This is fine.
Finally! After around 5 months from it’s original air date, the Them Crooked Vultures ACL taping is finally making it onto the air Saturday (2/13). Air date looks to be at 7pm, so set your DVR to PBS. Be sure to look out for some of your friendly ATH staff members, as a few of us were there with faces melted to the floor. Until Saturday, check out this preview video of “New Fang” over on the PBS site.
This new track from Swedish folk singer, Tallest Man On Earth, has been floating around the internet over the last few days and we just had to get it on our site. This new jam “King of Spain” will appear on the upcoming album The Wild Hunt, due out April 13th on Dead Oceans. The track comes off sounding a bit like some old school Tweedy led Uncle Tupelo with vocals more similar to Dylan on helium. That’s good right?
Download: Tallest Man on Earth – King of Spain [MP3]
This Friday over at Emo’s you can get into see the legendary The English Beat. Even more legendary is the fact that they’re known as a different band on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, as our British compatriots refer to them simply as The Beat. But, what stands the test of time is their music. They combined a lot of the two-tone ska elements and they combined them with really catchy pop hooks. Sure, this was over-done by many people in that last wave of ska (we’re looking at you Sublime and Reel Big Fish), but The English Beat did it with a whole lot more sensibility than the rest; they did it a whole lot earlier too! My first introduction to the group was through “Mirror in the Bathroom,” though I found the rendition from SLC Punk by Fifi a bit more my pace. The song that sticks for me though is perfect for all your dance party mixes, so throw this tune on the mix, and revisit The English Beat, or The Beat. Whatever.
| Date | 2/13/10 |
|---|---|
| Location | Emos |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $16 from Ticketweb |
One of the best kept secrets of hip-hop, RJD2, is making his way back to Austin on Saturday night. The groundbreaking DJ/artist is bringing with him Kenan Bell & Happy Chichester to open things up. If you think this is just a guy with a turntable, you’d be wrong wrong wrong. Latest single “Games You Can Win” is found below.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/gamesyoucanwin.mp3]Download: RJD2 – Games You Can Win [MP3]
So I was just listening to the Matinee Grand Prix, the stellar compilation from one of my favorite labels, Matinee Records, when I noticed something I didn’t notice on first listen. A new Cats on Fire tune! Their last record, Our Temperance Movement, was one of my favorites in 09′, so obviously stoked there is a new tune. Take a listen, and you’ll see why I love this little band from Finland.
Download: Cats on Fire – The Hague [MP3]
| Date | 2/12/10 |
|---|---|
| Location | The Independent |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $10 @ Door |
Knuckle Rumbler are at it again this Friday with a party going down at The Independent in Austin. This time headliners SPEAK bring the noise along with Missions, Love at 20 (former Clap Clap members), and DJ sets in between sets by DJ Markus with a K. Of course other special goodies will be planed, which you can read about over on the KR site. It’s just too much to fit in this tiny little space. We’ve also got the latest single from SPEAK for you below called “Carrie (Mindfull)”.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Speak_Carrie_Mindfull.mp3]Download: Speak – Carrie (Mindfull) [MP3]
We continue our SXSW watchlist coverage this week with Montreal based band We Are Wolves. Formed in 2000, the 3 piece outfit began as a small project amongst friends that later grew until a full time touring band circa 2005. The guys currently sport 3 LPs with their most recent effort, Invisible Violence, seeing the light of day last week (our Canadian friends got that one back in October). Now with several North American and European tours under their belts, We Are Wolves are heading down to SXSW in March for our little festival. We’ve come to enjoy the dance oriented garage rock sounds these Canadians bring to the table and think you will too. To quote the band directly, the sound is “A post-punk landscape filled with analogue trees. It’s like rock after the post-modern explosion.” Hell yeah.
Download: We Are Wolves – Holding Hands [MP3]
In an effort to become the only member of ATH with a serious twee addiction, I bring you new tunes from the Brazilian group, Pale Sunday. This is the first new music we’ve gotten from the group since 2005’s Summertime. The warmth of the vocals in this tune, “Shooting Star,” make it perfect for this chilly winter day.
Download: Pale Sunday – Shooting Star [MP3]
| Date | 2/12/10 |
|---|---|
| Location | Lamberts |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $5 @ Door |
Friday night at Lamberts is all about the local music, specifically the up and comers in the local scene. Two ATH artist to watch bands, The Pons and Ideal Soul Mart, will be on the stage along with fellow locals Wiretree. This should be a great night to check out the best and brightest Austin has to offer with new talent.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/the_pons_-_wherever_you_are.mp3]Download: The Pons – Wherever You Are [MP3]
If you’ve been following the life of John Davis, then chances are you’ve enjoyed a great deal of music. He made waves with his role as the drummer in Q and Not U, then jumped into the pop world with Georgie James. Now, he’s playing under the name Title Tracks, which brings in some new sensibilities on It Was Easy. You’ll find traces of his work in both previous bands on the album, but you’ll also see a new direction coming through.
As it all begins, you get “Every Little Bit Hurts,” which definitely has one foot in Georgie James, yet you can feel the ghost of Ted Leo (or his spirit, since he’s not dead, thank God) making his presence known. The guitar sounds are similar, and the drumming is spectacular (done by John himself). Why we know that Ted uses The Jam and Nick Lowe as reference points, you can see John go straight to Ted; just look at the way he tries to hit that falsetto note near the end of the track.
And so he slows it down to a little dub-step number with “No, Girl.” Here yo see the pop sensibility of Georgie James coming through. If it weren’t for the reggae-ish guitar, then it might very well be one of the leftover demos from his old group. This isn’t a knock on the man, as GJ surely had some great elements across Cake Parade.
This is one of the most important notes from It Was Easy. A lot of these songs wear the mark of Georgie James, and to be honest, a lot of the sonic exploration Q and Not U did with their last album Power. John clearly isn’t staying in once place, which might be one of the reasons that this album just doesn’t blow you out of the water; you can see his next release being something ridiculously good.
One of the treats for me was listening to “Tougher Than the Rest,” a number which features my favorite Tracyanne Campbell. Her voice is simply to wonderful to be ignored completely, yet it once again brings about the idea that John hasn’t fully left the ideas behind from the whole Georgie James affair. Still, they lyrics are really heartfelt, and it’s precisely the thing you expect Tracyanne to be singing.
You’ll want to listen to “It Was Easy” and “At Fifteen” as these are two of the songs which really show you that John is trying to step out of the shadow of his past. “At Fifteen” is one of those sleeper tracks that I can see being one of my favorites. It’s nothing more than guitar and whispering vocals; it’s just the sort of think I adore.
Closing out It Was Easy is a cover of The Byrds “She Don’t Care About Time,” just one more signal to the abundance of influences for John Davis. Title Tracks have made a good start, but the one thing lacking is just a bit more cohesiveness all over. Sure, the record is full of great songs and great influences (I’m looking at you Ted), but you can see a bright future in store for John Davis once he tightens the reins and kicks into gear.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/04-Piles-Of-Paper.mp3]Download: Title Tracks – Piles Of Paper [MP3]
