This is fine.
That’s right, against the odds of the other office members of ATH, I have opted for my tenth post on Jay Reatard. If only he could give me some money for that, right? Well, I’m bringing you this one in support of his new album, Watch Me Fall, on Matador Records this August (the fifth). So here’s “Wounded.” It’s good. Dig it.
Download: Jay Reatard – Wounded [MP3]
Spiral Stairs is Scott, one of the founding fathers of Pavement, so you can already label us stoked on the news of his solo release this October on Matador Records. The album is titled The Real Feel, and it features various artists making guest appearances, including Austin’s own Ian Moore. Some guy named Kevin Drew is on there as well. Sit back and enjoy the brightness of this new tune by Spiral Stairs.
Download: Spiral Stairs – Maltese Terrier [MP3]
During SXSW we took it upon ourselves to investigate the hype generated by San Francisco’s Girls. Lucky for us, they completely lived up to the hype, if not rising above and beyond. Now we finally have a release date for their debut, Album, which will be released on True Panther Records via Matador Records. The album comes out on September 22nd, and the following song “Lust for Life” is slated as the opening track. Look out album of the year, here come Girls.
Download: Girls – Lust for Life [MP3]
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we love Jay Reatard. RayRay has posted about him numerous times, and we even rocked out to his eardrum busting show last year at Red 7. Now, news comes our way that Matador Records will be releasing his new album, Watch Me Fall, on August 18th. Here’s to you Jay, and future coverage.
Download: Jay Reatard – It Aint Gonna Save Me [MP3]
News has slowly been drifiting about the newest Sonic Youth release, The Eternal. Matador Records even gave us a little bit of a teaser by throwing out some 7″s on Record Store Day featuring the band so as to whet your appetite. Now, to further your interest, we have the first complete single, with Kim manning the wheel here. If you ask me, this is a good start. Let’s hope it all sounds this good on June 9th, the album release date.
Download: Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster [MP3]
This Saturday, April 18th, is Record Store Day all across these United States. Sure, that seems like just another Saturday to most buyers, but the true record geek in all of us is already waiting in line. You see, on Record Store Day, you get to do two things: you get to support your favorite local indpendent record store and you get loads of limited edition stuff. Me, personally, I can’t wait. I’ve already crafted a list so as to move through my favorite record store with ease in pursuit of such rarities that one can only dream. The following is the list of the great things one can find at their local indpendent store, and we encourage you to do so, as this is the day the stores give back to us, and we give back to them.
The beautiful voice of Jennifer O’ Connor will be making its way into Austin tonight. Her folky singer/songwriter set is set to open of for Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls tonight at Stubbs, but we’re sure that the Matador signee O’ Connor will be the one who steals the show with her passion-filled harmonies. It’s Tuesday, so what do you have to lose?
Download: Jennifer O’ Connor – Valley Road 86 [MP3]
Rating: 
The majority of the listening world will know A.C. Newman by his other gig in New Pornographers. This new effort, released by Matador Records, isn’t far off from the land of his pop-supergroup, especially when one looks back at an album like Challengers.
From the minute “There are Maybe Ten or Twelve” takes off you can tell exactly the direction that this album is going to go. It’s a subdued number, with high volume interludes, but the focus remains predominantly on Newman’s voice.
An album such as this is blessed by such a voice, as his is one that remains truly unique in this modern age. He can go higher than most, while he brings it all back again to his normal singing voice. In all his recordings, this is clearly the best he has sounded, which may owe a lot to remarkable production.
Keeping that in mind, most will settle with this album, knowing that your expectations will be met precisely. Melodies will rise and fall, being matched at every corner, but, the pace isn’t exactly pushing listeners forward, looking for more from each song. In fact, the only song that picks up any speed is “The Palace at 4 A.M.” Still, you can sit through this album in it’s entirety with a great deal of enjoyment; it’s just not going to grab you like other tracks A.C. Newman has done in the past, especially those featuring a certain Destroyer. Be sure to get through until the end for “All of my Days & All of my Days Off” is probably one of the best songs he’s written in years.
All in all, you come to the end of the album with one clear realization: A.C. Newman can spit out pop genius no matter where he is in his life. Each song is interesting, in both melody and structure, as he often uses his voice to carry the songs, which is precisely where the whole album began. It’s not every day when you come across a musician who can win you over with his voice alone. And for that, we should all Get Guilty.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/01-there-are-maybe-ten-or-twelve.mp3]Download: AC Newman – There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve [MP3]
Austin’s own, Shearwater, recently made an appearance on the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series. The intimate in house set features 4 songs played with nothing but acoustic instruments and some really random/awesome home made instruments by the band’s drummer Thor Harris. Watch the whole thing now. In other Sheartwater news, the band has a new digital EP entitled Snow Leopard EP that you can download from the Matador Records website. Here‘s title track from the album “Snow Leopard”.
Download: ShearWater – The Snow Leopard [MP3]
Matador Records has a pretty sweet fall sampler you should download and enjoy. The free compilation features killer tracks from Shearwater, Lou Reed, Pavement, and some other fine artists.
