As it turns out, it was Be Your
Own Pet's Jemina Pearl that I saw at a Salvation Army on South Lamar.
I should of introduced myself, told her about Noah's fascination with her
and reminded the little firecracker that it's hard to hear her unless she
actually uses the microphone...but whatever. Next time I'll
know better. Alright, let's talk about the Virgins, who were actually
one of the opening acts last night at Stubb's. I've known them by name
(and yes, it is a rather terrible name) for awhile now, but I had never
actually taken any time to listen to their music. This was a mistake,
as those guys know how make some quality pop songs. Do yourself a
favor and keep and eye out for their soon-to-be-released self titled debut.
Enjoy.
:The
Virgins - Rich Girls:
When you download this I want you to know that there is
absolutely no reason to expect anything that might change
your life, as this is nothing but pure, catchy goodness
that'll probably do well in getting those hips moving.
With that being said, what more could you want on a Friday!?
After a long week this gem is the perfect tune to stroll
away from the office with. The only problem is that
it's good enough that you'll more than likely still be
humming it when you re-enter the office on Monday,
but I'm sure you have had worse things happen.
I'm always
interested in artists doing various versions of their own
songs, so it was pretty nice to come across this stripped
own version of Rich Girls that the guys did for Indie
103.1. Check it out.
I know it seems unlikely, but
I'm fairly certain that I saw Jemina Pearl wandering around yesterday at a
Salvation Army on South Lamar. Clearly, I couldn't get up the nerve to
ask the girl if she fronts the always awesome Be Your Own Pet, so I'll have
to wait until she strolls out on stage tonight at Stubb's to confirm.
Stay tuned! Now, onwards with something new from Oxford Collapse.
The guys have been doing well for themselves for quite awhile now, but for
whatever reason they've been one of those acts of mine that I've only
casually followed. Hopefully I'll finally get my act together with the
upcoming sure-to-be-good Hann-Byrd EP. Expect it to be made
available in all of its limited edition glory on June 10 via Comedy Minus
One. Enjoy.
:Oxford
Collapse - Amongst Friends:
"Congratulations/Look what you've become/One of the family."
Normally, I would only expect lyrics like that to work if
they were dipped in sarcasm and surrounded by crunching
guitars or something equally abrasive and loud, but here
alongside jangly-everything it simply emits warmth and all
you could ask for from a pop song. There's no way that
each and every single one of you shouldn't appreciate this
at least a little.
I've never seen
the guys perform, but I'm curious to know whether or not
they tend to keep it as calm as they look in this video of
them playing in Brooklyn. Anyone care to chime in?
Just when I thought I was on
the triumphant verge of being able to hold an actual Cotton Jones Basket
Ride full length in my hands, Michael Nau (of Page France fame) runs off and
decides to push back the release date in favor of a couple of EPs. I
suppose there really isn't anything overly terrible about that (as long as
the LP, Paranoid Cocoon manages to find its way onto store shelves at
some point in the future), but it had been a disc I was really looking
forward to. At any rate, the first EP, The Archery, was made
available yesterday and the other, which is currently untitled, will be out
sometime later this year. Each run is pretty limited, so if you like
what you hear then I very much recommend snatching up the EPs over at Quite
Scientific while you can. Enjoy.
:The
Cotton Jones Basket Ride - Midnight Monday And A Telescope:
As you should of come to expect (especially if you've read
my other posts on the band), this is nothing like Page
France. Actually, it doesn't even sound all that much
like the other songs I've shared. This arrangement
feels as if it was taken straight out of some flick from the
70s and Michael's vocal work makes me think of the kind of
sultry sounds that would normally be found in a dark,
smoke-filled bar somewhere. It's honestly a slight
strange and partly psychedelic approach that I never saw
coming. Fortunately, I think it's fantastic.
Good luck trying to not have this on repeat for the next
week.
Here's an
interview and some footage of the band playing.
