guitar comes around the bend in “Freezing Rain,” though this has a different effect than the country-fied version used with so many other band across the globe. And in this moment, you realize why you really like Steve’s tunes.

The great thing about both Hurricane Bells and Longwave is that you can always clearly hear the vocals.  In a world coated with lo-fi tendencies and indecipherable lyrics, it’s rare to find a singer who puts it out there so plainly for the listener.  Subject matter is personal, and yet ultimately relatable, which allows for that connection between musician and audience, something lacking in a lot of modern musical movements.

As you would expect, the album is generally successful, though not too far off from where you find Steve in his day job.  Luckily, I like Longwave a whole lot, and so any new tune from the great Steve Schiltz never hurts these ears.  For fans like me, and music fans looking for something a little more pure, and a lot less contrived, you’ll find joy in Hurricane Bells’ Tonight is the Ghost.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/04-Tonight-Im-Going-To-Be-Like-A-Shooting-1.mp3]

Download: Hurricane Bells – Tonight I’m Going To Be Like A Shooting Star [MP3]

King Khan and the BBQ Show – Invisible Girl

One comment

kingkhanRating: ★★★☆☆

If you haven’t heard of King Khan in the last several years, you’ve probably been living in some remote region of the world, the Falkland Islands perhaps. Here we are again with another King Khan and the BBQ Show release, the more R&B influenced of Khan’s two monikers.  Invisible Girl is precisely what you would expect from the group, but the jury is still out on whether that is precisely what people are looking for from the BBQ Show.

One of the things to love about KK & the BBQ Show is just how much they can throw in a touch of soul into their stomping garage workings.  Such an endeavor could create a bit of cacophony, yet they never seem to go that route, always holding back enough to make the group seems like one of the tighteset around.  Take “I’ll Be Loving You,” a song that seems better suited for the high school proms of the late 50s.  It’s got a great vocal performance, but that beat just makes you shake something fierce.  “Spin the Bottle” is somewhat similar, mostly in the nostalgic feelings created by the incessant handclaps.

And we can’t forget the humor that makes Khan and associates such an enjoyable listen.  On “Animal Party” the narrator is hosting a party with a roomful of chickens, and yes, there are animal noises mimicked in the openingi moments of the song.  Still, the song doesn’t come off as a huge joke by any means, and once you move beyond the silliness of the lyrics and the noises, you get to the heart of a pretty solid song.

Yet there is something that doesn’t sit quite right on this album, at least for this listener.  Every song on here is easily considered a good track.  They each stand alone on their own individual merits.  But, when thrown together amongst each other, they seem to blend in together throughout the entire album.  There is a great sound here, but there is very little differentiation in the writing of the songs, so you find yourself lost in the album, trying to find your way out of the mess.  Don’t get me wrong, you can listen to this album over and over, time and time again, as I have, but at some point it blends together.

All that aside, this is just another good performance from King Khan and the BBQ Show.  Perhaps I’m expecting something entirely new and different, some sort of evolution, but that’s just my dream.  Khan has his own purpose on Invisible Girl, and while I might find that it runs together after repeated listens, it doesn’t mean it’s not better than most of what’s out there nowadays.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/King-Khan-BBQ-Show-Invisible-Girl.mp3]

Download: King Khan & BBQ Show – Invisible Girl [MP3]

Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

One comment

julian-phrazescoverRating: ★★½☆☆

It’s been a long long time since the essence of cool was brought back by The Strokes.  No longer do we have to listen to stagnant rock on the radio, and the indie underground seems to have grown substantially.  We owe a great deal of that to Julian Casablancas.  His new album Phrazes for the Young creates a certain sense of nostalgia; it makes you look back to those days when it all seemed new and vibrant. 

Hands down, the first three songs on this record, “Out of the Blue,” “Left and Right in the Dark,” and “11th Dimension,” are all ridiculously good songs.  You can say that they have a more pop-centric leaning than most of the work done by Casablancas other band, but you can’t deny that the infections hooks are in abundance on these first three tracks.  If you take “11th Dimension” alone, you can see that combining the swagger of The Strokes with the electronic pop of Phoenix packs a huge punch.  This is such a killer opening to the album, that it really makes the latter half of the album fall flat on its face before our eyes.

Once you get to the last five songs, the pace is gone, and with it, the depth that seemingly existed from the outstart.  “Ludlow St.” has sort of a throwback feeling to a summer folk string, almost as if The Beatles have just entered into Julian’s lexicon, while the lyrics are reminiscent of Whitman’s Song of Myself.  It’s clever, but it is not a song that will last long in your memory.

