This is fine.
Gorgeous Hands is the reincarnated version of Magnificent Snails, and they booked a local show over at Swan Dive to help promote their new single, which we were proud to toss up yesterday. I headed out to the show, solo, as Brian Gray is a busy man, and I wanted to give some attention to some great local acts. Read more for some quick thoughts on the bands and the evening. Read more
 Date |
Friday, June 8th |
|---|---|
| Location | Mohawk |
| Doors | 800 pm |
| Tickets | $12 at the Door |
The weather has cooled off a bit, so a full on dance party seems like a bit of fun, right? Well, Yacht always bring a solid amount of danceable pop, so it looks like Mohawk is definitely the place to be for the Friday night. I’m also going to suggest that you all go and check out Onuinu, who I wrote about a little while back–dude’s make bedroom pop from Portland, so you gotta support his differentiation. Love Inks will kick everything off, so grab your friends, a few pre-game beverages and go have a blast over at Mohawk.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/09-Happy-Home.mp3]Download:Onuinu – Happy Home [MP3]
Obviously Tiger Waves are one of our favorite acts, and as they continue to work together, they become increasingly better. We’re going to help the band by putting out their next album, which is still being recorded, but they’ve passed along this great new song; I’m practically ready to put this record out already. You’ll find that the vocals are vibrant, yet just a bit quiet in the mix; it’s one of the things I really enjoy about the group’s recordings. I’m not going to spend time trying to compare them to anyone else, as they’ve gone to eclipse obvious influences by creating a sound entirely their own. We’ll keep you posted as more details unfold about the group’s next record, but for now, enjoy “Weekends.”
Download:Tiger Waves – Weekends [MP3]
Opening the old inbox today, I found a very kind email from Coves, featuring links to several songs, and a brief history. Now, after enjoying these tracks all day long, it’s time I introduce you to the group. They’re comprised of duo Beck Wood and John Risgard, both hailing from the United Kingdom; they’ve just put out their Cast a Shadow EP via Cross Key Records. My initial thought was that they’re some dreamy bedroom pop group, and you can see that when listening to the first track I’m posting, on which Beck takes the lead vocal, but I can see something else lurking beneath that concept. If you take a listen to the second jam below, is it just me, or is there some of that gospel-infected pop that J. Spaceman has included in his work? Regardless, I’ve been enjoying the soulful tunes these two have been making, so I had to share it with you, in hopes that the good word would spread!
Download:Coves – No Ladder [MP3]
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/COVES-Let-the-Sun-Go-Down-On-Me-Here-demo.mp3]Download:Coves – Let the Sun Go Down On Me Here [MP3]
If you’re a fan of Waaves, you’re going to enjoy listening to Mrs. Magician even more. They’re a San Diego surf-rock band, and while they’re just as bratty as Waaves, the recording of this track (and their album) sounds a whole lot better than some of the production on that other dudes records. Strange Heaven is the perfect record to play all summer long, and it doesn’t hurt that it was produced by John Reis of Hot Snakes/RFTC fame. Put it on, sit back, and imagine you and your friends chilling down at the beach…guarantee you’ll only get up to press repeat over and over.
Download:Mrs Magician – There Is No God [MP3]
The latest track from Body Parts has been a great way to start out my morning, although the song’s been out for quite a bit. It was brought back to my attention when the group organized this clever sign language video HERE. It all comes from the group’s On Purpose album, which is chock full of songs to keep you on your toes, hopping about. Sometimes energetic dance-pop is just the right thing to kick off the day, so hopefully that’s how this song fits into your day, giving you a bit of a bounce in your step. Buen proveche.
Download:Body Parts – Doing Things [MP3]
Now, this is a band I’m definitely going to get behind! Nude Beach is from NY, and you can see some lineage to old school NY. The group’s got this swagger and this street-smart sound…and there’s a hint of garage pop to boot. They’ve recently signed on to Other Music Recording Co, who will help put out the group’s newest record, II, on August 14th this year. It’s a track that should have pretty much all music fans salivating, using bits of modern indie rock fused with a classic street sound. I’m going to love this record, and I bet you will too.