I think the questions being asked are pretty boring, so you
may want to consider skipping ahead until you get to Michael
Nau and Co. performing.
I ended up not being able to
see Wilco. Anyone out there catch either of the two shows they did
here in Austin? I'm guessing they were good, but I still want some
confirmation. Or something. Anyhow, let's get on with today's
featured artist, Cursive. The famed indie rock group from Omaha is
suppose to be working on a new album, but it looks like they found a little
time to record a few songs for Daytrotter, which is certainly fine by me
(and probably you as well) since their session has a couple of new tracks.
If you were in the group of people who didn't really like the
socio-political messages and/or the overly pop sound that made up the
majority of Happy Hollow, I think you'll be happy to hear that none
of that is present in the tunes below. Enjoy.
:Cursive
- Donkeys (Daytrotter): --|--
:Cursive
- Let Me Up (Daytrotter):
In case you didn't already notice, I couldn't decide which
new song to share. Why? Because the both of them
together go so far towards making me think of vintage
Cursive. I'm talking the days of Domestica when
Tim Kasher sounded like the most jaded fellow in all of the
world, and he did so over some of the most perfectly crafted
indie rock soundscapes to ever grace my ears. It's
highly likely that these songs will sound nothing like this
by the time they make it to the new record, but I sincerely
hope that they keep the raw energy and dark cynicism that
they have now. It just isn't Cursive if they don't
have these things, and this is coming from someone who
actually liked Happy Hollow.
I'm assuming
that most of you have heard of Cursive, so the video I chose
isn't necessarily meant to enlighten you about another part
of their sound or something. Nope, it's just meant to
remind you how badass they were when Gretta Cohn was on
cello. The song is A
Gentleman Caller.
I believe that
the original plan was to have two opening acts, but it ended
up just being Amy LaVere and her band. Fortunately,
she was more than enough to get the crowd and myself excited
for Langhorne Slim.
Her setup was similar to Langhorne's in that there was a
standup bass, a guitar and drums, but the sound that emitted
from all of that was quite different. Some of the time
it was kind of dark and adventurous and then there were a
lot of moments where it just sort of seemed to be there.
Though, I might be feeling that way because of the fact that
it was hard not to only watch and listen to Amy.
She has a tendency to tell entire stories through her facial
expressions as she sings, so it was certainly very easy to
just look on and ignore the world. Nothing wrong with
that, right?
I believe I heard them say that their part of the tour with
Langhorne Slim was over, so I can't necessarily tell you to
run out and catch them. However, if you ever see them
somewhere on a concert calendar near you then you should try
and make it out. Amy and the guys won't disappoint.
This past
Saturday night was the best Langhorne Slim performance that
I've ever been to. It was overwhelmingly hot inside
the Mohawk, the crowd was into it and the guys went all out
with a set that left them and those of us watching worn out
and drenched in sweat. It was literally all I could of
asked for.
The trio played for about an hour and a half and, with the
exception of She's Gone, played every song that I was
looking forward to hearing. So what was the highlight
of the night? I thought it was easily Langhorne on
stage alone doing a soulful, stripped-down version of
Rebel Side Of Heaven. If I had only caught that
part I probably would have left happy.
Speaking of Langhorne going solo, I think those few moments
made for all of the best parts of the show. Sure, the
tunes that get your blood pumping were as great live as you
would expect, but I think it's easy to forget that the guy
writes some great lyrics when all your concerned with is
bouncing around and singing-a-long at the top of your lungs.
Plus, those few minutes are necessary if you ever want to
catch your breath.
Even after a bad show I would probably still recommend
seeing Langhorne Slim And The War Eagles, so I think it goes
without saying that you're missing out on a lot if you don't
catch them on this tour. Go now!
Well, today's my birthday. And Mother's Day. So
you know what that means: local music!
Actually, there's a Wilco show in Austin
tonight, and if you follow my posts at all, I think
you know I have an uncanny love for the band.