“River of Brakelights” does sound exactly like some of the more straightforward rock songs that eclipsed the gems that were on First Impression of Earth.  Unfortunately, Julian Casablancas has a difficult time as it is differentiating the tones in vocals, and this song makes that all too apparent, which lead to the damage that devours this track. 

All this seems to head towards the trudgingly slow “Tourist,” a song that is lyrically akin to “Ludlow St.” All the punch is clearly gone at this point, and you can feel your heart sink as the album draws to a close.  It’s a shame actually, as the record began with such a promising start that you wanted the entire thing to be successful, but our luck has run out here.  Still, for those die-hard completists, you will find the voice of The Strokes living in a different place, one that at times, is as exciting as we’ve ever heard him.  Perhaps such moments make it onto the new work of either of his bands.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Julian-Casablancas-11th-Dimension.mp3]

Download: Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension [MP3]

Ola Podrida – Belly of the Lion

Leave a comment

bellyRating: ★★★★½

David Wingo easily won me over with his first album, Ola Podrida, but at the time, he was living in New York, working on various film scores and what not.  He’s returned to Austin, which makes me love him even more, and he’s just released another album, Belly of the Lion, that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Be it the warmth of his voice, or the emotional landscaping he creates with his tunes, you’ll find something enchanting throughout the duration of his second album under the Ola Podrida moniker.

For some reason, and this isn’t meant in a disenchanted way, this album feels ultimately louder than the self-titled album, well, as loud as Wingo seems to get.  “The Closest We Will Ever Be” seems like a more complete version of the songs on his first record.  Much as most of the songs are, this song has grown to include various layers to accompany David’s vocals.  Perhaps some might see this as a less-intimate affair, but rest assured, getting inside the listener is something he accomplishes with ease.

“Your Father’s Basement” was the first single to be let loose from the wonderful label Western Vinyl, and this is just one of the many tracks that will standout in your mind.  As usual, you’ll find precision guitar strumming, creating a comfort zone within the song; it’s a place for all the listeners to sit and rest.  And as you do so, you’ll find it difficult not to fall in love with Wingo’s unique vocals.  There is a familiarity in his delivery, perhaps one indebted in Texas folk musings; regardless, this song stands up to the expectations set forth by the former album’s “Jordanna.”

Songs such as “Monday Morning” and “Sink or Swim” definitely demonstrate that Wingo has done some work in the film industry.  While “Monday Morning” uses various backing tracks to create and emotional appeal throughout the story of the song, “Sink or Swim” fits perfectly into the intimate moments between a romantic encounter, one that is likely to take place in some sort of wintery wonderland.  Such is the strength of the album, as Wingo has included more in the bedroom listening he provides for his audience.

For this listener, “Lakes of Wine” is a remarkable track, aside from the fact that I consider them ALL remarkable.  He gently picks at the heart of the guitar, drawing your ears closely into the song itself.  And in doing so, you find yourself absorbed before the lyrics even jump into the tune. There is something extremely personal in both his delivery and his lyrics here, as he waxes nostalgic; you, too, will travel back into the past with him.  Such is the true art of David Wingo.

While it seems that too few people have had a proper chance to expose themselves to Ola Podrida (such is the tragedy of technology’s effect on our listening habits), Belly of the Lion is an example of a confident piece of work that was carefully crafted to draw upon every human emotion, plugging it into each song.  You’ll want to have this album on hand as we prepare for the winter, and as you prepare to make your record collection complete with masterful pieces of art.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WV67_YFB.mp3]

Download: Ola Podrida – Your Father’s Basement [MP3]

Holopaw – Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness.

One comment

holopaw-oh-glory-oh-wildernessRating: ★★★☆☆

Holopaw had a decent output back in their days on Subpop, but they had been quiet for the better part of the last four years.  That is until Bakery Outlet released news that they would put out Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness.  And, despite that singer John Orth has ties with Mr. Brock from Modest Mouse, you can’t really feel the odd signatures and multi-instrumental moments that he threw into the completion of the Ugly Cassanova album.  It’s much more of a mainstream approach, but by that, perhaps it just means it’s more straightforward than what one would expect.

When “The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion” first burst onto the Internet, there was something really casual about the vocal delivery.  It seemed like a band that was comfortable in what they were creating, and that, for me, was quite refreshing.  It was just a simple guitar driven song, nothing special about it, but nothing one would consider mundane.

