This is fine.
After a semi-tragic day in Austin, a return to innocence was much needed. Fortunately for me, and about 2000 other people, Pavement would provide the necessary cure for all those lucky enough to get into Stubbs. Follow the jump for review and fancy photos.
I’ve been jamming to this sweet new track from NYC group Woozy Viper. The band is self-releasing their latest batch of hits, titled Rock n’ Roll, which you can still grab for free from their web site, but we encourage the usual donation. They’ve got this Cramps feel, but with a little bit less of a horror approach, exchanging it for a nice little modern spin, making it catchy enough for everyone to enjoy. We dig it, and we hope you do too.
Download: Woozy Viper – Dirty
| Date | 9/30/10 |
|---|---|
| Location | East Side Drive In |
| Doors | 6pm |
| Tickets | $25 @ Frontgate |
So some band called Guided by Voices is playing at the East Side Drive-In(Fader fort from SXSW) on Thursday evening in Austin. I hear that they are pretty decent or something so I suggest you check it out if you have the time. Sweet indie/l0-fi band Times New Viking will also be on hand providing the opening support. In all seriousness folks, the show seems to have some tickets still available and they are relatively cheap for such a big band. I’d recommend getting to the venue early if you want a good spot.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/08-echos-myron.mp3]
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Deep within the confines of the vast, mysterious internet, news of a certain album emerged. Following the leak debacle of the last release, Bradford Cox and Co. took a more ambiguous approach to releasing a record. The Atlanta based quartet known for their post-punk, shoe gaze roots and enthralling live shows have been relatively quiet since the fantastic Microcastle and pre-release fiasco. The only news we heard even related to Deerhunter was a small tour with untitled new material. This tour debuted while much more press attention was paid to Bradford Cox’s solo outfit Atlas Sound, with its 2009 release of Logos and subsequent tour. Grumblings here and there and a subversive marketing strategy soon after allowed us to put the pieces together and alas we find ourselves in the midst of another gem of a record, Halcyon Digest released via 4AD.
On the opening track ‘Earthquake’, Deerhunter takes a slow, steady approach in reintroducing themselves to the listener. At once, we find ourselves in the middle of an alien, yet unmistakably familiar soundscape. Like the spider and the fly, Cox has a way of pulling the listener in with his swan-song voice while slowly sucking the life out his prey with the rhythm. Though this process is not a violent one; it’s a beautiful dance where Deerhunter spin their web, all senses at once pulsate before it seems like it’s too much. The tapping of a foot turns to muscle memory and we can barely hear the world around us. Rise and fall, these moments erase from existence and what are left are Cox, Pundt, Fauver, Archuleta , and their stunning torturing devices only to open us up and let them in. There’s no way to resist, as our grey matter is their lunch.
On Cryptograms, the band went through a rough stretch and this era brought out a more disjointed song structure while producing some of the group’s most complex ambient elements thanks to Lockett Pundt’s silky-smooth approach. With Microcastle, Cox and Co. reformed with a new purpose and the while the ramblings of previous times are more or less gone, a stronger comprehensive album composition emerged, though the group can’t quite reach that same level at present. There are elements of both sides to the story on display here with ‘Basement Scene’ and ‘Revival’, respectively. This shows that the band is aware of their roots and is willing to not hide their past while searching for perfection. Obviously they are on the right track and even find a new lighter style as heard on ‘Desire Lines’, a definite highlight on the record.
“The devil is now gone from me” croons Bradford Cox on the near perfect track ‘Helicopter’, but I don’t believe him. It’s evil how seamlessly he can create touching and soft, yet unreasonably haunting lyrics. It’s straight up sinful how he can pair these lyrics to the music with such reason and perfection. The tone changes and compositions on this track alone are catching the eye and ears of everyone far beyond the indie community.
With Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter have found themselves as comfortable in their own sound and skin as never before and we can hear this stability in the record as a whole. The vast waves of psychedelia contrasting with the subtle nuances Cox is growing to become well known for are everywhere to be heard. Hipster communities will wine and cry about it, but they’re going to need to find a new band to love, as Deerhunter is soon to become mainstream news. This album has solidified them in the driver’s seat in the indie genre (perhaps even more) and there’s no hope of commandeering the wheel. They are on a road, destination unknown, and you might as well jump in the back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/08-Helicopter.mp3]Download: Deerhunter – Helicopter [MP3]
The now famous garage rock indie band No Age just dropped their brand new LP entitled Everything In Between yesterday on the Sub Pop label. To celebrate the release of their record, the band is offering up this new MP3 of track #3 from the album “Fever Dreaming”. You can also decide if you want to buy the new joint with a full album stream over on Soundcloud. It’s a doozy.
