crimewave - Austin Town Hall

Ian McKinney Has 2 Songs on Slack Capital 2

March 24, 2017 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

Slack Capital 2 is a compilation of music by 27 of the coolest bands in Austin. All proceeds go to SafePlace, which provides support for victims of domestic and sexual violence. To make sure every one of these bands gets the attention they deserve, we’re unveiling one song per day. (Except today, where we reveal two songs!)

Songs of the day: Ian McKinney – “CRIMEWAVE”/ TV Dads – Vertical Sync

Ian McKinney and TV Dads are the same person, but they represent two very different vibes. CRIMEWAVE is a corroded future-punk anthem, a hilarious and addictive account of what it’s like to thrive in a rotten, failing society. A through-line that connects many of the songs on this compilation (and a quality that, arguably, is essential to the “weird” quality of Austin you hear so often about) is a deep sense of irony, and as McKinney repeats the titular word, it feels more like a taunt aimed at the folks in the gleaming towers than a cry of alarm. Meanwhile, McKinney’s contribution here under the TV Dads moniker is more like a salve, a warped and gentle instrumental with alien-sounding birds in the distance. In the song sequence of the comp, it happens to work as a wonderful introduction to the sweet heartbreak of Magia Negra (but you don’t get to hear that track yet). –Eric Braden

Pre-order Slack Capital 2 rightHERE.

And…we’ll be throwing a release show with proceeds going to SafePlace on April 14th @ Barracuda.

<a href="http://athrecords.bandcamp.com/album/slack-capital-2">Slack Capital 2 by Ian McKinney</a>

<a href="http://athrecords.bandcamp.com/album/slack-capital-2">Slack Capital 2 by TV Dads</a>

News
Tunes

HEALTH – Get Color

September 3, 2009 -1893llzws One comment

Rating:

Coming from the same scene that birthed No Age, Abe Vigoda, and The Mae Shi, Los Angeles’ HEALTH crashed onto the scene with their cacophonous brand of noise rock garnering favorable reviews with their 2007 self-titled debut, the ensuing remix collection DISCO, and spastic live shows. On their newest offering, Get Color, HEALTH attempts to produce a more easily accessible album while retaining their trademarked aural destruction, which they do, but to a fault.

What made their debut so great was that it felt dangerous; it made you uncomfortable while listening to it, but in such a good way. The giant drum sound and the shrillness of the vocal manipulation just seemed right. I remember the first time hearing “Crimewave”, just be being blown away and wanting more. On Get Color, HEALTH switched from recording digitally to recording directly to 2” tape. In an interview with Drowned in Sound, bassist John Famiglietti, discussed this decision: “On tape, you can be as loud and abrasive as you want, and the more brutal it gets it just feels good to hear. On a computer that abrasive sound registers as a brittle spike, and even though it’s the sound you want, it’s terribly annoying when it comes out of the stereo” This is true, Get Color is easier to listen to, but it just comes off as flat noise with a beat, sterile as a cadaver on an examiners table. When you embrace the term “noise” as an identifier of your bands sound you shouldn’t be afraid of the “brittle spike” in the recording. I don’t yearn for a smoother sounding Lightning Bolt record, and HEALTH shouldn’t strive to make their noise easier on my ears. Just plug in your fifty guitar pedals and tear shit up!

The biggest mistake HEALTH made on Get Color was wrangling in their greatest asset, drummer Benjamin Jared Miller. On their debut Miller was a force to reckoned with but here, while being completely competent behind the kit, he is regulated to generic flourishes and strategically placed blast beats. The songs on Get Color feel overly planned out, to the point of coming off as a dead behind the eyes Hollywood starlet; pretty to look at and listen to, but offering nothing of value to our world. I struggle to discuss individual tracks, because they all, essentially, sound the same.

I originally wanted to give this release a half of a star, but I hold on to hope that seeing the band live at Fun Fun Fun Fest this year will redeem this collection of songs. After all I hated At the Drive-In’s In/Casino/Out until I saw them live. So, HEALTH, the ball is in your court, bring it in November.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/03-health-nice_girls.mp3]

Download: HEALTH – Nice Girls [MP3]

Reviews