This is fine.
Friday night’s headliners meant leaving the park early and challenging my liver at a friend’s house upstairs from Zilker. That first hill is brutal. We snacked, reminisced, planned and then went our separate ways to get some sleep for Saturday. Would we get the big rain?
Head on past the break for some images from Saturday.
Rating: 
Dev Hynes changes names like most of us change pants, you know, once or twice a week. First there was Test Icicles, then Lightspeed Champion, and now Blood Orange. While names may come and go, Dev will always be the same, and Coastal Groove, his new record, finds him sort of running in place, albeit a more 80s influenced place.
When “Forget It” hits your speakers, those familiars won’t find too much different than the most recent Lightspeed Champion record. But, the slightest nuance can change things; you’ll notice a more electronic beat driving the track, but Dev’s sultry voice is always front and center. Moving right into “Sulphin Boulevard” will have you catching the essence of the entirety of Coastal Grooves. There’s a delicateness to every musical note, breathing sexuality over electronic down-tempo tunes a la Twin Shadow.
It’d be real easy to throw lots of Prince allusions throughout this first record by Blood Orange, especially if you catch the vocal performance on “Instantly Blank,” but that’s probably selling Hynes short, as he’s always had this odd combination of indie rock and R&B; this is one of the reasons I’ve always adored his work. But, for the majority of the record this sort of feels like his attempt at mediocre bedroom pop, and that might not be his foray; if you strip him of his orchestration, he seems less dramatic, less artistic even.
One of the saving graces about Mr. Hynes is that he’s always been fairly open about his projects, willing to do pretty much anything he’s asked, just for the sake of it. That being said, there are some successful tracks that I’ve found myself jamming to throughout the day, such as “The Complete Knock” with its steady stuttering guitar line kicking off a nice little groove throughout. “Are You Sure You’re Really Busy” seems like the track where he could take off into a different level, as the drama in his voice, wavering ever so slightly gives this track an extra step above the rest of Coastal Grooves.
For what it’s worth, this isn’t a bad record at all; I’ve heard much worse (from the Foo Fighters) this year alone. Yet, having followed Dev for quite some time now, I can’t help but be a little let down by the entire Blood Orange project. He’s missing something here, such as his orchestration or his flare for spinning words into new melodies mid-word. Coastal Grooves seems to lose a bit of focus, turning out the same guitar line over and over, but I’m still going to get into it over time because that’s just what Dev deserves.
After releasing their latest, Belong, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart returned to Austin, riding a wave of credibility and praise. It’s no surprise then that the show was packed, especially considering the opening act, Twin Shadow, had their own wave of hype and adoration. Twas a good night.
| Date | 4/9/11 |
|---|---|
| Location | Emos |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $12 @ Ticketweb |
Here’s one of those shows that comes around every once in a while that some bloggers only dream about. On the stage Saturday night at Emo’s is long time ATH favorite band Pains of Being Pure at Heart along with recent blogger favorite Twin Shadow. I’m sure we’ll be seeing tons of our local music friends there as we all see which band can deliver on their hype. See you kids at the show.
[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/saynotolove-1.mp3]Download: Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love [MP3]
I know, I know, I’ve been claiming this year for guitar-oriented rock, as opposed to dance-influenced stuff, but I just can’t get this song out of my head at the moment, so I thought I’d send it your way. Sugar & Gold are from San Francisco, and they’ll be offering up their Bodyaches EP on March 8th. Listening to this track, it’s part Twin Shadow and part Chromeo. I know, that seems like an odd mixture, and one that might not necessarily work, but there’s just this infectious little groove kicking around that makes me tap my toe. I’ll admit, sometimes you just want to tap your toes.
