This is fine.
During Fun Fest weekend, we had the chance to sit down and speak with electro beat makers Ratatat. Duo Mike Stroud and Evan Mast were a tad bit on the sleepy side early in the morning, but we still managed to discuss some things we thought you guys would like to know. Hopefully you’ll find out something new about the band if you’re a fan. Follow the jump for full interview.
We all have friends on Twitter, right? Sure you do! Well, one of my Twitter friends, Burton Parker (@welvis), on occasion, tweets from the future. Most of the time it’s fairly asinine, but there are some genuine moments of hilarity. So for this week’s Friday Top Five I decided to jock Burton’s style and recall some of my favorite moments from 2009’s Fun Fun Fun Fest…from the future!
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Rating: 
I must preface this review by stating that I have never been a fan of the work of Bradford Cox. I realize that this is heresy in today’s indie scene, but I really just have a difficult time giving a shit when there is so much more quality music to which to listen. Now I’m not saying the man isn’t talented, he is. His work with Deerhunter is listenable, but I feel like I have heard it all before, and better. I have listened to Deerhunter’s entire catalog and all I am left thinking “Man, this would be great, if My Bloody Valentine had never existed.” Then I go and listen to My Bloody Valentine instead.
So with the release of Bradford Cox’s solo project, Atlas Sound, new album, Logos (Kranky), I approached it with trepidation. Surely the My Bloody Valentine influences would be stripped from the sound and I would finally be able to see what Bradford Cox could really bring to the table creatively. Plus there were numerous high profile guest appearances, most notably Lætitia Sadier of Stereolab and Noah Lennox of Animal Collective, which warranted, at least, a cursory listen.
You know what? On the first listen of Logos, with the lack of My Bloody Valentine influences, it tricked me into actually liking this record. I wanted to listen to again. It was light and airy. There was room to move around in it rather than the oppressive wall of sound that is a Deerhunter album.
But on subsequent listens this album felt familiar for all the wrong reasons. I know that artists rely on their influences. It’s what makes them who they are. But there is a huge difference between being influenced by an artist and mimicking. Bradford Cox continues to come off as an imitator, a highly talented one, but an imitator, nonetheless. While what he is releasing is good, it feels like he has yet to find a voice of his own.
The majority of Logos sounds exactly like Joan of Arc b-sides and not awesome How Memory Works b-sides, but shitty Live in Chicago, 1999 b-sides. When joined with Lennox (Walkabout) or Sadier (Quick Canal), we have the highest points of the album, but ultimately the songs sound like the sum of their guest musician’s full time bands.
I hope Bradford Cox finds an original voice soon, because people will soon tire of a band that continually pull too liberally from way more interesting sources.
Atlas Sound will be playing at Fun Fun Fun Fest on the Orange Stage this Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Walkabout-w_-Noah-Lennox.mp3]Download: Atlas Sound – Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox) [MP3]
We continue our Fun Fest interviews today with a few questions and answers from now local Neon Indian. We had the chance to speak with founding member and mastermind of the group Alan Palomo. We talk to Alan about his new project, his work with VEGA, and what his future plans are in this crazy musical world he lives in. Follow the jump for to read this really fun interview. And no, we don’t ask him about video games…
I’m excited that our Fun Fest interviews kick off this week with the great Austin band Shearwater. We had the opportunity to send some questions via email to leading man and long time Austin resident Jonathan Meiburg. We discuss the band’s move to a big label, how the new album is going, and a few other hot topics. Follow the jump for full interview.
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All right people, with only two weeks left until Fun Fun Fun Fest, we here at Austin Town Hall are feverishly finalizing our concert schedules. Running down the line up of the four stages I see many bands that get me truly excited. Gorilla Biscuits! The Jesus Lizard! Danzig!(?) But if I had to choose one band that gives me reason to subject myself to two days of loud music and sleepless nights I would have to choose Kansas City’s own Coalesce.
Coalesce has released some of the most innovative records that hardcore has seen. From the blistering speed and ferocity of their debut, Give Them Rope (1997) to the groove-laden, but no less heavy, Functioning on Impatience (1998) and 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening (1999), Coalesce have firmly planted themselves as stalwarts of the hardcore scene. After a lengthy hiatus, Coalesce has returned this year with OX, their first full length in ten years, as well as their most accomplished records to date. OX mixes the band’s intensity with their new found appreciation of the music of America.