Instead of going though, I'll be driving to Dallas,
missing the only show in the next 6 months that can
satisfy my near-insatiable Wilco craving. So to
cheer me up, and to break in the summer, let's talk
a little about some great Austin music that’s coming
up.
:((Sounder))
- Good Things:
I don't actually know that much about this band, besides
what I can get from their Myspace page and a few interviews
I've read. Apparently the project is the collaboration of
visual artist Mike Aho and photographer Steve Stratton.
Their second album, Good Things Come and Go Like Bad
Things, found its way into my pile of new CDs a few days
ago, and I haven't been able to get enough of it. I
recently got my turntable back in working order, so it's
been almost all records for me lately. The one thing I can
pull myself away from the vinyl for is this album, which
carries the same warmth that draws me back to the record
player all day long. As you might expect, there are a good
number of "exploratory" elements to the album, but the warm
natural tones blend perfectly with the digital sounds,
giving the album its warmth despites its inherent digital
flaws (I really need to get off the vinyl). This song, the
first on the album, is almost eerie, especially with the
repetitive vocal chant: "good things come and go like bad
things come and go like good things come and go like bad
things…" It's hard not to be drawn in. Just listen, I dare
you.
:Leatherbag
- It's Over:
This song is like a solid gold candy bar. From start to
finish, Leatherbag (Randy Reynolds) has me in his pocket.
He's working with the universally troubling themes of
aging, uselessness, and general self doubt. Quite frankly,
the music and melodies are so spot on, he could be singing
about cantaloupes and I'd still be all about it.
Nonetheless, his new album Love & Harm confronts a
lot of these themes, and a few others. As much as I love
indie music, I also love real, thoughtful lyricists. Leatherbag
is one of the best I know, and though the album (and this
song) find Leatherbag wearing his influences on his sleeve
(catch some Wilco, the Velvets, a little Modern Loves,
etc.), the lyrics are all very much his own.
And now a little something special: a video for A Decade
Without A Death from Ghosts of the Russian Empire.
Let's get the obvious comparison out of the way. The band
sounds a little bit like Radiohead. Alright, we said it,
let's move on. The new album The Mammoth was
recorded by local production demigod Erik Wofford, and it
sounds fantastic. The reverb creates an absolutely
huge space that the band occupies, filling the void with
driving drums, larger-than-life guitars, and a bass sound
that could knock you off your feet. The vocals call from
the background; listen close and you'll hear ominous
warnings of cold war era disasters. Ever see one of those
post-apocalyptic films? This is what it sounds like right
before the apocalypse. The video should give you a good
idea of what I mean. Worth a listen. Two listens even.
And there you have it – three Austin
bands to watch, and the three CDs I'm bringing on
the car ride to Dallas. And if anyone does catch
that Wilco show, don't tell me about it. I'm going
to listen to Kicking Television in my room
and pretend I was there.
John Michael Cassetta writes for Austin Sound, That
Other Paper, and the British lifestyle website
RealBuzz.com. Comments, complaints, and
solicitations may be directed
here.
Here is a
rather creepy video that was made for Robert Francis'
Little Girl, which is from last year's One By One.
The thing has actually a story, so be sure to take some time
to watch it!
:SOTO
- Episode 55:
All kinds of good stuff awaits you in this week's show.
There are some news clips and a nice amount of new music
from the Pomegranates, Kiki Pau, Music Go Music, Lesser
Gonzalez Alvarez, Pas/Cal and Foxhole. Enjoy.
BTW, if you would like to subscribe to this podcast in
iTunes then you can do so
here.
Tokyo Police Club Are You
Listening? It's Noah Sanders.
I’m going to be frank. I’m a little worried about
Tokyo Police Club. I’m a dedicated TPC fan (yes,
paint my fingernails and call me a school girl) and
I think the catchy little Montreal
trio has stumbled upon some difficult musical
times. If you’ve read a post about the band you’ve
heard a blogger bitching about the lengthy hiatus
between their initial A Lesson In Crime EP
and their first LP, Elephant Shell. It’s
been almost two years and now, and after two brief
EPs, the band has just gotten around to releasing
the album, dredging up a bit of indie-vitriol in the
process.
