New Music from Burnt Palms

Something that arrives with fall continues to encourage me to take solace in my roots, as a true fan of indie pop–you know, the uber twee sort that you always want on your best mixtapes to girls/guys you’re crushing on.  If I could, I’d stick the entirety of this new album by Burnt Palms on there.  It’s a self-titled LP, but it’s filled with short songs featuring fuzz guitars and hip female vocal harmonies. Basically, it’s a mixtape in and of itself, giving you the ability to sink your teeth and your heart into the soul of the music.  Love it so hard.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Burnt-Palms-Yours-Not-Mine.mp3]

Download:Burnt Palms – Yours Not Mine [MP3]

Show Preview: Lord Huron @ Stubbs (10/3)

Date 10/3/12
Location Stubbs
Doors 9pm
Tickets $10 @ Frontgate

Plenty of great shows to choose from this week, with many of them coming on back to back nights Wednesday and Thursday.  My show pick for Wednesday has to go to indie surf/dream pop band Lord Huron.  I’ve never actually seen this band outside of their stellar SXSW performances show it should be nice to check ’em out for a full on show.  Supporting the band for the night is more than adequate opener Night Moves.  Great lineup, great venue = sure to be bad ass show.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Lord_Huron_-_Time_to_Run.mp3]

Download: Lord Huron – Time to Run [MP3]

New Pop From Ken Stringfellow

Here’s a great little gem I just found called “Superwise” coming from UK musician Ken Stringfellow.  The song sort of starts off like a lounge type pop number that eventually builds into more a New Ponographers loud/epic tune.  Now many of you may recognize the name from his work in huge veteran acts like R.E.M., The Posies, and Big Star to name a few.  This new song however is Stringfellow on his own and his first new material as a solo artist since 2004.

New album Danzig in the Moonlight will be available on October 16th via Spark & Shine Records.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Ken-Stringfellow-Superwise.mp3]

Download: Ken Stringfellow – Superwise [MP3]

Ticket Giveaway! + Dinosaur Jr. @ the Mohawk (10.4)

This is history here folks.  It’s not J. Mascis solo; it’s not some other line-up; it’s the old school SST Records line-up, fresh off the release of their newest release, I Bet On Sky.  We’re lucky that Transmission is continuing to bring such solid shows to our town, and they’re not just here to make a buck, they’re here to keep our rock n’ roll community alive and bumping.  If you want to see Dinosaur Jr. for FREE, all you have to do is leave us a number between 1-1000, and I’ll give the one closest to my number a pair of tickets to the show Thursday night.  Incredible openers (and locals) Shearwater will be opening, so show up early to make the most of your night.  We’ll pick the contest winner by 10 AM Thursday, day of show.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/01-Feel-The-Pain.mp3]

Download:Dinosaur Jr. – Feel The Pain [MP3]

If you don’t think you’ll win, you can buy tickets HERE. Doors are at 7 PM.

Allah-Las – s/t

Rating: ★★★☆☆

I’ve really been wrapped up in the Allah-Las since I first stumbled upon their early 7″.  The group seems to encompass everything about the musical history of California, harkening back to the state’s glory days, which may or may not leave the band with some detractors.  Their self-titled debut lives up to my expectations, though it does seem to get stuck in one place for a bit too long.

If you run straight through the first several tracks, you’re going to get the exact feeling of this debut by Allah-Las. “Catamaran” opens with a wayward psychedelic jangle, employing gang lyrics to provide an extra bit of emphasis.  It includes a chorus of “I want to hold your hand/I want to be your man,” which seems to epitomize everything my father taught me about falling in love with the 60s.  “Don’t You Forget It” has a bit more of an angular guitar line, but it still seems to have that Eastern guitar sound popularized during the hey-day of Haight Ashbury.  Don’t take this to mean that there’s nothing ultimately pleasurable in traversing the annals of history, as the group makes it their own, especially when the guitar brightly dances off on its own.

