This is fine.
Well, as Pains of Being Pure at Heart battle for our top album of the year, we were excited to see them, once again. They brought with them a nice little entourage that included Cymbals Eat Guitars and The Depreciation Guild. On a night with loads of shows across Austin, The Mohawk was packed full of fans eager to see these Brooklynites take to the stage.
Read more
Sunday night wrapped up a rather moderate week of live music in Austin, but let’s not forget that we’ve had a pretty awesome summer of live music. Fortunately for us at ATH, we were able to catch Foreign Born, The Veils and Other Girls at The Mohawk on Sunday night, just after we did our best to pretend to be entertained by the Anarchy Wrestling Tour outside of the Mohawk. You can’t argue with $1 Pabst or good tunes. Follow the jump for our take on the show and a few snapshots.
One of Sub Pop’s great bands, Helio Sequence, will be making their way to the stage at The Mohawk this Thursday night, in what is sure to be another beautiful set from the band. Last year’s Keep Your Eyes Ahead was one of the more quiet albums that grew as the year wore into it’s final season. They’ll be taking the stage with D*R*I* and Low Line Caller. Doors to the show open at 8 PM and you can purchase tickets by heading over to Transmission Entertainment.
Download: Helio Sequence – Shed Your Love [MP3]
To start off the week, Austin will be visited by Broken Spindles. The man behind the band is Joel Peteresen, better known for his participation in The Faint. Opening acts will be Loxsly and New Roman Times. The show kicks off at 8 PM at The Mohawk. Tickets are $8 at the door.
Download: Broken Spindles – Beatdown Break Up (Casettes Won’t Listen Remix) [MP3]
Rating: 
Austin’s power trio Ume is set to release their second EP to the masses. The band has been heralded by many as a powerful group, set to break down the doors of the local scene with their sheer energy. Can they do it on record?
From the opening minute of “East of Hercules” you can tell that the band is bent on getting right up in your face, as heavy guitar work confronts the listener. Here, the percussion has a bit of a bounce to it, which should win the band many fans, as its difficult to combine power and swing in one moment.
Stylistically, the band seems to draw a lot from the alt-girl rock of the late 90s, but they blend it with a freshness that gives the band a bit of a unique quality. A lot of bands simply rehash those old sounds, but Ume are intent upon using their influences as a staging point for their attack, moving beyond the simplistic structures of days of old
Throughout the short EP, they keep up the pace, consistently approaching their high aims. One of the better songs on this set is “The Means” as the band chooses to slow it down a little bit in order to provide some clarity to the rest of the album. This song seems to be the antithesis to the rest of the album, and it sheds their Longwave similarities, breaking entirely new ground. It’s easily the brightest point of the EP, showing the range and capabilities that the band possess.
One drawback might be the fact that the vocals don’t reach the clarity during all the songs, much as they do in “The Means.” Often the wall of guitar and energy shield the listener from attaching one’s self from the lyrics. Sure, it’s a slight misstep for a promising new act, but for a fan of lyrics and vocals, it might be a bit disappointing.
Five songs later, you can see a band growing before your eyes. It closes with the sultry “Pendelum,” moving the band beyond all your expectations. Expect a powerful live show, and a bright future from this local act. To see that powerful live act, you should all check out the band this Saturday night at The Mohawk for their CD release party. It’s sure to be a rocking good time!
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ume-ep-the_conductor.mp3]Download: Ume – The Conductor [MP3]
This Tuesday evening California’s The Donkeys will make their way into Austin. Something about this band begs to be noticed, and perhaps it’s the sunshine of bands like Beulah that make this a show we should all attend as winter dances in and out of our lives. The show goes down at The Mohawk, on the inside stage no less. Our friends over at Transmission Entertainment tell us the show kicks off at 10 PM.
Download: The Donkeys – Nice Train [MP3}
A few days ago, we gave you part one of our albums of the year list. Today we bring you the best of the best from a wide range of artists who brought the noise this year. We’ve fought it out amongst our ATH writers for weeks and these are the albums that we all loved. These 15 albums went into thunderdome and emerged victorious. Follow the jump to see if your favorite band made the Top 15 of 2008.
Local Austin act, Till Were Blue or Destroy, are playing a set at The Mohawk on Tuesday evening. The band will be joined in the night’s events by The Ugly Suit out of Oklahoma. Things are set to start at 10pm with tickets being sold only at the door. Preview the show with a new track from the Ugly Suit called “Chicago”.
Download: The Uglysuit – Chicago [MP3]
A lot has been made in the past few years about the ridiculous onslaught of sweet tunes that are coming from Dengue Fever. Earlier this year, they rocked everyone over at Club Deville. Tonight, they are the sepcial guest at the Fun Fun Fun Fest pre-party over at the Mohawk. We thought you should know!
They’ll be playing with a bunch of great Austin acts like Brothers and Sisters and The Lovely Sparrows.
Many in Austin seemed to have forgotten about the decades of hard work that David Gedge has put forth for our ears. Since 1984 he has consistently provided us with a plethora of guitar-driven pop music set to ideas of loss and love. Perhaps we consider it cliche now, but Gedge has been at the helm for a long time, and he brought his group The Wedding Present to the Mohawk Friday, October 17th. Follow the jump to read about the show.
