This is fine.
One of my favorite singer songwriters A.A. Bondy has a new song floating around the web these days. The new song, “The Heart is Willing”, can be found below for your streaming enjoyment. Apparently it’s part of a new album from Bondy entitled Believers that’s due out September 13th on Fat Possum Records. It really baffles me how this guy still manages to fly just below the cusp of being huge.
Rating: 
How does one review something written by Robert Pollard? You know there are going to be some amazing tunes, but you know there will probably be a few that you can toss away, especially when there’s 26 tracks. But, in the case of Let It Beard, the latest release by Boston Spaceships, the majority of the trucks are solid, and you’ll hardly find any throw-away tunes.
“Blind 20-20” kind of gave me a start, building up towards its machine-gun drumming. Bob’s entry changed the dynamic of the track, and when he hits that renown Pollard pitch, it’s a great moment–all before the song subsides into itself. Clearly, Boston Spaceships is still under the songwriting of Pollard, as evidenced by “Tourist UFO.” Sure, the guitar has that angular chug, psychedelically walking in and out of the track, but the voice of Bob dominates in the forefront. It’s incredible thinking about his persona (the drinking, the shows, etc) and his ability to still pull off warm vocals that grab even the most casual fan.
The construction of “Make a Record for Lo-Life” grabbed me immediately, like riding up and down on some sort of indie rock roller-coaster. Crashing cymbals and chugging guitars give a bit of bounce to the track, and we’ll call the solo in the middle a bit of a racing moment on straight-away. Of course, song construction, and self-importance might account for the weaker moments on Let It Beard. “I’ll Make It Strong (for you),” for instance, just doesn’t hold up to the energetic tracks. Like several of the tracks present, they appear to come from a different, almost unplugged guitar sound, taking a bit of the bite out.
Still, even with moments that come off softer, slower moments do have the ability to win out on this latest Boston Spaceships effort. “Christmas Girl” sticks out, as the guitar itself begins slow, then almost seems muted, but again, Pollard’s voice has this capacity to propel the song into this blissful pop moment. It’s quite possibly the standout moment of the entire record, if I had to pick one (I mean, there are horns!). Similarly, “No Steamboats” sort of trickles along, begging to be pushed to the limit of maximum rock n’ roll, but it never quite goes there, not until the end. You’ve got to appreciate appropriate use of restraint.
In the end, Let It Beard is a mixed bag of various touches of Robert Pollard’s legacy. While a great deal of the tracks have Boston Spaceships focusing on a more raucous garage sound, there’s still elemental dabbling in the studio with visible “lost sounds” tossed in just for the sake of it. There’s just something about listening to anything penned by Pollard that eventually finds its way into your soul, haunting you passionately, secretly whispering for you to skip this track, love the next one, repeat that one, and then go back through it all over again. It’s a sort of magic most people wish they had in their songwriting, but so few seem to possess.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ChristmasGirl.mp3]Download: Boston Spaceships – Christmas Girl [MP3]
We’ve all been waiting for today, and we’ve all been super hyped on the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest. Honestly, the leaks and the info today on turntable.fm all seemed a little heavy on the hip-hop/electro side of things for me. But, now that the line-up is on its way, there are some great gems. I mean, my man crush Ted Leo will be there. I’m stoked on seeing Cloud Nothings and Radio Dept, so much so, that I’d go alone for all that. But, as Transmission always does a great job putting this together, everyone’s going to find their own genre/niche of bands to get excited for. So, do yourself a favor, head over to the SITE, and see who your favorites will be. Then leave us a comment and let us know…maybe you can give us a heads up on what’s hip. Also, don’t forget tickets go on sale for the 3rd round today. Label me officially stoked!
Really, there’s two things coming out of this post. First, Atlanta is continuing its reign over the end of summer, with several bands putting out great tracks/records. Turf War is just another of those, giving you a stomping jangle rocker to grab onto this afternoon. Which brings us to point two: the band will be releasing their record, Years of Living Dangerously, in September on Old Flame Records, who we’d like to point out now, are pushing some great music your way lately. There you have it folks: good Atlanta music, continue good music from one of our favorite labels. Happy Monday to you.