You’d think that two years of faux downtime (let us
not forget the two EPs) the band’s first full length
release would be a face-melter, a memorable
masterpiece that’d leave us eagerly waiting fans on
our collective asses. I mean, TWO YEARS is a pretty
long time to work on a rock-pop album (well, unless
your Portishead) and the final product better be
mind-blowing.
Unfortunately, TPC’s newest is a bit, well,
disappointing. As we music dorks are like to do,
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, ranking
and re-ranking my TPC albums in order of best to
worst, trying to piece together the band’s
progression, pretty much sacrificing my social life
to piece together a chronological argument as to why
I believe TPC is in dire straits as a musical force
right now.
I’m going album by album, picking apart what I like,
what I love, and what I think needs some work.
Don’t be made TPC, I’m just a fan who wants to help.
A Lesson In Crime EP
Strangely enough, this is the third TPC album I got wind
of. As I’ve said before but it has taken me a while to
truly immerse myself in the current music scene and I’ve
missed out or showed up late to the party numerous times
because of it. Take TPC, I picked up their Your English
Is Good single a little over a year ago, thinking, as
I’m wont to do, I’d stumbled across some unknown group of
Canadians. Turns out I’d just arrived late, yet again, and
was in the middle of the lengthy hiatus between TPC’s A
Lesson In Crime EP and their next full length. Thus,
this was the third album of TPC’s I actually put my ears to.
And that’s just another damn shame on the long list of damn
shames in my life. A Lesson In Crime is pretty much
everything I want in a rock-pop album. Driving guitars,
attractive melodies, machine gun patter drums and a series
of bass riffs that’ll make you move, make you dance, make
you smile. Lead-man David Monks laces each track with
strangely literary, almost scientific lyrics that fit the
sort of cold, clean sound TPC creates. It’s pretty much a
dance party from day one, sure a few of the songs stray in
to softer lands, but we’re never to far away from bouncing
bass lines and crunchy guitars.
The albums centerpiece is most certainly Nature of the
Experiment, a song I’ve listened to hundreds of times
and is high up on my list of all-time singles. If this was
the only good song on the album, it’d still be a winner in
my mind, but luckily for us TPC rolls out seven high-end
money-makers for us to enjoy. From the screaming start of
Cheer It On to the soft keyboard-fade of La
Ferrasie it’s a brilliant debut.
A brief history lesson: the release of A Lesson In Crime
exploded this band. Almost instantly they’re playing Conan,
they’re on all the big summer tours, they’re banging around
on KEXP – they’ve made the indie jump. And everyone is
eagerly awaiting the follow-up LP………and waiting…and
waiting…and then boom, they drop Your English Is Good,
a two song single.
You know in context, this wasn’t a terrible idea. Obviously
the band was struggling to put together a second album
amongst all the fervor, and rather than put out a shitty LP,
they drop this brilliant little single (well, that’s what we
hope). Your English Is Good is another pop classic
by TPC and you can hear the growth in the song. The main
force in the song is gentle hum of the keyboard, Monks’
lyrics are as strong as ever, and the shaking tambourine and
yelled chorus are a dance-ready kick in the ass. It’s a
great song, no doubt about it. The b-side is a step in a
softer direction, a barely present acoustic little number
that helps solidify how great Your English Is Good
really is.
Alright, we were antsy and now we’ve been sated for the
moment, but the nagging urge of a wanted second album still
sits in the back of our minds.
So, at this point it’s been a year since A Lesson In
Crime and TPC has yet to release a full length. Instead
three months later they release the Smith EP.
