This is fine.
Nashville gents The Features are streaming 3 new songs from their upcoming release Some Kind of Salvation on their myspace page. The album still doesn’t have an official release date so who knows when you will be able to put these songs on the ‘ol ipod. We’ll keep you updated.
The Black Kids just released a new single “hurricane jane” off their forthcoming album Partie Traumatic due out July 7th on Mercury Records. Get ready for your Friday night with some sweet new dance music from The Black Kids.
Download: Black Kids – Hurricane Jane [MP3]
Rating: 
From the minute this album opens you are opened to the intricate guitar work of Tim Kinsella; its always the most delicate of strumming or so it seems. Its as if he is taking his guitar for a little journey; he speeds up, he slows down, but its always very personal. His work in Joan of Arc, and various other bands, has always been witness to this delicate guitar; it goes throughout the album.
In fact, this album, and this band for that matter, will always benefit from the unique playing of Kinsella. Each song he puts together has an entirely different feel than the last, yet each song on this album fits uniquely together. Somehow Kinsella consistently manages to use other musicians to construct unique mini-masterpieces of song; all these songs could stand alone without the use of lyrics.
Sadly, it is Kinsella’s lyrics, and more so, his voice, that seem to plague this album. His voice is usually too gentle to believe that there is passion in his voice, but when he does provide that passion, it is as if he straining to fake it. It never really comes together cohesively, and at times, his voice can destroy entire songs.
Lyrically, this album deals with a break-up, which has some really beautifully written moments. Unfortunately, the general theme of this album get a bit old, despite the variation in each song. It is a great album of break-up songs, but unfortunately the entire album is break-up songs; that doesn’t really work for this album.
There are two standout tracks on this album, worthy of your purchase, somewhere on the Interweb: the unfortunately named “Tell-Tale Penis” and “So-and-So.” The vocals and lyrics on “So-and-So” are the perfect way to finish this album, which continues to keep Joan of Arc swimming along in the rock n’ roll canon.
Shearwater provided an intimate set to the crowd at Waterloo Records on Wednesday. The venue was packed solid with Shearwater supporters who were excited to catch one more glimpse of the band before they head out on tour. Lead singer Jonathan Meiburg started the show off right by belting out several lines of lyrics acapela style just to make sure everyone was paying attention. The band was spot on for their set with each member taking on a “jack of all trades” role and playing a countless number of instruments. (Is that a flute?) Read more
My favorite garage-rocker, Jay Reatard, is said to be distributing a brand new collection of singles this coming Tuesday, June 17th, via In The Red Records. The track listing has four old songs, which means we’ll get 13 brand new Jay Reatard songs, well, sort of. All the songs come from various 7″s, but if you don’t have those, this is brand new! It also comes with a complimentary DVD of four Reatard shows, which might help win you over to the gloriousness of Jay Reatard! According to Jay’s website, he will apparently be showing his face in Austin at Red 7 on August 3rd.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01-blood-visions.mp3]
Download: Jay Reatard – Blood Visions [MP3]
Details about Beck’s new album Modern Guilt have been flooding the news trails on the interweb today. The album is set to be released on June 7th in the UK and June 8th stateside. The album is produced by the great Danger Mouse who seems to be turning everything he touches to gold. The recently released Black Keys album Attack & Release produced by Danger Mouse will surely be in my top ten of the year so I’m sure Beck’s newest will be killer. Beck’s also playing that little thing called ACL Festival later this summer and If you’re still waiting to get tickets to that, stop what you’re doing and buy one now. You can also stream a new song off Beck’s new album on his ilike page entitled “Chemtrail”.
Polyvinyl artist Joan of Arc will be showcasing their talents at Mohawk this evening. Go check out Mohawk’s website to get tickets for the show. Only $8!
Preview a song off the band’s new album Boo Human before you buy tickets to this sure to be awesome show tonight:
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/atelltale.mp3]
Download: atelltale.mp3
Rating:
When this album bounced its way into my mailbox, I have to admit that I didn’t really know what to expect from The M’s, a Chicago based quartet. Their last effort, Future Women, felt sort of scattered to me, but it definitely had a few upsides as a whole. I figured this album would at least meet the same level.
Album opener, “Big Sound,” definitely steps up this album from the get-go. The pounding drums and fuzzy guitars grab your attention, drawing you closer in as you listen for–wait, are those horns? Indeed! Nice move. This moves right into “Breakfast Score,” which sounds familiarly like another famous Chicago band–Wilco. It’s hard to go wrong there.
By the middle of the album, I had already found a few favorites–the sort of songs I would easily put on a mix-tape for a friend. Lyrically, I think one of my favorite songs is “Ultraviolent Men,” where the band encourages us to “let them fight it out,” which kind of hits at home with my own pacifism during current circumstances.
The one thing that does hold this album back is the inconsistency. I like a band that is willing to try new things or explore other paths, but this band goes off a bit too much. They can’t seem to get one sound together, and I know that is probably on purpose, but it is the one thing that irks me here.
“Days in the Sun,” definitely recalls Village Green era-Kinks, with careful melodies, accompanied by gentle guitar strumming and light piano. It’s pure 60s pop; a nod to one of my favorite eras, making this my favorite track on the album.
This album has its faults, but in its entirety, it’s definitely listenable, and at times, quite memorable. Perfect for a refreshing day basking in the sun.
Take a listen to the album’s single “Don’t Be Late” :
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dontbelate.mp3]
Former Get Up Kids keyboardist and Coalesce James Dewees is set to release his 5th album as Reggie and the Full Effect. Sure, James doesn’t take himself seriously, which is how he comes to mesh the hardcore with that pop goodness–but who said we always had to be so serious? At the very least, you can tell your little brother or sister to listen to this instead of that boring radio! Take a listen to his newest song at this beautiful web site.
We recently created an Austin Town Hall group on Facebook. You can help us spread the word by joining the new group on facebook and asking others to join. Feel free to start discussions, post pictures or whatever else floats your boat.