For the most part, the album doesn’t do too much else to steer you away from that understanding.  “Boys on Motorbikes” has a strange feeling of 90s radio meeting with vocals of someone like Bazan or Enigk or even one of the Kinsella brothers.  Something in the vocal just seems to pull at that emotional level just enough to differentiate itself, but not so much to where you will forever remember the vocals.

A special moment does appear on “Cherry Glow,” the album’s fourth track.  Strummed guitar serves as the primary background for Orth’s voice, and then it slowly builds towards a quickening of the pace.  And as the lead guitar takes over, you’re reminded that you’ve found a song; the female backing vocals cooing in the background don’t hurt too much either.  Similarly, “The Last Transmission” is perfect as a single instrument strong.  Sure, the flourishes in the background from the slide guitar aren’t really going to hurt anyone, but by itself, you can really get pulled into the song itself.  All this can probably be placed at the foot of Holopaw‘s history, as they were forced into a duo years ago, only to pick back up as a group very recently.  

The group aesthetic is all well and good, but some of the songs, such as “Little Stallion with a Glass Jaw” sometimes seem a bit overdone by having the full band presence.  This is what makes Oh, Glory. Oh Wilderness. a good album as opposed to a moderately great one.  Intimate moments across the album are perfect and rewaring, but occasionally, you just seem to get stuck in the middle of the album.  Alas, they’ve just reformed a proper band, so the future for Holopaw could be very bright.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/holopawartteacher.mp3]

Download: Holopaw – The Art Teacher and the Little Stallion [MP3]

Atlas Sound – Logos

3 comments

walkabout-coverRating: ★★☆☆☆

I must preface this review by stating that I have never been a fan of the work of Bradford Cox.  I realize that this is heresy in today’s indie scene, but I really just have a difficult time giving a shit when there is so much more quality music to which to listen.  Now I’m not saying the man isn’t talented, he is.  His work with Deerhunter is listenable, but I feel like I have heard it all before, and better. I have listened to Deerhunter’s entire catalog and all I am left thinking “Man, this would be great, if My Bloody Valentine had never existed.” Then I go and listen to My Bloody Valentine instead.

So with the release of Bradford Cox’s solo project, Atlas Sound, new album, Logos (Kranky), I approached it with trepidation. Surely the My Bloody Valentine influences would be stripped from the sound and I would finally be able to see what Bradford Cox could really bring to the table creatively.  Plus there were numerous high profile guest appearances, most notably Lætitia Sadier of Stereolab and Noah Lennox of Animal Collective, which warranted, at least, a cursory listen.

You know what? On the first listen of Logos, with the lack of My Bloody Valentine influences, it tricked me into actually liking this record.  I wanted to listen to again. It was light and airy. There was room to move around in it rather than the oppressive wall of sound that is a Deerhunter album. 

But on subsequent listens this album felt familiar for all the wrong reasons.  I know that artists rely on their influences. It’s what makes them who they are.  But there is a huge difference between being influenced by an artist and mimicking.  Bradford Cox continues to come off as an imitator, a highly talented one, but an imitator, nonetheless. While what he is releasing is good, it feels like he has yet to find a voice of his own. 

The majority of Logos sounds exactly like Joan of Arc b-sides and not awesome How Memory Works b-sides, but shitty Live in Chicago, 1999 b-sides.  When joined with Lennox (Walkabout) or Sadier (Quick Canal), we have the highest points of the album, but ultimately the songs sound like the sum of their guest musician’s full time bands.

I hope Bradford Cox finds an original voice soon, because people will soon tire of a band that continually pull too liberally from way more interesting sources.

Atlas Sound will be playing at Fun Fun Fun Fest on the Orange Stage this Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Walkabout-w_-Noah-Lennox.mp3]

Download: Atlas Sound – Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox) [MP3]

Molina & Johnson – s/t

Leave a comment

molinajohnsoncoverRating: ★★★★½

You had to know this was coming; you had to know that a combination of these two men could lead you to nothing but greatness.  Jason Molina and Will Johnson live two separate lives.  One man, Jason, fronts Magnolia Electric Co, while the other hangs out in Texas and fronts Centromatic, not to mention his own solo stuff under the name, surprisingly, Will Johnson.  United, they have risen above their individual prowess and united to make a conglomerate of sad-bastard music that surpasses most everything else that came our way this year, in regards to that particular genre at least.

When you first hear “Twenty Cycles to the Ground” you immediately feel the comfort of home. Will Johnson‘s voice always sounds like your aged father singing on the back porch with his acoustic guitar in his hand.  At the same time, the warmth of Molina accents the throatier moments from Johnson.  Such a natural harmonization could not be imagined in this mind.