There’s a frantic pace to the three songs on this dreadfully
short release that at least got me fired up again. I was
ready for a new release! Box and Cut Cut Paste
just drive and drive hard with A Lesson In Crime
slowly riding in to the sunset on the back of a plinking
piano riff.
The EP is strong, and it feels like the band is putting the
pieces together right – the rock-pop, the softer shit, the
group dynamic – all feel strong, and a new LP seems perched
on the horizon.
And wait and wait and wait and wait and wait. Listening to
the albums over and over again as made me realize that the
progression TPC has made is minimal in terms of changing
their sound, but they’ve continued to craft pop gems and
I’ve been happy. Sadly, the wait between the Smith EP
and Elephant Shell amped my expectations too high and
when Elephant Shell finally drops I can’t do anything
to hide my disappointment.
After ten, twenty listens, Elephant Shell just isn’t
that exciting. It takes the basic TPC format, bouncy bass,
Monks’ beautiful voice and hand claps and mechanically
processes it. There’s no energy in the album, seemingly no
enjoyment. It’s just eleven very similar, very short,
tracks that don’t move forward. We see no movement in terms
of sound, no difference in feel – it’s another Tokyo Police
Club album through and through. Everyone’s saying that it’s
a pretty perfect pop album, short, fast, nice to listen to,
and I fully agree. Elephant Shell is a good album
from a good band, but what can I say? I expected more from
these guys. The appearance of Your English Is Good
is really the defining misstep. It showcases what these
guys can do when they’re firing all pistons, but also dates
them. This is one of their best songs and it’s way better
than everything else on this album, and it came out a year
ago. I’m thinking about how good A Lesson In Crime
is instead of how mind blowing this debut LP is.
I can’t put a finger on what I expected but I wanted a step
in some direction. I don’t want TPC to stagnate amongst
these similar sounds, I want them to move and grow and keep
popping out songs that make me smile and nod, not shake my
head and wonder what they’ve been doing with their time.
Tokyo Police Club is at a crucial point right now, or so I
believe, they can keep moving forward, adjusting their
sound, crafting new forms of pop-rock that we can all marvel
at like we did when A Lesson In Crime dropped, or
they can fall back on their old sound and fade away after
another boring album. I truly hope for the former, but the
band’s break from studio production post-Lesson was a bad
move, and I could see it happening again.
Tokyo Police Club is touring right now and that’s a good
thing, new fans are going to eat this shit up, but when
touring time has come to a close, TPC needs to avoid
nappy-time, they need to jump in to the studio and pump out
an EP that challenges their defined sound. I’m bored of TPC
right now and I don’t want to be.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light
In The Attic. If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to
his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so
here.
Since SXSW ended I've been
taking it easy on the show front, but over the next week I'm hoping to catch
Langhorne Slim, Wilco and Be Your Own Pet. If you're in town I'll be
the really tall guy who conveniently stands in front of you the entire time,
so be sure to introduce yourself! Now, let's talk Sunny Day Sets Fire.
I've already mentioned them once this year, but that was just a quick blurb
about their Stranger/Remix EP and long before anything concrete was known
about their upcoming full length. As you probably expected, that's all
changed. The band's new effort, Summer Palace, is actually out
now if you want it in download form via iTunes or eMusic, but if you want it
in your hands then you'll have to wait until July 8. I'm thinking
either way is a good choice. Enjoy.
:Sunny
Day Sets Fire - Brainless:
Proving that they have the necessary talent to do much more
than I initially gave them credit for is this nifty pop tune
that features what is probably one of the more pleasant
arrangements I've come across this year. I mean, just
try to not adore the bouncy horns that drive this
gem. This overly long week could not have possibly
ended on anything else. Crank it and kick back!
Here is a
rather neat video that was made for a song titled
Wilderness. For some reason I was thinking
that it had been put out recently, but Youtube says it was
added almost two years ago. Oops.
