Tag: Theater Fire

Rock Plaza Central – At the Moment of…

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rock-plazas Rating: ★★★½☆

You have to give it up to Toronto’s Rock Plaza Central; not only have they just finished their new album, but they managed to make it the most long-winded title: At the Moment of Our Most Needing or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Were Not Alone. Yet again, it’s a record that begs to be listened to from start to finish, and if you make it the entire way through the album, you’re destined to be rewarded.

“Oh I Can” creates an emphatic opener worthy of grabbing the listener’s immediate attention.  Slowly, almost inaudibly, percussion sounds inch along the recording, creating a tension which begs the band to let it all loose.  And they do, chanting out the song’s title in gang vocals, before singer Chris Eaton focuses a little bit more on the traditional verse tactics. And before you know it, you feel as if you CAN too.  Then the song goes off into the distance, replaced instead by an instrumental number.

This is one of the more noticeable additions to this album, as Eaton and Co. clearly worked to construct a concise album with all the pieces ornately put down with purpose.  Every song carefully melts into the next, flowing like a river through an orchestral valley in the country of Americana. It’s here that you see the band share a lot of resemblance to Theater Fire.  “Them That are Good and Them That are Bad” is a song that uses layer upon layer of musicianship and craftwork to carefully flesh out every bit of the song; this is a song that exemplifies the band doing their best work to date.

While Chris Eaton’s voice might steer some listeners in the wrong direction for it’s cross between Jeff Mangum and Will Johnson, it definitely falls directly in line with the patchwork of the band.  String instruments are abundant, as well as various horn elements, and non-traditional instruments such as a banjo play a great role in the hodge-podge construction of this album.  Sure, it lies somewhere in line with the folk/americana aesthetic, but there is more at work here.  You really get the feeling that Eaton has put a lot of thought into the composition of every inch of song, much as he would his novels, of which he has written two.  Interestingly, there aren’t a lot of stand-out moments on this album, just a lot of great craftsmanship and organization; in the end, that makes up for everything, as the record is as complete an album as they come, filled with beauty and inspiration.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/07-them-that-are-good-and-them-that-are-bad.mp3]

Download: Rock Plaza Central – Them That are Good and Them That are Bad [MP3]


The Theater Fire @ Lamberts (5/15)

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theaterThis Friday night Austin will be treated to one of the great North Texas bands, as Theater Fire make their way into town.  They’ll be playing a set over at Lamberts this Friday evening with Some Say Leland.  TIckets to the show are $7 at the door, and you’ll be glad you got to spend your evening listening to the eclectic folk of this great Texas band.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/06-dahl-parts.mp3]

Download: Theater Fire – Dahl Parts [MP3]

The Theater Fire – Matter and Light

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Rating: ★★★½☆

Theater Fire are one of Texas’ best-kept secrets, nestled in the neighborhoods of Ft. Worth.  They first entered our musical consciousness with their self-titled debut, which attached folk and indie maneuvers to casual Americana.

Their third album, Matter and Light, hits stores nationwide this month, but those in Texas can already get their hand on it by traveling to your favorite independent record store. You will find that this album is a much grander affair, pushing the band in a much more complex direction.

To be fair, it sound strikingly like the final Beulah album, Yoko, only done with a country-tinged personality.  The opening musical number, “It’s All the Same” jumps in with a pounding rhythm backed by horns and piano; it’s a whirling-dervish affair, painted with crystal clear lyrics that come out like one of your best friend’s cousins from Beaumont.  They follow up with “Uncle Wayne,” which goes back to a more straightforward country approach.  It’s guitar matched by percussion and banjo elements, but with a different singer than the first track.  Here, you can definitely understand the David Berman quality to the band.

At this point in the album, the mission of the band is entirely clear, even though you are only two songs in to your listening experience.  The band has continued to push themselves, filling in empty musical space with various forms of percussion or other multi-instrumental elements.  In filling out such empty spaces, it makes the band sound more complete than ever, which is to their benefit.

A particularly interesting moment comes in the middle of the album when the band pays homage to one of our late-great heroes, Elliot Smith. They do a full-on instrumental jam of Elliot’s “Say Yes” that focuses primarily on the songwriter’s ability to create timeless melodies, much as this song does.

They close out the album with “It’s a Secret.”  The brooding quality of this song accompanies the sparse lyrical composition, as a lover or a friend attempts to reveal a secret.  It’s the perfect song for this band, as it plays to all their best traits; using dense vocals that correlate with the large-scale sounds the band have adopted. It’s the perfect ending to a strong album.

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