This is fine.
Fridays tend to ease you in, Saturdays tend to beat you down. Or at least the odds of self-inflicted wounds go up exponentially. You have a little hangover, perhaps you start the day with a bloody mary, but by the end you are shirtless, missing a flip-flop and wondering why your hand is blue. For me, it was a pretty non-stop run at awesome; I won at Festival.
Click-through for a few notes on the first Saturday. *spoiler alert* The Cure wins in the end.
Finally the world seems to be catching up to my good tastes, with mega-zine Rolling Stone posting one of the new singles from The Black Watch. On this track, you can see the group’s tendency to wrap their pop sensibility in blankets of discordant guitar noise, whilst still holding onto the propulsive beat. You can only hold the great bands down for so long, and after 17 albums to date, it seems only fair that the group begins to grow mass recognition. The band’s new album, The End of When, is available now via Pop Culture Press Records, and I think its about time you joined the best secret fanclub out there; get on board my friends, you won’t regret it.
Download: The Black Watch – I Don’t Feel The Same [MP3]
Another month, another great postcard single from the lads over at Art Is Hard. Their newest single comes courtesy of Fake Laugh, who are offering up this swinging bit of indiepop, which reminds me of some local Austin acts like Shivery Shakes. I like the way the vocal spins a bit into different tunes, while the guitars sharply encourage foot tapping. You should definitely give this tune enough time to make it all the way up to the chorus; it’s a beautiful release that makes the song completely worth it, as if you needed something more. I guess I’m just going bust out great pop tracks for the world today…nothing wrong with that in my mind.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/114273010″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
I spend a lot of my time at record stores, and one of my favorite clerks has to be my buddy Steven; he just happens to also rock in a rad local band named Sweet Talk. Earlier in the year the band released Pickup Lines, which is a necessity for locals…and beyond! The group is about ready to release a new EP titled Flash of Light, which comes out next week, so you can preview one of the tunes right now! Apparently the EP is being released by 12XU, home of Gerard Cosloy; he’s a big deal, or so I heard. Anyways this is a good jam to mix up my indiepop rotation for the day; it’s gritty, poppy and totally worth your time.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113527350″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed with life in general at the moment, so I definitely need some mellower tunes to help calm the world. Today, I’m happy to share with you one such tune from Prince of Assyria, who’ve just signed on to Soliti Music for the release of Changing Places in early 2014. This song moves rather slowly, but in doing so, it allows for the extremely emotional vocal to rest atop the lightly strummed acoustic guitar. You’ll also hear some nice orchestral arrangements haunting the background, which help to establish a forlorn mood. I think some people will definitely be interested to hear this mellow gem.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113699781″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Rating: 
Azure Blue is the solo project of already successful Tobias Isaksson, who is hailed internationally for his work with Swedish bands, Irene and Laurel Music. Also a popular DJ in Sweden, Isaksson has made his name well known all over Scandinavia, which is probably why you’re asking yourself who exactly is this guy and why he matters to you, since his fame hasn’t really made it to the States yet. The answer is simple: Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt is a new wave record that deserves some attention.
Though some of you may have heard some Azure Blue through the debut album, Rule of Thirds, for most this is probably your first encounter with its new wave, electronic style. “Time is On Our Side” opens up the journey through the dreamy electro pop on a bold note, with the line, “I only wanted something real,” that seems to embark upon a story of a romantic nature; the declaration so earnest and sincere it begs you to connect to it. Meanwhile the music is a constantly swirling mix of battling synthesizers and soft percussion that you would expect of something that belongs in the new wave genre. At just under five minutes in length, this opening track gives you a basic idea of what this album has in store for you, but Azure Blue is only just beginning.
Immediately after this opening warm up track, the energy level gets turned up on “The Road I Know,” and from there they refuse to look back. The synthesizers are now more than droning waves of sound, but active parts of the mix, evoking the melody of the song right alongside Isaksson and some higher pitched vocals that pair nicely with his deep-set voice. Together, they create a lovely choral, dreamlike, arc to the song. Their vocals are smothered in reverb, which culminates with the chalky percussion so that the meandering synth riffs really stick out to give the song some harder edges. It ends slowly, with each layered element gradually fading away from the mix, and creating a solid song with a beginning, middle and end; six minutes flies by without you ever feeling slightly bored.
Like a dream in which certain instances particularly stand out to you, some of the songs on Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt also allow for a little bit of attention-wandering. You have numbers that emerge from the dreamy trance of synthesizers and electronic beats like “Sunset,” as well as the aforementioned “The Road I Know,” but others slightly fail to bring something exciting to the album or the new wave/synth based electronic genre. It’s up to you to decide if that’s a positive or negative attribute for Azure Blue to have.
Who knows if the whole two week ACL Festival will pan out in the end? All we do know is that we’ll be bringing you coverage of both weekends, filled with as much nonsense as possible.
Read on for our recap for the first of six days of rock n’ roll.
Hopefully those who’ve kept their ears to the grindstone have heard of the beautiful music being created by David Novick. If not, then you’re all in for a wonderful surprise when God? re-releases his self-titled debut. For me, there are two parts that attract me to the song initially: the guitar playing and the quiet whispy vocals. But, then you get a gentle horn that works its way into the song, and the cycle of musical transcendence is completed. If you’re in need of something special on your Monday playlist, then I suggest you go no further than this song right here in front of you.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113675516″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
I love music for the way it comes back into your life at random moments. Today, while searching for good tunes to present to you all, I stumbled across a new EP from Stornoway. I was transported a few years back to a time when I was in love with the Oxford act’s Beachbomber Windowsill LP. I had completely forgotten about the group until I found the You Don’t Know Anything EP, which will be released on November 11th. I remember loving the way the lyrics were written, and I’m happy to see that those elements are still intact. One change I can see is that there’s less of this grand-sweeping chamber pop approach, though the EP is not devoid of some of the nicer little touches, like soft horns. Anyways, you should listen to this band; they’re pretty good, says I.
Download: Stornoway – You Don’t Know Anything [MP3]
This past Friday night was nuts here in Austin. ACL Festival started, shows on every corner, at every venue, and hordes of happy people just milling about. For me, my eyes were set on catching Fuzz over at Red 7. Read on for my words on the band and more. Photo courtesy of the hard-working badass, Pooneh Ghana. Read more