I haven't had as much time as I
normally do to browse around for music this week, but one of the artists
that stuck out in my limited searching was Pepi Ginsberg. The songbird
from New York just released her third full length, and she has been getting
some love from the likes of Pitchfork and Stereogum, which means she must be
good. Or something. Anyhow, if you want you can check out more
about the aforementioned Red over at Park The Van Records (Dr. Dog,
Tulsa). While you do that I'll see if I can't find any word as to
whether or not her two previous efforts were good listens. Or, if you
know such information you could just tell me and I will get right back to
waiting anxiously for the weekend to arrive. Enjoy.
:Pepi
Ginsberg - The Waterline:
This is a song that's hard for me to properly describe since
I pretty much just want to hand it to you in person with
only a smile on my face as an indication of what you should
expect. However, since that isn't a realistic option I
will say that I really appreciate the fact Pepi is doing
something as refreshing (and maybe even a little
adventurous?) as this gem instead of kicking back and
pushing out a bunch of the normal blandness that a lot of
songbirds go with in the sound department.
There isn't
much to this video that was made for the song you just
downloaded, but Pepi walking down the street with various
trippy effects happening all around her actually works
nicely.
I
forgot to mention that the other night I attended
another TXRD bout. It was a pretty tough match
that saw the Hollyrollers and the Cherry Bombs beat
each other up while constantly battling for points.
The Hollyrollers pulled out a win in the end, but I
have to say that it may have only been because the
Cherry Bombs were getting injured left and right
Crazy. If you're in Austin and have never been
to a bout then you really need to go. It has
honestly become one of my favorite sports.
Here's an EP in honor of the Cherry Bomb's Kate Or
Die and the arm that she broke Sunday night.
Enjoy.
:Brendan
Canning - Hit The Wall:
You would think that I would know who this guy is since he
is a founding member of Broken Social Scene and has
contributed in acts like hHead, By Divine Right and Valley
Of The Giants, but I have to admit that until I read the
press release I had no idea. I mean, who would have
thought that BSS would still be helping members rock solo
efforts? They're like an army. Anyhow, this is
good indie rock that's deserving of your attention.
Something For All Of Us will be out on July 22 via Arts
& Crafts.
:Soltero
- Out At The Wall:
It has taken me a nice chunk of time to appreciate this, but
since I've come around it has become a song that I seek out
in my playlist on a regular basis. I think it's
something that very much requires a sizeable part of your
attention and a good pair of headphones, so be sure to take
that into account when you give it and its intimate
presentation a listen. You're No Dream will be
out in a couple of weeks.
:Fear
Of Music - Ropes Out Of Sheets:
With a press release that mentions the rebirth of rock n'
roll and a sound that features various elements from the
Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Placebo, Manic Street Preachers,
Jeff Buckley and the Pixies, it's clear that this band has
no idea how to describe their sound. Fortunately, I
do. It's big, varied and good. Now turn it up!
Actor/Actress will hit store shelves in August.
:Biography
Of Ferns - John The Barber:
If you've been looking for some quality mid-90s indie rock-esque
type of music to make your week better then look no further
than this Seattle-based trio who call Tellous Records home.
This song was actually used way back in 2004 on a Kill Rock
Stars compilation and then again on the band's album,
Pastel Gothic, which is out now. So, it's old and
new. Or something. Just listen to it.
:The
Radio Dept - Freddie And The Trojan Horse:
Here is an act that will surely be putting out another
stellar album via Labrador Records. That label always
seem to have some of the most interesting Swedish artists,
and this moody number about the "untruthfulness of the
Swedish right-wing government" does nothing but prove that.
It's hard to not call this a must-listen. Clinging
To A Scheme will be out in September.
I don't what happened, but the
weather has gotten all funky here in Austin. For a long while now it
has just been teetering between comfortable and hot, but now it's all cloudy
and humid as hell. It needs to stop, or I may never leave the
apartment again. Speaking of stopping, this is what I did a few years
back in regards to We Are Scientists. I don't mean that in a bad way,
as I thought that their debut, Love & Squalor, was a good listen.