And for the larger part of this album, you encounter such beautiful moments time and time again.  “Almost Let You In” sees the two gents casually trading vocal duties over gentle piano structures and simple strumming of acoustic elements. There is such a clarity in the music that can only come from its simplicity, leading the listeners to the height of audial enlightenment; such as it is when the two combine near the end of the song, just as the piano begins to carry you away.

You are not very likely to find anything overtly beautiful and fanciful in this album.  It seems steeped in a sense of melancholy, which is mostly due to the instrumentation.  Yet, despite the down-trodden mood simulated by the instrumentation, nothing is as enchanting as Will Johnson walking quietly through his songs, with throaty vocals intact, pushing you to the edge of your bed, grasping, no, hanging, on every last syllable that he emits. The light in this album comes largely from Molina, however.

Take, for example, “The Lily and The Brakeman,” one of the songs that only goes to Molina. There is a different emotional appeal in his vocal delivery, and as it yanks on your heartstrings, it also seems to soothe you just a bit more than his counterpart.  This is precisely why this album is such a wonderful collection of songs.  There exists a perfect juxtaposition between the warble of Johnson and the calm delivery of Molina, both captivating, and both working together in unison. Together, they’ve created an album that seems born of the past, only to live in the current landscape.

Not a moment on this album is really discardable; not a one. Perhaps the off moments will be off-putting to casual listeners, but once you immerse yourself in the waters of Molina & Johnson, you’ll feel as if you’ve been washed in one of the most masterful collaborations.  Do yourself a favor and get lost in the world of these two, as you’re likely to never want to leave.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/almostletyouin.mp3]

Download: Molina & Johnson – Almost Let You In [MP3]

The Mary Onettes – Islands

Leave a comment

maryRating: ★★★★☆

A few years back I walked into this band, unintentionally, and they’re melodic popscapes have since been part of my valued collection.  Really, it’s hard not to love a good band from Sweden.  Alas, The Mary Onettes return with their latest album Islands.  It’s still got that sweeping emotional grab to it, though listeners familiar with their older work will be able to see that the band sounds much larger than they ever sounded in the past.

“Puzzles” just steps up the band’s reputation from the get go.  You’ll find that shrouded wall of noise opening the album, but the electronic bounce that brings the song full circle will catch you in its grandiosity. It bares the mark of Ekstrom’s delightful vocals, warm and dark one minute, then pushing for the upper limits of catchy melody.  This is all followed by “Dare,” which was issued on the Dare EP earlier this year.  Two for two from the opening moments.

One of the interesting steps aside for the group comes on “Cry of Love.”  It’s full of negative space, almost a dark void, but filled with Ekstrom’s brooding vocals.  And in the middle of the song, level drumming comes in, almost as if it’s meant to just move the song along until the end.  This is one of the band’s moments where they show restraint, scaling back the melodic attack on your ears, quietly sitting in the middle of the album.

And just like that, the winds of the album have turned, well, they’ve calmed down rather.  Large bursting sonic pop-tarts are being replaced by a steadier hand  in the middle of the album.  “The Disappearance of My Youth” and “God Knows I Had Plans” definitely take a turn away from the bombastic jump-start of Islands. For me, this provides a subtle change in the band’s dynamic, which enables the group to push more variation into their songs.

But, the darkness returns with Cure influenced “Symmetry,” which oddly, is one of the best moments on the record.  You can hear the eighties in the song, almost too much, but then again, the band has always bordered on being labeled as relevant nostalgics. And with this, they’re off again, jumping right into “Century,” a song aided by pounding drums and sky-high vocals.  It’s like Glasvegas-lite, and you know your heart can’t fight that sort of audio attack.

And there you have it, another successful album by The Mary Onettes.  Nothing is daring on this album, but nothing need be.  You’ll find yourself with an album worthy of harmonies and brooding, just like you remember them talking about (or maybe you participated) in the tail-spin of the eighties.  Still, there progression and perfection of pop music labels the group as more than classic revisionists; if anything, they’re definitely relevant, as Islands clearly proves.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/01-Puzzles-1.mp3]

Download: The Mary Onettes – Puzzles [MP3]

Do Make Say Think – Other Truths

One comment

Do Make Say Think - Other TruthsRating: ★★½☆☆

I’ve always had rule with the music to which I have chosen to listen.  This rule can be encapsulated into a single word: variety.  Having limited space on an mp3 player makes for a stringent selective process.  You can’t have too much metal, indie rock, hardcore, country, or hip hop for fear of over saturation of that particular genre.

