This is fine.
Saturday night was probably not the most enjoyable evening on which to catch a show, as it was freezing cold here in Austin, but many brave souls opted to push through the wintry weather in pursuit of a good evening of music. Those in attendance were able to catch Dawes, Other Lives and Delta Spirit honing their skills on stage. Here are our thoughts on the evening.
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Britain’s The Boy Least Likely To have made waves in the past with their multi-instrumental pop tunes, and their back at it again with their latest release The Law of the Playground. Their sound clearly hasn’t evolved too much on this album, as they rely upon the same set of tricks that gained them popularity in the first place.
Once you press play, those of indie-pop should surely find a resemblance in vocalist Jof’s delivery, as his voice is a clear descendant of Matt Sharp of Rentals and Weezer fame. Even the musical accompaniment encourages this association, but its nice to have a familiar voice singing in your ear, even if it comes from someone entirely new.
Musically, you can find lots of similarities to various bands. The usage of multiple instruments throughout the album recall memories of other groups such as Architecture in Helsinki or I’m From Barcelona. All three groups rely upon an extensive use of layering in order to complete the accomplished goal at hand. And their is no shortage of bells and whistles here, not by a long shot.
You know the saying “everything and the kitchen sink,” well, it certainly applies. There indeed are bells and whistles, and it seems as if the band uses any thing at their command to create infectious melodies. Add some horns, and you’ll find that every single instrument you could imagine to find on a pop album is utilized here. It’s great in concept, but it has a tendency to wear the listener down. Just saying.
Now, looking deep in the lyrics will be hard to, as there really isn’t a great deal of depth swirling around the presentation here. Let’s take a song like “When Life Gives You Lemons I Make Lemonade.” Can you work a larger cliche into song than that one? Probably not. Which is precisely where this band loses you; their lack of interest, or seeming disinterest, is where you start to feel frustrated in listening to the band. They’ve built these perfectly crafted songs, yet they can’t ever seem to close the deal by attaching quality lyrics to such melodies.
Two albums into their career, the band have created a wide array of pop gems to their name, each built with precision and attention to every melodic detail. Time after time, they surprise you with moments of splendor, as they do in “Stringing up Conkers” on their most recent release. But, in the end, they always leave you craving for more, be it in regards to lyrics, or in regards to wanting more well-crafted songs, you’re sure to ask for more.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/06-stringing-up-conkers.mp3]Download: Boy Least Likely To – Stringing Up Conkers [MP3]
The 80s saw the birth of the best music from the better half of the century. The problem is that like many similar great works of art, these songs weren’t always immediately recognized for their brilliance. So when Van Halen’s sexually-rowdy “Hot For Teacher” blares in the strip club scene in Varsity Blues, you can’t help but give it a “ten” (a f-ing ten!). It’s from there that the song earns it’s immortality and lives in film fame for years to come. The only rules to this list: the song couldn’t have been written for the movie or debuted in the movie (sayonara Top Gun, Breakfast Club, and Kenny Loggins). So here’s a list of the most memorable 80s songs from the movies…
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Emo’s second sweet lineup of the weekend comes on Saturdy which features Delta Spirit, Other Lives, and Dawes. Tickets for this show are on sale now for only $11 from Ticketweb. Doors open at 9pm with music starting up at 10. You can also preview the show with that Delta Spirit Daytrotter session we told you about earlier this week.
Download: Other Lives – Paper Cities [MP3]
There’s something to be said about a young soul with the spirit of a wise one, and Tara Jane Oneil is precisely such a person. She’s got the spirit of wonderment, and despite the beauty of this song, “Drowning” there’s something haunting in her delivery, but in a completely endearing way. Yea, it’s a mellow number for sure, but one to ease you into the weekend with the magic of her voice alone. Her record A Ways Away comes out via K Records on May 5th. Also, be on the lookout for this young lass during SXSW.
Download: Tara Jane Oneil – Drowning [MP3]
The nice folks at do512 and Vinyl Entertainment are offering you another show this weekend with free drinkage to be had. This time around the celebration is for the release of new LP Valley of the Cyclops by local act Diagonals. Other local artists The Ugly Beats and DJ Brian Tweedy will also be getting in on the fun. The show is going down at the 501 studios (map here) downtown and starts around midnight. RSVP to the show now to guarantee entry and get yourself some free Lonestar!