I'm just trying to say that it didn't do a whole lot to warrant revisits
over the last three years. In any case, the duo (they use to be a
trio) are back with a sophomore effort that seems as if it might hold my
attention longer. It's called Brain Thrust Mastery, and it's
expected to be released on May 13. Enjoy.
:We
Are Scientists - After Hours:
I have to say that I'm a little surprised at how quickly
their sound matured. When I hit play the first time I
was expecting to be treated to another raucous track bent on
getting me out of my seat, but this is very much a well
crafted, honed piece of pop. That doesn't necessarily
mean that their sound is now void of anything that might get
you to groove the night away, there's just more to it that's
worth paying attention to. I'm sure you'll be OK with
that.
I'm a complete
sucker for anything that involves a guy in a bear suit
chasing pesky artists around, so I had no choice but to go
with the video for Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt.
Plus, I'm curious as to whether or not the guy who gets
killed is the one who is no longer in the band. Anyone
know?
It's been a good number of weeks now since John
asked me to join the team here at Side One, and it's
taken me some time to learn how to effectively use
this here bullhorn to the world (of blog
aggregators). Today, I'd like to finally introduce
a topic that I feel quite passionately about,
something I've been thinking about for awhile, and
something that's been a source of great confusion
for me.
I don't know if I mentioned this in my original
introduction, but I'm studying English here in
Austin.
Naturally, I do a lot of reading, especially
American literature lately. The "genre" I've always
been most drawn to, or at least been the most
infatuated with, is the Southern gothic tradition
perpetuated by authors like Faulkner, O'Conner, and
about a hundred others. For those of you who've
perused some of the works of the genre, you know
exactly the themes I'm talking about. For those who
haven't, watch No Country For Old Men a couple
times, and you'll get a general idea. I don't know
if it's the returning hot weather, or the Kentucky
Derby, or the fact that I have about a hundred
essays due, but my love for Southern literature was
reawakened this past week.
Okay. I know, "Blah blahblah literature." Before
we turn Side One into a amateur literary journal (my
master plan of course), let's swing this over to
music. There's always been certain bands that, to
me, have seemed to fit in with genres of literature,
if only because they have book collections like
mine. One of those bands is Centro-matic.
Now, they don't have lyrics that scream literary
allusions, and their music isn't just an audio
representation of the bleak themes and landscapes of
southern literature. Instead, it's a little bit
catchy, with driving rhythms and top-notch
harmonies, but the music and lyrics always seems to
show signs of some grotesque secret, and leave me a
bit unsettled, like walking outside to dark looming
clouds that never quite rain.
Now, as I'm sure you know, Centro-matic has a fully
developed side project called South San Gabriel.
Essentially, the band is Centro-matic plus a
revolving cast of other musicians, but with less
overdriven guitars and more serene "noises." How do
they fit into my literary theories? Well, if anyone
ever made a movie based on McCarthy's The Road
(which I pray they don't), South San Gabriel
would be the soundtrack: bleak, but still
emotionally charged, and full of odd instruments
electronic and organic both – an ashen landscape of
human emotion (and synthesizers!).
This June, Centro-matic is releasing a double LP,
Dual Hawks, that's split with South San Gabriel.
Which means, the same guys doing a really long
album under two different names. I'd like to share
with you two tracks from the album, as well as some
old ones from both bands that have become some of my
favorites over the past few years.
Let's start with Centro-matic:
:Centro-matic
- Hercules Now!:
First up, an old track, off 2000's All The Falsest Hearts
Can Try. I think this song is a pretty accurate example of
most of the things I was talking about above, except that
it's also got a drum machine thrown in there. Like I said,
it's hard not to sing along with Johnson: "Hercules No-ow-ow-oow…"
But just as soon as you start grooving along with the song,
you get lyrics like "There's still no invitations, destroy
the ones who'd smile." Like I said, right behind the guitar
rock, there's something a little unsettling.