I haven’t even touched on the band’s intense stage presence. I have driven thirteen hours on two separate occasions to witness the spectacle that is Coalesce live. You would be hard-pressed to witness a more energetic live band than Coalesce, so do yourself a favor and head over to the Black Stage on Sunday, November 8th at 4:50 p.m. and prepare yourself to see four guys giving their all for something that they love.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/03_Wild_Ox_Moan.mp3]Download: Coalesce – Wild Ox Moan [MP3]
As we look forward to the debauchery that will be Fun Fun Fun Fest, there can be only one band that will bring the best time to all those in attendance: Les Savy Fav. Forget the fact that they bring their own spin of angular punk and indie grit to the sound board, and just focus on the fact that they have one of the single most entertaining frontmen of all time. Tim Harrington will bring his sweaty bald head and parade around the stage, and the crowd, like nothing else anyone has ever seen. You should love the band for their tunes, but you’ll fall in love with them as soon as you see this one man show. Case in point, last time I saw LSF, Tim hung upside down from the rafters of the venue and screamed the lyrics before dropping to the floor, stuffing a pillow beneath his shirt so as to be with child, and took shots with the crowd. Enough said, be there.
Download: Les Savy Fav – One To Three [MP3]
Fun Fun Fun Fest is fast approaching and we wanted to go ahead and give you some details about a pre-party we have planned with some other fine local folks. Our Combo Meal event will be going down on Nov. 6th at Scoot Inn and features 2 stagse of incredible bands and DJs. The outside DJ stage features headliners Hood Internet, local legend Neiliyo, and Prepmode. The inside stage features Stillwater boys Colourmusic along with Zlam Dunk, StABBA (metal aBBa cover band) and up and coming locals Ideal Soul Mart. If that wasn’t enough, the great Annie Ray will be on hand to take some fancy photos and Under Pressure will be on site making custom screen t-shirts. Price for the show is $5 if you RSVP ahead of time at do512 and $8 if you don’t.
Along with ourselves, this tasty event is sponsored by Cherry Peel, Knuckle Rumbler, Champion Scion, My Old Kentucky Blog, do512, Ultra8201, and Sailor Legs. This will be the only place you’ll want to be to celebrate your night before Fun Fest. We’ll drop some reminders your way as the event date gets closer.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/02-put-in-a-little-gas1.mp3]
Download: Colourmusic – Put in a Little Gas [MP3]
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/beyonce_fleet_foxes.mp3]
Download: The Hood Internet – Single Foxes (Put A Wood On It) [MP3]
Oh yes, you are reading the title of the post right. We have 3, count ’em 3, pairs of passes to the upcoming Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on Nov. 7th & 8th.We are going to keep the details to this contest very short so as to not overload your brain. Deets go like this: last Friday we created our top 5 supergroups and we want to know what your ideal supergroup would be. All you have to do is leave your supergroup in the comments section or tweet us your group and we’ll pick the top 3 entrants. Each winner will receive two passes to the weekend’s events. Simply create the craziest group with whoever you want from whatever time period! Get creative people. Contest will close on October 30th so get those entries in now! Oh and don’t forget a valid email address so we can get in touch with you.
Now that our ACL coverage has fully wrapped, it’s time to start focusing on the upcoming Fun Fun Fun Fest in early November. We’ll start things off just like we did with ACL and touch on a few bands that we’re excited about seeing during the festival. Starting our spotlight coverage off is Brooklyn based band Yeasayer. Being from Brooklyn in this day and age it’s easy to get lost in the massive quantity of bands coming out of the area. When you’ve got MGMT, A Place to Bury Strangers, Grizzly Bear, and countless other acts, one can easily forget about a great band like Yeasayer. We haven’t. The band first caught our ear after their incredible 2007 debut LP All Hour Cymbals and we’ve been hooked ever since. We’ve also seen the band live a few times now and we can say that this won’t be a set you want to miss over the Fun Fest weekend. The band is also said to be hard at work on their sophomore effort which is due out in January. You can catch Yeasayer at 6:45pm on Friday November 7th on the orange stage.
Download: Yeasayer – 2080 [MP3]