Download: Turf War – Cheers To The Years [MP3]
| Date | Tuesday, August 2nd |
|---|---|
| Location | Stubbs |
| Doors | 700pm |
| Tickets | SOLD OUT |
Okay, so this is a SOLD OUT show, but you know how it goes over at Stubbs; there’s bound to be some scalpers who bought twenty tickets to sell to you and your friends. I think it’s worth a try, considering what a remarkably energetic band the Arctic Monkeys are on the stage, with bouncing rhythms and angular guitar chops. And, on top of that you get to see one of our favorite new acts, Young Buffalo, who we posted about a few weeks back. If you can find your way in somehow, I’m pretty sure you’ll leave drenched in sweat, feeling that it was worth every minute.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/youngbuffalo_onlywecankeepyoufromharm.mp3]Download: Young Buffalo – Only We Can Keep You From Harm [MP3]
We brought you news of up-and-comers A Lull last summer, and as the year has gone on, they’ve slowly gotten more deserved press with their debut, Confetti. But, they’re not here to rest on their laurels, already prepping a new EP, the Confetti Reprise EP, which will be released on August 16th. You’ll definitely get the pop-constructionist experimentalism here, with tribal beats (including rim shots), swells of noise coming in and out, and vocals atop it all–then it trickles in an entirely different manner towards the end of the track. It’s just another sign that A Lull are on their way to making a solid name for themselves.
Download: A Lull – Pot Luck [MP3]
I Break Horses keeps showing up on my liked and most played playlists after several introductions around the web as featured new music. So, I decided to share this track.
Out of Stockholm, I Break Horses is Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck. Winter Beats is definitely a slow build, a chilly shoegaze track. I love this stuff this time of year – just enough fuzz teamed with space and synth around vocals and calming layers of noise that are perfect for being lazy on a summer afternoon (indoors).
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/01-Winter-Beats.mp3]Download: I Break Horses – Winter Beats [MP3]
I am not just referring to @austintownhall or facebook.com/austintownhall.
There was big news recently about Spotify bringing their all-you-can-eat music service to America hammering the tech sites and delighting music fans. Now, this concept is nothing new to me as a long time subscriber and advocate of Microsoft’s Zune Pass. It has however been a chore to evangelize the merits of renting your music catalog. Let’s face it, there is a warm fuzzy around “owning” your music, isn’t there. But let’s go over the Top 5 reasons why you subscribe to a music service, especially as there are now several great multi-platform services to choose from.
Rating:
Let’s be honest; it’s hotter than blazes basically everywhere in the country. So what kind of music is perfect to ease the sweat on your brow or the sunburn on your shoulders? While there may not be any certain genre that can take away the heat entirely, perhaps just riding those heat waves out with summer themed music can help in some way. On Everything is Dancing, you’ll find the nautical guitar riffs and the surfy pop melodies that can make you feel as though on the beach, or at least close to something refreshing.
The Fair Ohs, hailing from London, kick off this debut with “Baldessari,” a summery-from-the-get-go number that doesn’t waste any of your time to get things started. Tropical guitars begin right as you press play, leading you to the waves of crashing cymbals and the yelping vocals of Eddy Frankel. He is also joined by what sounds like the rest of the band: Matt Flag and Joe Ryan, for some quality gang vocals. All of the elements combine and overlap each other to make for a complex, yet simply summery mix. Following this opener, is “Eden Rock,” in which this band just keeps moving forward, and faster. The pacing certainly increases on this second song, and so does the amount of cymbal, which contributes to an even simpler sound than that of the first.
At this point, it is plausible to wonder if The Fair Ohs are just a one trick pony; that all their songs revolve on their sunny disposition alone. However, this is an assumption to be proven faulty from later on songs off of Everything is Dancing. Example: “Marie,” the second to last number, brings in a slightly more somber feel to the beachy tunes. The overall beat is a little slower, and the sunshine switch is at half volume, alluding to the end of that favorite season when the band asks “where does summer go?”
But in reality, you’ll probably remember the sensationally fast-paced and mad summer tunes of songs like the band’s single and title track “Everything is Dancing, ” or even “Helio,” in which you can’t help but sing along with Frankel as he drags out his words, or move your feet to the those rolling drums in the background. In the end, it’s just a really fun and entertaining release; perfect to sweat out the last of your energy dancing through the heat of this summer.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/FairOhs-Baldessari.mp3]Download: Fair Ohs – Baldessari [MP3]
| Date | Saturday, July 30th |
|---|---|
| Location | Mohawk |
| Doors | 900p |
| Tickets | $6 at the Door |
Austin’s Weird Weeds have been knocking around our town for quite some time, and they’ve built up a pretty decent following. This means you’ll be in for some good times, along with some great music at the Mohawk on Saturday evening. Also, you have to get their early to catch one of our favorite acts Sleep Good, still riding high after the release of their latest album, Skyclimber. Lean Hounds will be the first act of the evening; another good act. With a slew of shows going down over the weekend like Iron and Wine and Joanna Newsom, you’ll get more bang for your buck by ending up over at Mohawk.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/SleepGood_Shoneys.mp3]Download: Sleep Good – Shoneys [MP3]
