Porn
Well, I guess discovering porn kinda counts as discovering girls. You know, in a pathetic, depressing sort of way.
5/18 The Dears @ The Parish
The ATH crew rushed from prior arrangements to get to The Parish on Monday in order to catch a good evening with some of Canada’s finest, along with one of California’s best. It was a great show for a Monday night and all bands involved wowed the crowd. Follow the jump to read our thoughts on the show and see some sweet pics.
Faux Hoax
Polyvinyl just sent out some information about this new project/band Faux Hoax which is set to release an EP on the label. The new group is a recording project from Danny Seim (Menomena), John Askew (The Dodos/Tracker), and Dave Allen (Gang of Four). Vocal and lyrical collaborations were also done with Joe Haege (31 Knots/Tu Fawning) & writer Adam Gnade. The star studed cast have worked on this project for over 2 years and are now ready to release 3 song EP Your Friends Will Carry You Home which can be bought from Polyvinyl now. Digital bonus track “Foxworthy” can be had below. It comes off as very experimental but definitely has that Menomena touch on it.
Download: Faux Hoax – Foxworthy [MP3]
Yellow Bike Project 12th Anny @ Red 7 (5/21)
Austin’s most unique non-profit, The Yellow Bike Project, are celebrating 12 great years of existence by putting on a party/show at Red 7 on Thursday night. The lineup is stacked with talent and includes ATH faves Shearwater headlining along with Theatre Fire, Red Cortez, Buttercup, and the Yellow Bike Project Gospel Choir. Shearwater don’t have any other Austin dates planned for the summer so you better see them while you can! Show starts at 8pm.
Download: Shearwater – The Snow Leopard [MP3]
Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter
Rating: 
A few years back, California’s great Grandaddy decided to break up; they cited lack of financial success despite critical acclaim as one of their reasons for going away. Many heartbroken fans were happy to hear that Anti Records had signed frontman and lead songwriter, Jason Lytle, to a record deal. His album, Yours Truly, The Commuter, is exactly what you would expect from a man who left California for Montana in search of a new muse and new inspiration.
Opening the album with the title-track immediately brings back all the memories of your old Grandaddy record collection. Electronic blips and keyboard steadily build before the percussive element joins the fray. Furthering the song with simple strings (samples possibly) and Lytle’s familiar voice marks this album as the return of one of indie rock’s great voices.
If one were to go on song titles alone then we would be led to believe that Jason came to Montana in seach of new horizons and a return to a different type of focus that would create inspirational songs once again. In so many ways, he does seem to have regained his form on this album, but it’s that retreading of old tricks in his bag that seem to work the best for him.
“Brand New Sun” discusses the departure for greener pastures, and the simple acoustic song is filled with what one can only assume are laser noise created by martians, or Lytle’s keyboard. “Birds Encouraged Him” is simply a beautiful song; it’s one of the better songs in the Lytle catalog. Very light percussion accompanies the acoustic fingerings here, and string arrangements allow for the song to create a more atmospheric element; this is all added by the electronic whizzing of space noises.
Jason even decides to break out the rock element on this album with “It’s The Weekend.” Chugging power chords create a bouncing song that begins just as soon as it really ends, closing with Jason mellowing out on piano before zooming out one last time. But, it’s the softer element on this album that seems to take precedent.
A piano ballad appears courtesy of “This Song is a Mute Button.” It’s one of the simpler songs on this record, but it reminds you of how personal songwriting can be for the likes of Jason Lytle. And it’s followed by another spectacular number in “Rollin Home Alone.” Using string arrangements really seems to bring out a lot of the vocal melodies in Lytle’s voice, and the arrangement of the song is equally beneficial. You’d find difficulty not including this as one of your favorite songs of the year.
It’s refreshing to note that not a lot has really changed in the capabilities of Mr. Lytle. He still fuses guitar and electronic elements as breezily as in his days of Grandaddy, which not only makes you nostalgic for the good old days, but grateful he’s returned with an album as good as Yours Truly, The Commuter.
