This is fine.
In further antcipation of their upcoming album, Horehound, ultra-hip group Dead Weather are offering you a chance to hear yet another new single off said album. This one definitely has that rocking element, and it features vocals that seem to be predominantly Jack White. Either way, the hard hitting track, “Treat Me Like Your Mother,” is a sign of more good things to come.
Download: Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother [MP3]
Daytrotter has just put up a brand new session with Luke Temple and Here We Go Magic. Lucky for the fans, this session has a brand new track to offer you, not to mention it has a few reworkings of other tunes from the band’s self-titled debut, Here We Go Magic. If you like what you hear from this band, be sure to check them out on tour in Austin with Grizzly Bear in June.
Download: Here We Go Magic – Collector [MP3]
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Phoenix is a Frecnh pop group. That being said, it seems more likely that their success lies in the United States, far away from their homeland. Their third album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, is sure to tie the band into your consciousness for the duration of the upcoming months, if not for the rest of the year.
The best one-two punch of the year comes via the band’s first two opening tracks, “Lisztomania” and “1901.” “Lisztomania” has a stomping affect that likely entails itself to handclap moments amongst your friends as you dance in the living room. That is until the keyboard comes in for the chorus, and the impending crescendo have you all flailing your arms about. “1901” is just one of the most solid tracks to come around in a long time. Finding a beat this good is hard to do, and they combine it all with the catchiness of the chorus as singer Thomas Mars shouts “fallen” over and over again. You won’t find two tracks back to back that sound this good on another record this year.
But then the band step it back a bit, so as not to blow you away too quickly. They toy with a little bit of sensuality in “Fences and the lengthy slow-jam “Love Like a Sunset,” which quite possibly gets a bit over indulgent. Still, at this point, the band seem to just want to show their range, demonstrating to us all that they are more than just a one-dimensional band of singles and such.
And then we’re right back into it. Slow jams are gone, and the pace returns with “Lasso.” This song, like those before it and those after it exemplifies everything in which the group succeeds; their songs build and build, seemingly increasing the pace as the song, along with Mars’ vocals, races to the end. It’s as if their formulaic songwriting allows the band to push for the optimal amount of punch and pop sensibility. Even when they find themselves in the middle-ground, such as on “Girlfriend” you can still see the skeletal remains of their capabilities.
While some may wish that the band could go beyond their normal stylings and push for even more in the dance-pop spectrum, such as their massive single “1901,” it’s still nice to see the band sticking to what they do best. Although they’ve yet to write a complete album where every song is perfect, this is the closest that they’ve come; Phoenix continues to write great songs and progress as they move forward.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/05-lasso.mp3]Download: Phoenix – Lasso [MP3]
As you can see ATH is taking Memorial Day off, but we wanted to share some sad news with everyone before signing off. Jay Bennett, formerly of Wilco, has passed away today at the young age of 45. No cause of death has as of yet been reported. The Chicago Sun Times has more information as it develops. To say the least, this is the worst news we’ve ever reported on. Jay was someone that we all admired here at ATH and loved most anything he worked on with or without Wilco. Jay will be best remembered as one of the creative minds behind historic Wilco albums Being There, Summer Teeth, and the big one Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Words won’t do you justice Mr. Bennett, so we’ll just say that you will sorely be missed by all. Your music was far ahead of its time.
In the mid-eighties, Greg Ginn’s SST Records built up an incredible reputation for raucous punk bands by the likes of Husker Du, Minutemen, & Descendents. Phoenix’s Meat Puppets stood out from the manic pack, combining a unique blend of punk, country, and psychedelic rock. The Pups still have a loyal fan base in Austin tracing back to the good ol’ days of Liberty Lunch. To comemorate the release of their new record Sewn Together, Meat Puppets will be playing a free in-store at Waterloo Records. Be there at 5… Free keg beer! Here’s latest single “Rotten Shame”.
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At this point in the year, it seems pretty redundant to discuss this album, especially considering all the accolades it has received during the time in which the album leaked onto the Internet. But, be that as it may, one really has to take a look at this album; you would be doing yourself an injustice to ignore Grizzly Bear at this point, and your record collection would be worse off for not adding Veckatimest to your catalog.
Even on the first track, it is hard to find negative commentary on the album, no matter how you wish to label this band and their hype. “Southern Point” has various elements to the entirety of the song, be it ornate guitar picking or the back and forth piano work. You’ll come to find that the various layers that were present during Yellow House have now been polished, to the benefit of every minute of the album.