Downloads: Diagonals – Neil Diamond Blues [MP3]
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Ohh Bobbie, how we love your Miller Lite infused high-kicks. How we love walking into your shows dry and leaving sopping wet from not only our own but other peoples body sweat. How we love being able to throw beers in the air at innocent by-standers and not give a shit. Above all else Bobbie, we love your unmatched creative output of material. Slurrrrrp.
Boston Spaceships return with Planets Are Blasted only 5 months after their first LP Brown Submarine. In a recent interview, Chris Slusarenko has said they already have a third album ready tentatively titled Zero to 99 which should be out before October. With no trimming on the song count, Planets Are Blasted boasts another 14 songs just as it’s former had. The line-up has stayed the same with booze buddies Chris Slusarenko (GBV, Svelt, Sprinkler) on guitar and John Moen (Decemberists, Jicks, Elliott Smith) on drums. Now implemented as an official band and not a side project, Boston Spaceships carries on the sounds of pop infused punk/garage rock and beyond. In classic Pollard fashion, all the songs are generally under 2 1/2 minutes in length with the exception of one which goes into prog zoning of 4 minutes.
The treats keep coming on this sophomore release which I wonder if they were recorded at different sessions or what? I’m curious to hear more details on the recording process of these songs. For the most part, the way these songs see the light of day all starts at Pollard’s home. He comes up with raw demos, usually consisting of him on an acoustic guitar and singing vocal melodies on top. He’ll go through the songs deciding which ones will work for his solo project and which ones are Boston Spaceships material (The man has a self-proclaimed 3,000 un-released songs give or take a thousand depending on how many Miller Lites he’s had). He’ll then call Slusarenko up and say that he has some ideas, they’ll get together, have drinking challenges, write notes on songs usually ending with KICK-ASS the more they drink. Slusarenko will then take these songs home, mull over them until he knows every subtle part, take them to Moen and flesh it all out.
It’s amazing at the ease in which Pollard can come up with a catchy chorus. Such is the beast of album opener “Canned Food Demons.” It immediatley takes you back to GBV days of old, maybe missing the piss and puke buckets, but as close as we’ll get and I’ll gladly take it. I mean, the man is 52 years old and can still squeal with more power than any rock singer I’ve heard at his age. When you hear him howl, “now she’s coming aroooound, canned food demons aliiiiiiiive!” Just surrender already. This may be the best song on the album but it definetly doesn’t stop here. Gems like “Queen of Stormy Weather” and “Heavy Crown” will quench your thirst for more R-A-W-K.
As a whole, Brown Submarine too me is a much more polished album with catchier and inventive melodies than this one. I don’t know if the songs were picked first for Brown Submarine and the ones on Planets Are Blasted were picked afterward from the same collection of material but either way, this album still holds up in my opinion. Not as strong or consistant throughout, but still many perks that will turn an ear. Most of all, I’m really happy to know that this isn’t a “project” and that Pollard is having fun and pumping out little bits of gold over and over. (insert high-kick here)
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bigogetsanearful.mp3]Download: Boston Spaceships – Big O Gets an Earful [MP3]
We’ll go a little old school crooner this week, well, not that entirely old school, as the feature of this week is still up and at it. Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you Leonard Cohen. The man has been honored by everyone, and this Friday we have a chance to honor the man as well. You can do so by purchasing tickets to his show on April 2nd at the Long Center. This will be the show you will tell your kids about. Get a hold of your tickets here, and buy me one as well please!
Download: Leonard Cohen – Chelsea Hotel No. 2 [MP3]
The latest and greatest crystal in their name band, Crystal Antlers, have a new rockin’ jam for your listening pleasure. The new track is called “Andrew” and will appear on the band’s upcoming LP Tentacles out April 6th. If the whole album sounds like this, we may be in store for one of the years best.
Download: Crystal Antlers – Andrew [MP3]
Local boys Whitman recently spent a long weekend in the studio and are ready to drop a new track your way from the sessions. No word yet on a title or release date for an upcoming album, but we’ll let you know when we hear something. The new track, “Light It Up”, has been getting heavy rotation in the ATH offices and we think you’ll like it as much as we do. Feel free to drop us a line about the new tune or hit them up on myspace.
Download: Whitman – Light It Up [MP3]