Megafaun
We don’t know a whole lot about this band Megafaun other than we really like their tunes and they hail from Durham North Carolina. From first listens their sound draws a lot from fun countryish sounds similar to maybe our own Brothers and Sisters with maybe even more twang. Or you could just call it fun. Here’s latest single from the band “The Fade” which will appear on new album Gather, Form & Fly due out July 21st. You Austinites will also be pleased to know that Megafaun will be opening for Bowerbirds when they come through town in August at Mohawk.
Download: Megafaun – The Fade [MP3]
Young Love @ Mohawk (5/20)
Many moons ago Dan Keyes used to live and play music in Austin with his hardcore band Recover. After the demise of that band, Keyes left for the big NYC to start his new dance-rock project Young Love. High critical praise has been coming over the last couple of years and now the band are making a stop off in Austin on Wednesday night at Mohawk. Promising young bands Paper Route and The Always Already will provide your opening entertainment. Tickets are on sale now for $10 or can be bought at the door for $12. Head out and say welcome home to our man Dan Keyes!
Download: Young Love – Black Boots [MP3]
Chaos in Tejas
The great thing about Austin is that we get the benefit of having our local promoters put together amazing weeks of shows, and this week, Chaos in Tejas proves just that point. Sure, the bands might be a little bit on the harder/faster/heavier side of things, but there are some great bands; just check out these names: Ted Leo, The Thermals, Harvey Milk, Propaghandi, Strange Boys, Times New Viking, The Business and The Shaky Hands. All bands that deserve your time and attention…not to mention the other great bands that will grace the stage along the whole Red River district. A detailed list of shows and venues can be found here.
Download: Ted Leo – Under the Hedge [MP3]
Tunes from An Horse
We caught up with An Horse during SXSW for a quick interview, and now that their album Rearrange Beds has been circling aroudn, we thought we’d offer up more of their festive pop for you today. Also, this single, “Camp Out,” has just recently got the video treatment, and you should check it out here.
Download: An Horse – Camp Out [MP3]
White Rabbits – It’s Frightening
Rating: 
Brooklyn via Columbia, Missouri six-piece the White Rabbits rose to critical acclaim seemingly out of nowhere with their debut album, Fort Nightly. This time around, the band has enlisted Spoon frontman (and sometimes Austinite) Britt Daniel for production duties on their latest album, It’s Frightening. You’ll find his touch on a lot of the songs, but ultimately, this sophomore effort is worthy of your attention on musical merit alone.
One of the runners for song of the year, at least up to this point in time, opens the album. “Percussion Gun” with its dual drumming technique climbs into your ears as the tribal element of the song bombards you. But, this isn’t the only trick the band has, as the piano work provides a much needed backbone that allows the song to go beyond just a mere rain-dance.
You’ll find the influence of Britt Daniel marking “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong.” This songs is reminiscent of pre-Gagagagagaga Spoon, with a bouncing bass line accompanied by a meandering piano. The guitar stutters along the song as the vocals arrive in that croon come falsetto that Britt uses to perfection. Now, we’re not assuming that this is just a knock-off because the song definitely warrants repeated listens; we’re just stating you can find Britt’s fingerprints on it.
“Comapny I Keep” is the slow summer jam come early. It’s a mostly acoustic number with light percussion walking along the backbone of the song. It’s the warmth of they lyrical content here that makes the song ultimately rewarding. Sure, it might not be the most exciting of this batch of tunes, but you’ll definitely find this as one of the ones worth putting on your summer mixtapes.
One of the things that’s lacking from this album, however, is a little bit of pacing. It’s not that there is poor pacing in so far as the organization of the songs, rather that the majority of the songs don’t seem to have too much movement to them, often becoming entirely too subdued for their own good. Oddly, the only songs that have movement seem to rely upon the drum stylings of “Percussion Gun” with just a softer quality to them.
Still, there is something to be said for the quiet presence of this album. It provides for the easy listening experience now that you need to focus on new projects. It’s an album full of songs constructed precisely for headphones and mellow moments in this time of your life. A decent effort, though much stronger on the front end.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/03-they-done-wrong-_-we-done-wrong.mp3]Download: White Rabbits – They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong [MP3]