Last Week’s Jams (3.24 – 3.28)

In playing catch-up from Spring Break, we covered quite a bit of new music, though I may have run out of steam at week’s end. Still, we brought you some new music from Austin artists like Sophia Warren, Adrian Quesada, Will Johnson and Day Friend. Unfortunately, the Day Friend was your sneak peek before their show this Friday at 13th Floor, so we’ll include that in next week’s jams. We also got to premiere a brand new Why Bother jam, so be sure to give that one a listen. Some of my personal favorites from the week are down below, like a new Dumb Things single, as well as fresh Pachyman to boot. And as always, the sounds are all over the place, from the folk of Swedes Egentid to the crazy joyousness of Johnny Maraca‘s garage punk! Play it all below!

Amy Millan Shares Make Way for Waves

After announcing a new record, Amy Millan is swinging for the fences, and she’s two for two on the singles, in my eyes at least. I found this tune quite stellar, and for once, it had less to do with Amy’s voice (which is still powerful), but more with the creative arrangement that works beneath the song. Sharp beats mix with piano notes and ebbing bits of bass guitar, waiting for the beat to thicken and the chorus to set off. Millan claims the song was pulled from a lost Stars demo, then handed over to songwriting partner Jay McCaroll, culminating in this tune. The hand drawn video was created by artist Gaia Alari, perfectly capturing the calmed nature of this tune. Amy will release I Went to Find You on May 30th.

 

Last Week’s Jams (2.10 – 2.14)

It started off a little slow and strange, but those keeping their eye on the prize knew we’d be in for a crazy end to the week, as there were releases dropping left and right. We skipped the album cycle to mostly focus on fresh singles, though we gave nods to records that came our way by the likes of Frog, Horsegirl, JJ Sweetheart and a few more. They’ve all got some great individual tracks in this great playlist, but we’re starting you off with Lowmoon‘s new jam, which is the perfect nostalgic bit of dream pop, which then moves right into Club 8‘s most recent banger. Some longer tunes rom Echo Delay, Cross Record and Consumables are within, but we tried to balance that out with some little joys. Also, don’t forget to check out Michael Maly’s review of the recent MJ Lenderman set at Emos!

Amy Millan Announces I Went to Find You

Stars and Broken Social Scene play a huge role in the Lankford household, so seeing that there’s new music from Amy Millan is always going to pique my interest. Her new single offers up a maturity and elegance that’s always been lurking, but to hear it now, decades removed from when I first heard Milan’s work, it has this sensational warmth to it; it’s almost like poolside slow jams, albeit one sung by a voice so familiar it puts your heart/mind at ease. She’s also focusing on acceptance that comes with age and understanding, saying she’s learned to “embrace the difficult bits, the footprint that made me what I am.” Life lessons and musical eloquence? I’m in. I Went to Find You is out May 30th.

Sparkling Song from Lanterns on the Lake

beliefsThis song from Lanterns on the Lake rules so hard that my only complaint is that it went on just a wee bit longer. Hazel Wilde’s performance on this track is stunning, yet it has this innocence to it that reminds me of Amy Millan in varying moments. Musically, you’ll find all sorts of layers to the tune. At first your focus is on the stick work at play, but eventually the guitars start to draw you in, unfolding in bursts like only the best post-rock can..it’s here when the drums take on a stronger machine-gun effect. All these signs point to a strong release for the band’s new record, Beings, which will hit this Friday via Bella Union.

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Amy Millan – Masters Of The Burial

amy-millan-masters-of-the-burial-artRating: ★★★☆☆

Having clocked in years with Canadian indie mainstays Stars and Broken Social Scene Toronto native Amy Millan struck out on her own in 2006 to release her debut album Honey from the Tombs to mostly favorable reviews, receiving comparisons to Emmylou Harris or Lucinda Williams.