This rule applies even more strictly for “epic” (mostly) instrumental post rock.  The bands in this genre (Godspeed You Black Emperor!, A Silver Mount Zion, Explosions in the Sky, etc.) ask a lot of their listeners.  When your compositions range from 10-20 minutes you are begging for patience, since the songs pay off is often buried somewhere in the middle or the end. Frankly, too much off these type of bands can kill the shuffle function of an iPod, so I usually keep only about two or three of these bands in a rotation.

Since the release of 2000’s Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead, Toronto’s Do Make Say Think, have struggled to fit into this rotation (I know they have been eager to make it!).  Every album DMST put out is a solid release. They are great albums to put on and get creative, but aside from a few really strong tracks, they tend to be ultimately forgettable. That is until 2007’s You, You’re a History in Rust and it’s accompanying 2008 EP, The Whole Story of Glory.  These two releases stood leaps and bounds above DMST’s  previous ventures. They felt like whole releases rather than a couple of bright spots held together by solid, but meandering, interludes. The high bar set by You… and …Glory had me tremendously excited for what would come next from Do Make Say Think.

The four tracks, clocking in 43 minutes, of Other Truths (Constellation) brings me both excitement and trepidation. The first time I put the album on and listened to the album opener “Do”, I thought that this album would definitely make my year end best of list.  “Do” is probably on of the best songs this band (or any band, for that matter) has released in their long career. It is propulsive, carrying along the staccato guitar riffs and fuzzed out bass to epic heights (Seriously, this song is [EXPLETIVE DELETED] unbelievable!). Unfortuneatly, like with most of Do Make Say Think’s albums, Other Truth’s peters out into the comfortable territory of jazzy noodling and repetitive phrases that lead us nowhere.

It’s a shame that bands in this genre become so comfortable with just being background music. It is possible to provide atmosphere without being tremendously boring and predictable.

Tegan & Sara – Sainthood

2 comments

tegansarasainthoodcoverRating: ★★★★☆

My affair with Tegan & Sara began when I first got my hand on the largely acoustic-based So Jealous.  When they switched it up on The Con, I could sense a move in a new direction, and while I liked the album, it didn’t seem like the girls had quite gotten to where they wanted to be. Now, with Sainthood, you can finally see the progression as its come to fruition.  From the opening moments of the album, you can see that they’ve continued to progress, and the production throughout is spot on.

“Arrow” opens the album, and you can hear the poppiness pumping from your stereo, and the emphasis from the bits and pieces of electronic samples (or sounds) brings out the strengths in the song.  You can feel the turning and whirling of the song as it grabs ahold of you, refusing to let you loose until you’ve absorbed all the pop goodness it has to offer.

And the first single, “Hell” is one of the hardest hitting songs the girls have ever put together.  Initially (as in a few weeks ago) it seemed out of place on its own, but when placed in the whole of Sainthood, it’s one of the best songs the girls have written.  The stutter step delivery of the lyrics propels the song forward, and the backing vocals fit perfectly into the greater spectrum of the song.  It might be awhile before you get this song out of your head.

Suddenly, the pacing of the album seems to take a step.  After rushing forward with their stories of love and loss (and possibly the role of playing the martyred lover) they seem to put on the brakes.  “On Directing” through “The Cure” are classic Tegan & Sara, stripped to some of their basic elements, the girls continue to find a way to draw you into their storytelling and catchy melodies.  Then they move into some new direction, a place we haven’t seen them.

“Night Watch” is a short number, backed up to one of the most straightforward pop-punk moments of their career with “Northshore.”  There is a brooding quality here, and the music seems so sparse that you have no choice but to focus on the lyrical value here. The dual vocal delivery of the chorus is precisely what makes this song attractive, although it’s the fact that the girl’s explored some empty space that will fascinate many.

From this point on, the rest of the album runs from hit to hit until the end.  Personally, “Sentimental Tune” reminds me of a great Albert Hammond Jr. (get well buddy) driving song.  Jangling guitars and captivating hooks provide diversity that other albums have lacked.  It proves that Sainthood is one of the most complete albums the Tegan & Sara have put together.  Their maturity shows, and with lyrics that everyone can relate to, this is the record when everyone will truly fall in love with Tegan & Sara, if they haven’t already.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/11-The-Ocean.mp3]

Download: Tegan & Sara – The Ocean [MP3]

1 … 74 75 76 77 78 … 102
Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com