Download: Sugar & Gold – Bodyaches [MP3]
Rating:
It seems like nowadays, you throw a label on a band, give them a bit of hype, and sure enough, it usually works out for the band, deserving or not. Finally, we’ve come to a band in 2010 who deserve this adoration, Twin Shadow. While a great bit of Forget is dominated by electronic textures, there’s this underlying attention to details that equips the album with layer after layer of pure beauty. Even when things don’t seem to fit altogether, somehow it’s tied in neatly, crafting one hell of a debut.
You walk right into a hint of synthesized darkness, mild beats, creating something of a somber sensation, just as George Lewis Jr. makes his first appearance. Hidden behind the instrumentation, or barely intruding, Lewis’ vocals evoke that Murray Lightburn feel, warm and affecting. There’s all these odd touches of instrumentation, crafting something wonderfully unique, all as the song works its way towards a bliss-filled ending.
Everything about the way Lewis and Grizz Bear chap Chris Taylor built Forget makes it one of the most rewarding listens on this side of pop music. “Shooting Holes at the Moon” jumps off with this groovy little work on the drums, then there’s some throbbing bass rhythm added in, along with all sorts of hints of string work in the background. It’s all about the funk, yet as Lewis jumps in to join the party, he brings a suave element, giving the song a bit of a house party feeling, if that party was full of sweet tunes. Those little guitar short shots in the background just make the element of electronics just rise above your typical cliched laptop band. This is precisely where these sorts of bands should live; they should aspire to be Twin Shadow.
Seriously, “Yellow Balloon” recalls those late nights spent in dingy dancehalls with your friends, while whiskey poured from the bar. And yet Lewis still wants you to do your thing, he just wants to add a touch of class, which usually comes by way of his soulful voice and the various textures. Easily this could disappear as just another chillwaved track, but the fact that you can decipher the real instruments, brings this jam into the forefront. Don’t forget the delivery of Lewis when he coos “the secret handshakes/the swimming hole/keep awake.” So right on. Twin Shadow easily could border on the line cheesy, yet you have to return time and time again to the craft of the songwriting. “Slow” has this Edge-influenced guitar line that runs in the background, which definitely harkens back to an era of innocent electronic music, but instead of sticking with his clean polished vocals, George decides to throw an echo-y yell in the background of the chorus. He’s challenging our conceptions, or rather challenging us to go back to the days of refreshing club hits.
Forget had the potential to fall flat on its face, a victim of its own hype. But, George Lewis Jr. wasn’t going to let that happen, choosing to create music that he thought was both beautiful and fun. In his pursuit, he created an album that rises above the doldrums of your everyday electronic music, providing us with our first vision of what Twin Shadow is really all about. After listening to this record, we’re all about what ever Lewis and company are all about, especially if sounds this ridiculously good.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Twin-Shadow-Yellow-Balloon.mp3]Download: Twin Shadow – Yellow Balloon [MP3]
| Date | Friday, September 24th |
|---|---|
| Location | Antones |
| Doors | 800p |
| Tickets | $17 from Frontgate |
Jamie Lidell is one of those musicians you can’t ever really pinpoint. It seems that his influences and his productions are going all over the place, but you rarely hear people say a bad thing about any of it. He’s touring in support of his latest record Compass, which features loads of guest stars that we know you adore. Sure, they won’t all be at Antones on Friday night, but we know one killer act that will be, and that’s Twin Shadow. This guy has been exploding all over the place for quite some time, and you will want to catch his show before he’s too big for his own britches. Here’s a track to get you stoked.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Twin-Shadow-Yellow-Balloon.mp3]Download: Twin Shadow – Yellow Balloon [MP3]
The story goes that George Lewis Jr. had been struggling with writer’s block until he began to wonder the streets of Berlin. It seems at this point he came to the decision to record some sublime electro-pop tunes that will soon be released by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records. He’s got some 7 inches coming your way in the Spring, and based on this track, you’re going to love Twin Shadow. It recalls a touch of TV on the Radio for me, but hey, that’s just me.
Download: Twin Shadow – Yellow Balloon [MP3]