Then comes the first single, “Two Weeks.” You could count this song as one of the best songs of the year, based merely upon the multiple layer harmonies that go throughout, but that probably wouldn’t do the song any justice. Each layer of sound just seems to compile more melody as the song inches along like a caterpillar; the song builds with “ooh oooh oooh oohs” until the end, and when it’s complete, you feel a little bit worn out.
You find yourself two songs into the album, which most will prematurely title as best of the year. From this point on, you cannot go back into the past; you cannot look back into the music of this year, for nothing will seem as complete as this album. Songwriter Daniel Rossen, who also fronts Department of Eagles, definitely has left his mark on this album, or at least you can see his maturity throughout the evolution of this album. What once seemed like quiet bedroom songs now have blossomed into full compositions, each worthy of standing on their own.
“Dory” seems like a simplistic enough song, but the magic in the vocal harmonies carry it above your average tune, into a new level of greatness few bands have yet to achieve. “Ready, Able” has this brooding rhythm beneath the surface of the song, but with the intricate additions to the song, the tension is released, and the song courses on into one of the albums more beautiful moments. “About Face” is the perfect song, with subdued percussion backing the song; the band has paid attention to the most minute detail, which, of course, makes each song stronger than the one before it.
You can hide behind the hype, declaring that the band is just riding the waves of popularity by the Internet popularity they’ve garnered, but listening to Veckatimest, you will truly see that Grizzly Bear deserves every kind word that was written about them. Very few people will find that there is anything negative to say, and in that statement, you have the best album of the year.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/08-about-face.mp3]Download: Grizzly Bear – About Face [MP3]
As if your Friday night concert going decisions weren’t already tough, here’s another great show that should prove to be your cheapest option for the evening. Hole in the Wall features a lineup of garage rock Canadians Pack AD, Poppy Austinites The Alice Rose, and local singer-songwriter Mario Matteoli. Entrance to Hole in the Wall will usually keep you under $10.
Download: Pack AD – Making Gestures [MP3]
Nurses is not a band we know a whole lot about other than they’re from Portland and they just signed a deal with ATH fave label Dead Oceans. We also know that we really like this strange yet catchy new single from Nurses called “Caterpillar Playground”. We’re going to describe it as experimental pop music. Sound good to you? You can get your hands on the bands debut LP Apple’s Acre on August 4th.
Download: Nurses – Caterpillar Playground [MP3]
It’s Friday, and as you cruise into the weekend, you definitely need something meaningful to carry you all the way to the end of the day. Well, let the wonderful sounds of Personal and the Pizzas put you on their backs and carry you into the weekend. Sure, it’s a bit derivative, but if you don’t like this song you aren’t a United Statesian.
Download: Personal and the Pizzas – I Don’t Feel So Happy Now [MP3]
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When The Comas decided that it would be best to call it quits, at least for the day, I knew that I would miss their fuzzed-out space pop. Ever since their first break on Dawson’s Creek, I was absolutely in love. Luckily, leader of the bunch, Andy Herod, opted to take on the Electric Owls moniker and release Ain’t Too Bright on Vagrant Records.
As soon as this album kicks off, the fuzz begins, coating the acoustic strumming before Herod’s distinctive voice jumps into song. For a fan of this man, it’s good to hear these familiar vocals, and the return of that space-age pop sound that Herod and friends perfected with Spells.
It’s great to see that Herod and his new posse haven’t neglected that quirkiness that made his old band so interesting, using electronic samples and other sounds to add an atmospheric background to the scope of each song. But still, they maintain the feel of all the current bands. “Halloween Mask” easily fits in the modern pop landscape, dancing not far away from the works of Rogue Wave. This song reminds us of Herod at his best, crafting careful cool hits with a hint of futuristic hipsterdom.
Reading notes about his return, it would seem that Herod needed this return to music. His first foray had left him and his mates exhausted, but as all great writers do, he got the itch to write again. That personality breaks through the surface of this album, as more traditional songs have been penned. Songs like “Darken Me” with it’s folk leanings and foot stomping percussion remind listeners of the personal touch that music can bring. “Two Stories” has that similar personal stretch, with the song being drawn gently from personal experience of the narrator, presumably Herod himself.
This outing is less intense than the past efforts that have involved Herod, but this is not entirely a bad thing, as he first warmed his way into my heart with A Def Needle In Tomorrow long ago, which seemed to be a stripped down affair in comparison to his later work. Still, it’s great to have the voice of an old friend bringing back memories of simple pop tunes with a space-age edge. You never know how much you miss a particular songwriter until they make their way back into the music industry; we gladly welcome back Andy Herod and Electric Owls to the foray.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/04-darken-me.mp3]Download: Electric Owls – Darken Me [MP3]
