Last Week’s Jams, Today (September 7 – 10)

Welcome to another Monday my friends. First, taking a minute here, as I’m writing this post, to celebrate the 7 day young Rhys Bennett Lankford! That’s right, went and had me another one of those kids, and its been a lot of fun, and well, we’re super stoked on the lil’ fella. That said, we also had a short week, so maybe we didn’t get as many jams in as we might otherwise. But, rest assured, we’ve got a pretty solid little collection of tunes here for you to begin your week, with quite a few ATX appearances from the likes of Lola Tried, American Friend and more. You know what to do, press play and stuff.

Find Your Zen With Explosions in the Sky

It’s still a bit early on Thursday morning here, and if you’re having a bit of a rough week like me, might I suggest checking out this new track from our old ATX friends Explosions in the Sky. At this point in their career, EITS are legends in the local music scene as well as incredibly popular outside of Austin. If they hung it up now, they’d already have an incredible body of work to call their own. But of course the guys will ever press forward and continue to expand their sound with new music via soundtrack or full length album. The latest from Explosions is a beautiful soundtrack to accompany the even more beautiful and breathtaking PBS documentary Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas. The documentary in itself is a lovely piece of film which captures the natural beauty of our greatest state park. Add in the sounds of EITS and you’ll find yourself captivated and drawn in to the sights of nature along with the ever trance inducing musical sounds. Here is one of the singles from the soundtrack for your zen moment this morning, “Flying”.

Explosions in the Sky will be releasing the Big Bend soundtrack physically via Temporary Residence. Those pre-orders are live now!

Read more about the PBS Documentary Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas here.

Sound On Sound Fest Lineup + Location

dd9b6895-8024-4a3e-88a6-a597291f3e5cSince the announcement of founding fathers Graham Williams and James Moody breaking off from Transmission Entertainment to start their company Margin Walker, we’ve all been awaiting the lineup and location for their new festival Sound on Sound. Well the wait is over today, and I’ve gotta say, this thing is super impressive with how fast they put it together. We of course love Beach House, Descendents, Wild Nothing, METZ, etc. etc. etc. I’m personally crapping my pants for Thursday! Just like Fun Fest use to deliver, this lineup gives a little something for everyone to enjoy and rivals all other festival lineups in town. Full lineup is attached on poster or via Sound on Sound’s website.

As far as location goes, Sound on Sound will take place at Sherwood Forest Faire just East of Austin in McDade, Texas.

Three day tickets are currently on sale via soundonsoundfest.com.

Festival Recap: Day 1 of Primavera Sound 2016

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Photo by Eric Pamies

While each day’s slated program of Primavera Sound 2016 was filled with great bands from all over the world, Thursday, the first day of the festival at Parc del Forum, was for me, the busiest of them all. Thursday had me bouncing around from stage to stage, and hustling to make the most of my time while keeping the headliners in the back of my mind. Read on after the jump to hear what were the best parts of day one and see some pictures.

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Explosions In The Sky Return

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Few bands are able to make instrumental music that truly plucks my interest and keeps me coming back for more. Austin’s very own Explosions In The Skybelongs on that list, and have just announced that they’ll be releasing a new album calledThe Wilderness, which is coming out April 1. They’ve also given us a first listen of material from that forthcoming release below in a new song, and it’s the perfect amount of contemplative and stirring for this bleak Monday.

Check out “Disintegration Anxiety” below from the band and get ready for another album of bombastic and well crafted instrumental music.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/xT2UmlUmDQI[/youtube]

 

 

Show Preview: Explosions In The Sky @ ACL Live (6/17)

Date 6/17/11
Location ACL Live
Doors 6:30pm
Tickets $21 @ Ticketing Central

Austin boys Explosions in the Sky have been making great music and representing this town for over ten years at this point in their career.  They are truly are a great band, an even better live band, and anyone still needing to check them off their live show list should head out to ACL Live on Friday night.  Apparently tickets are still available, and our amigo Ola Podrida is opening up so you really have no reason to not be here.  Should be an awesome night for live music.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/explosions_welcomeghosts.mp3]

Download: Explosions – Welcome, Ghosts [MP3]

Explosions in the Sky – Take Care Take Care Take Care

Rating: ★★★★☆

In the days of computers for instruments, and a heavy weight on the vocals of a band, be it gang or solo, where do Explosions In The Sky fit in? Filling neither of these two aspects, they rely solely on the strength of their instruments to weave their listeners into an intricate web of simplistic, stripped down instruments. Known as Post-Rock, this genre of music allows for the music to be left up to your utilization: background music, inspiration for creativity, or something to contemplate.

For a merely six-song album, Explosions In The Sky do not fall short in the field of time for a full-length album. Instead, each song is long and sprawling, providing those crescendos and an abundance of catharsis that this band is famous for doling out. Take the first song, “Last Known Surroundings,” for example. Over the course of almost eight and a half minutes, you are taken to a variety of places by the changing rhythmic cycles of the instrumentation. Squalling, yet controlled guitars dominate the foreground of the song, while explosive drums kick in the background, leaving with the simplistic elegance that any song that this band produces contains.

While one might think that the long songs on this album would make each one stick out from each other as its own work of finesse, the contrary of this is true. Much like the chapters of a good book, each is brilliant, and they weave together to form a collective brilliance as an album. The sound fluctuates from loud to soft, and then back to loud again, giving those rolling hills of depth that are able to be filled with whatever strikes your fancy. Such depth allows for catharsis after catharsis and build after build without tire.

As I said before, one of the best qualities to this band is that they leave it up to you instead of forcing it down your throat. They pick the best possible times to grab your attention. So even if you are using their delightfully serene music as the filler of space while you work or think, they still have the ability to command your attention back to the music so that it can be commended as excellent craft. This is all you can ask from Explosions In The Sky.

Friday Top 5: Indie Songs That Make Girls Swoon

I take advantage of the fact that I’m the only female Top 5 contributor, and I like to add my lady perspective to the male dominated ATH crew. What better way to lend my girly advice to you boys out there looking to win over the ladies with a musical selection. Ladies, you will probably just agree and be awaiting a mixtape with the following tracks on your playlist. So here are a handful of love songs for all you indie-romantics.

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