For me, the standout track comes after the group takes an instrumental break with “Sacred Sands.” “Sandy” is perhaps one of the best songs the group’s put together.  There’s an effect on the gang-vocal section that creates more intimacy with the listener, which isn’t always present on the rest of the lyrical development throughout Allah-Las; it’s almost as if they’re all whispering in your ear.  Throw this in with “Catalina” and you can clearly see that re-hashing isn’t the sole purpose of this record.  The group’s inspired by their home state, as the latter song indicates.  It’s percussion perfectly fits with the mood of the record, matched evenly with the swirling guitar work and the fluid vocal approach.  It all leads up to album’s last track, “Long Journey,” the song that I think most closely resembles my expectations and fascinations with the group.  At its heart, you can almost feel some acid-induced boogie, but here they slow it down to the most mellow tempo their style allows, giving the song and listener room to breathe.

For what it’s worth, I went out and bought this album.  I’m obsessed with the Allah-Las; I think no one out there has completely captured the sound of the California psych-garage scene quite like these guys.  But, that being said, their self-titled debut does lack a little bit of pace or a little bit of mixing things up.  A few instrumental tracks here and there do give you a chance to calm yourself, and that’s great, but perhaps a fast-paced jangler or a long-drawn out smoke-shop ballad would have made this record something out of the park.  Do yourself a favor though, and sit down with this record.  Absorb it, appreciate it, and you’ll definitely look highly upon this effort.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Allah-Las-Dont-You-Forget-It.mp3]

Download:Allah-Las – Don’t You Forget It [MP3]

New Rock from Ceremony

So RayRay was complaining about how I dominated the site with “pussy rock” all Monday, so I wanted to start off your Tuesday with a re-hash banger that surfaced on Monday…that is before I return to my fall love of twee (more on that later today)  This jam comes from the powerful Ceremony, who’re doing a split with Titus Andronicus in honor of their tour.  It’s probably one of the cleanest rock tracks I’ve heard the group together, punishing your ears from start to finish.  Definitely a great live act, and their recordings just keep getting better.  You gotta head to one of the shows to grab these, but sadly no Austin date.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Ceremony-Everything-Burns.mp3]

Download:Ceremony – Everything Burns [MP3]

Levek – Look a Little Closer

Rating: ★★½☆☆

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

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

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

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

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

Download:Levek – Girl In The Fog [MP3]

ACL Spotlight: Gardens & Villa

When looking at the ACL lineup, we ATH kids always get really excited about the middle of the day bands.  For starters, those are typically the bands in the prime of their career, coming off a recent well constructed album.  Not to mention that the crowds aren’t quite as big and you’re just getting into that mid-day buzz.  While perusing those afternoon bands this year, I first took notice of upstart Santa Barbara group Gardens & Villa.  Follow the jump for more.

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New Music from Trapped Mice

Typically, I don’t go straight out for the classic alternative sound, even with all it’s current production value and what not.  But, that being said, I’ve really fallen for this jam from Trapped Mice, a band hailing from the other part of Scotland, Edinburgh.  I’m obsessed with the way band incorporates lush instrumentation, wrapped around some incredibly lyrics.  You’ll also find a raw passion that introduces itself near the end via the vocal performance.  It’s the perfect first single from their upcoming record, Winter Sun, which is now on my watch-list. If you like organically-grown rock n’ roll, then this hit’s for you.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/04-Mona-Lisa.mp3]

Download:Trapped Mice – Mona Lisa [MP3]

Another Track From Black Moth Super Rainbow

So now I am really looking forward to this release…

“Gangs in the Garden” was unlocked to the internet a little bit ago via the BMSR Soundcloud, despite having been uploaded three months ago. Why can’t we have nice things? It is a short, dare I say dancy, vocodered blast.

Reminder, Black Moth Super Rainbow will be at Fun Fun Fun Fest. Cobra Juicy hits 10/23.

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