Rating: 
A few years back, Dan Treacy of Television Personalities used Crocodiles as his backing band, and that’s when I first caught wind of the group. I trust Dan, so I scoured the net in search of news, only to stumble upon a group that I thought was unfairly being compared to Jesus and the Mary Chain. Sure, I see the similarities, but as evidenced by Endless Flowers, the group has a lot more in relation to jangling art-pop than JMC.
“Endless Flowers” does utilize some squalling guitar wailing to kick off the whole affair, but vocally, it harkens back to the musical re-imagining of early 00s band such as Longwave; there’s a simple melodic tone that gives listeners that soft-footed shuffle. “Sunday” again has that atmospheric guitar sound, so everyone’s going to already toss the JMC comparison back onto Crocodiles, but mentally I’m stripping the sound off these tracks, choosing instead to focus on the bright quality of the vocal delivery; it provides a youthful exuberance akin to Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
As Endless Flowers evolves, you begin to see the gentler side of the band, offering a steadier dosage of pop melody as preferred to noise. “No Black Clouds for Dee Dee” is definitely a heartfelt ballad, considering the band’s relation to Dee Dee (not Ramone). It’s a standout song, demonstrating that the group’s not always content with upping the noise quotient. Interestingly, as they begin to unleash a lighter side, they also begin to let that element fully collide with their noisier moments. It leads to some of the longer tracks, such as “My Surfing Lucifer” and “Dark Alleys,” with the latter remaining as one of my favorite tracks on the record.
They break through it all to wrap up the record quite nicely, giving you a rollicking stomp track in “Welcome Trouble.” The jagged guitar line cutting in the background just builds you to the raucous stomp that ups the ante during the chorus. It’s got a bit of post-rock swagger to go along with the energetic chorus, and it definitely helps illustrate the group’s progressive direction. Closing out with the quieter “You Are Forgiven” again finds Crocodiles in a steady ballad form that should leave no doubt that the band is capable of affecting songs without having to fill each track with noise. Admittedly, the chirping of the birds in the background of the recording might make it seem like a B-Side or an afterthought, but the strength of the song itself warrants its inclusion here.
I can see the Internet still hyping up the JMC connection, but perhaps when I listened to Endless Flowers, I was hoping for more, so I forgave its presence and looked closer at the core content in the songs. If you approach listening to the latest from Crocodiles then I have the feeling that you’ll understand where I am coming from. Regardless, I’ve had a lot of fun listening to this whole album, especially when you turn it up to 10 (11 is so cliche).
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Crocodiles-Sunday-Psychic-Conversation-9.mp3]Download:Crocodiles – Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9) [MP3]
I’ve been looking for something just like this new tune from Soltero for a couple of weeks now. The Brooklyn group just released their new album, 1943, and it’s full of some ridiculously good songs that I can’t stop playing over and over. For me, my first hook was the similarities to the delivery and the writing style of D. Berman of Silver Jews, but there’s a bit more of a mellow jangle going on in these tunes. This song starts off slow for a few seconds, but just wait until it delivers the subtle hooks that made me fall in love with this new album.
Download:Soltero – Rescue [MP3]
Right around this time last year, I was heavy into the haze pop/shoe gaze movement and my tastes at the time were epitomized with German based outfit Shoreline Is. Well low and behold, summer puts me in that dreamy mood again, and the boys from Shoreline Is inform me that their debut LP Deal Kindly is finally ready to go. It’s streaming in full over on their bandcamp page, but you can check out a new single from the band called “Feel Some” below to gauge your interest. I can assure that the whole album is just as dreamy as this tune.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Shoreline-Is-Feel-Some.mp3]Download: Shoreline Is – Feel Some [MP3]