Arts and Crafts Records will be releasing Amy Millan’s sophomore release, Masters of the Burial, and I must admit, coming into this review the only exposure I had had with Amy Millan was her work with the aforementioned bands.  Being a fan of Broken Social Scene and the solo outings of Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew, and Leslie Feist I was excited about the prospect of jangly, slightly quirky indie-pop album. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

Masters of the Burial is a very mature record. The majority of the eleven tracks could easily be seen as middle of the road adult contemporary, but in the best way possible.  This album is very easy to listen to, relying on softly brushed drums, well placed mandolins and, of course, Millan’s beautiful voice.  On tracks like ‘Bruised Ghosts’, ‘Towers’, and the album closer ‘Bound’ it is evident that Millan could easily hold her own with the Allison Krauss’ and the Norah Jones’ of the world, just ask your parents or Brenda in the accounting department if you don’t believe me.  When Millan breaks away from the country-tinged folk trappings on tracks like ‘Bury This’, the percussion heavy ‘Day to Day’, and the beautifully haunting ‘Lost Compass’, she truly shines, easily evoking feelings of loss and regret.  Plus there is a cover of Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’, if you are into that kind of thing.  Like my mama always says “A cover is as a cover does…” (my mama never says that).

While this record won’t be on my end of the year lists, I have nothing but respect for it.  It is comforting, and I know it has an audience out there that will love it. I just fear that, with it’s ties to indie rock, it will be shot down before it even has it’s chance to shine.

Free Arts & Crafts Sampler

artscraftsThe free record label samplers continue this week with one from the Canadian super label Arts & Crafts.  This 15 song sampler is available for download from Amazon and features all the big names from the label like The Stills, Amy Millan, The Constantines and more.  Here’s one of our faves from new artist Zeus called “Fever of the Time”.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/11-fever-of-the-time.mp3]

Download: Zeus – Fever of the Time [MP3]

ATH Interviews: Broken Social Scene

bss_coverPrior to Broken Social Scene taking the stage at Bass Concert Hall we were able to grab a few minutes with Brendan Canning and Charles Spearin. They talk about the current state of the band, their most recent tour, and details about their solo albums. Thanks to Robin and Brendan for all of the arrangements and preparations.

Read the Brendan Canning Interview

Read the Charles Spearin Interview

Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Land of Talk is yet another band from Montreal, Canada, intent upon re-creating pop music in their own likeness and bringing it to your ears.  Their latest effort, Some Are Lakes, has just been issued by Omaha label Saddle Creek Records.

According to press information, the opening three songs of the album seem to revolve around the band’s earlier sound, which seems to reflect the earthy undertones of the album’s title track.  It is a female-dominated sound that recalls similarities between various Canadian acts that have made their way south of the border.  While these first three tracks definitely showcase the band’s musical repertoire, there isn’t anything too remarkable from these first glimpses.

Then they come straight at you with “Some Are Lakes,” which features stronger vocals from front-woman/guitarist, Lizzie Powell. Here you will find the band cleaning out their sound, ridding the song of extemporaneous noise in place of a more direct approach to your ears.  “Give Me Back My Heart Attack” has the band going back a few steps, those this song definitely has a stronger groove than the opening tracks present on the album.

“It’s Okay” is one of the simpler songs on the album.  Picture Amy Millan singing along to piano ballads and you’ll get the picture for this one.  The band pulls it off, but it’s not altogether very inspiring.  Then the band seems to pick it up from here.  Land of Talk pushes forward with more Canadian influences, but they do it this time with a certain brashness that makes it all seem more worthwhile; it comes off a lot more personal.  At its best when they unleash their guitars, they pull them back momentarily for what is the album’s stand out track, “Got A Call.”  As it sweeps in and out, it sweeps you away in the process.

After all that progress they sum it all up with an acoustic number that doesn’t seem to stray to far from the works of Feist, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes the album feel entirely too uneven. Some Are Lakes is an album with varying levels of accomplishment, and those mainly come in the form of a band that let’s loose on the listener, releasing the power they seem to hold back for the majority of the album.  It all ends without the band establishing itself as the predominant force in the music presented here, and they fail to step out of the shadow of the Canadian heavy hitters.

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