Download: No Age – Fever Dreaming [MP3]
With only about a week and a half remaining until the huge ACL festival starts on the 8th of this month, it’s time that you really start thinking about that plan of action for who you want to see over the weekend. Sometimes your choice will be easy with only one decent band playing at a certain time, but then you’ll have a choice like this one that will make you want to pull your hair out. So on the one hand you have The Flaming Lips who formed over 25 years ago and have been doing their psych rock thing for longer than most of us can remember. But then we have a more recent favorite in Band of Horses who can still hold their own despite their relatively short career together. Both bands are playing on Sunday late in the day at 6pm on opposite sides of the festival, so you have little hope of catching a bit of both sets. My initial feeling was to go with Band of Horses based on my just having seen Flaming Lips at Free Press Summer Fest earlier this summer. Plus, I feel like The Lips are still using the same damn live gimmicks that they’ve been hitting us with for the last 5-6 years… I mean cool, but I’ve seen it more than once. Then again, Flaming Lips play right before The National on back to back stages so it would be nice to just post up and avoid fighting the crowds. I also fear that the Band of Horses crowd could be old hippie city since The Eagles play on the same stage shortly after BOH. My indifference towards the recent material from both of these bands may cause me to just go with a majority vote amongst my friends. Care to share your thoughts?
Apparently we’re supposed to inform you that Frank Smith is actually a real band, not just the name of the singer, who is actually Aaron Sinclair. What’s more important is that you realized that there’s a powerful sound behind the Americana-ish group, with a little bit more melodrama than your usual. It sort of has the sound of a more fleshed out Clem Snide, but with expressive lyrics. The group has worked hard on their new album, Nineteen, which you can get your hands on October 16th when the band play their CD release at Mohawk. Enjoy, but remember, its a band, not a man.
Download: Frank Smith – Nineteen [MP3]
| Date | Wednesday, September 29th |
|---|---|
| Location | Emos |
| Doors | 900p |
| Tickets | $10 from Ticketweb |
Field Music is a band from England who’ve been putting out some significantly creative music over the last several years. Their first album, Tones of Town, has a little bit more of a pronounced sharp edge, but they completely went off into the realms of exploratory post-punk with their latest record, Measure. Honestly, had they not been smack in the middle of the Pavement and GBV shows, then this would have been the show of the week, but it very well could still be–these cats are that good. You will also be able to see Zorch and Gentlemen Rogues; each no slouch in their own right. So, if you can’t make it to other shows this week, sell your 30 Seconds to Mars tickets and go see these bands!
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Measure.mp3]Download: Field Music – Measure [MP3]
Would you look at these lads? Don’t they look fetch? Well, since Monday was a bit of a slow one in the music biz, I was happy in the afternoon when I ran across this new track from Canadian group Shimmering Stars. The band made waves back in the summer with their song “Im Gonna Try,” and now they’ve got another blissful pop jam to toss your way (via P4K). Seems like something we’d all be into right? Indeed, so happy Tuesday.
Download: Shimmering Stars – Sun’s Going Down [MP3]
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It seems like nowadays, you throw a label on a band, give them a bit of hype, and sure enough, it usually works out for the band, deserving or not. Finally, we’ve come to a band in 2010 who deserve this adoration, Twin Shadow. While a great bit of Forget is dominated by electronic textures, there’s this underlying attention to details that equips the album with layer after layer of pure beauty. Even when things don’t seem to fit altogether, somehow it’s tied in neatly, crafting one hell of a debut.
You walk right into a hint of synthesized darkness, mild beats, creating something of a somber sensation, just as George Lewis Jr. makes his first appearance. Hidden behind the instrumentation, or barely intruding, Lewis’ vocals evoke that Murray Lightburn feel, warm and affecting. There’s all these odd touches of instrumentation, crafting something wonderfully unique, all as the song works its way towards a bliss-filled ending.
Everything about the way Lewis and Grizz Bear chap Chris Taylor built Forget makes it one of the most rewarding listens on this side of pop music. “Shooting Holes at the Moon” jumps off with this groovy little work on the drums, then there’s some throbbing bass rhythm added in, along with all sorts of hints of string work in the background. It’s all about the funk, yet as Lewis jumps in to join the party, he brings a suave element, giving the song a bit of a house party feeling, if that party was full of sweet tunes. Those little guitar short shots in the background just make the element of electronics just rise above your typical cliched laptop band. This is precisely where these sorts of bands should live; they should aspire to be Twin Shadow.
Seriously, “Yellow Balloon” recalls those late nights spent in dingy dancehalls with your friends, while whiskey poured from the bar. And yet Lewis still wants you to do your thing, he just wants to add a touch of class, which usually comes by way of his soulful voice and the various textures. Easily this could disappear as just another chillwaved track, but the fact that you can decipher the real instruments, brings this jam into the forefront. Don’t forget the delivery of Lewis when he coos “the secret handshakes/the swimming hole/keep awake.” So right on. Twin Shadow easily could border on the line cheesy, yet you have to return time and time again to the craft of the songwriting. “Slow” has this Edge-influenced guitar line that runs in the background, which definitely harkens back to an era of innocent electronic music, but instead of sticking with his clean polished vocals, George decides to throw an echo-y yell in the background of the chorus. He’s challenging our conceptions, or rather challenging us to go back to the days of refreshing club hits.
Forget had the potential to fall flat on its face, a victim of its own hype. But, George Lewis Jr. wasn’t going to let that happen, choosing to create music that he thought was both beautiful and fun. In his pursuit, he created an album that rises above the doldrums of your everyday electronic music, providing us with our first vision of what Twin Shadow is really all about. After listening to this record, we’re all about what ever Lewis and company are all about, especially if sounds this ridiculously good.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Twin-Shadow-Yellow-Balloon.mp3]Download: Twin Shadow – Yellow Balloon [MP3]