:Centro-matic
- I, The Kite:
Eight years later, and we've got something a little
different. "I, The Kite" is, obviously, a little more
refined than the track above, although the album as a whole
shows some of the same low-fi that marked their early years.
My sampler didn't come with a lyrics sheet, but more and
more with Centro-matic, it's the "feeling" I get listening
to their songs. By all traditional measures this should be
a happy song: open chord acoustic guitars, hand claps,
tambourines, badass guitar solos. But for some reason, it's
not. If you like this, you'll like Dual Hawks.
:South
San Gabriel - The Dark Of Garage:
This is a typical South San Gabriel songs – unidentifiable
rhythmic sounds in the background, atmospheric noises (here
piano chords and guitar) in the foreground, and then
eventually very calm multi-part vocals. Simple as it is,
the song creates quite a desolate environment, and precedes
to populate it with more and more sounds until reaching the
summit, and dropping back off into a quiet murmur. The rest
of this album (The Carlton Chronicles) is simply stunning,
even if it is about a cat (seriously).
:South
San Gabriel - Trust To Lose:
Honestly, this was my least favorite song on the new album,
but it's what the band (or the suits) decided to release as
the "sampler" single, so we're stuck with it. It's
definitely a different direction for the band, but still
quite interesting. The strings sound like something out of
the soundtrack to The Fifth Element, and there are a couple
of extended noise breaks. Also, and remember this, as it
might come in hand later: distortion bass = money in the
bank; why do you think Ben Folds Five were so wildly
successful? The song still carries that same odd unsettling
feeling to it, but there are other songs on the album that
are more traditionally SSG, which I'll post once I'm sure
Misra won't sue my pants off.
Having listened to these songs, you may or may not
get the same vibe I get with the Southern Gothic
hoo-ha. I'll grant you that I have be reading way
too much these days. Either way, I'd love to hear
any dissenting opinions, or better yet, what bands
you closely identify with artistic, or even cultural
movements in our history.
John Michael Cassetta writes for Austin Sound, That
Other Paper, and the British lifestyle website
RealBuzz.com. Comments, complaints, and
solicitations may be directed
here.
I’d like to start today by apologizing for the
rather large pile of horseshit I submitted last week
as my column. It was short-sighted, unfunny, and
belittling to those who actually have it in their
souls to take their jobs seriously. I can’t
take back what has already been writ, but I can
promise you this: from this point forward I’ll fill
this space with insightful, hopefully interesting
posts about subjects I at least think of as
important.
So, again, apologies to you the readers, and to John
for dropping that turd on you – it won’t happen
again.
I’m about to make a statement that I hope won’t turn
away every open-minded reader this site has, it
seems to be blunt and stupid, but I promise I’ll
redeem myself if you just give me the rest of the
column:
I’ve never been much of a fan of female singers, or
bands fronted by females.
Okay okay, I know, a terribly stupid way of
thinking. You can stop throwing the leftover Vienna
sausages and used diapers and just give me one
little second to explain myself. I’ve been
thinking about this column for the last few weeks,
and I’ve been struggling to come up with a way to
phrase this that wouldn’t have me coming off as the
biggest ass since Roger Clemens (and oh man, what an
asshole that guy is, all of this scandal validates
seriously ten years of hatred I’ve had for that
redneck prick). It isn’t that I have anything
against female musicians, it’s just that I’ve
struggled for the majority of my life to find a
female musician who really blew me out of the water.
Let me reason this out with my favorite form of
argument, BULLET POINTS!
1. I grew up in The Nineties. I’ve got
to say looking back now that if you weren’t capable
of digging a little deeper in those dark times
finding strong female musicians accessible to a male
audience was at least somewhat difficult. Tori
Amos? Too much man hatred. Fiona Apple?
Too creepily sexual for my adolescent mind to read
as “talented.” Alanis Morrisette? C’mon,
really? I was too busy being shocked by her
allusions to theatre fellatio to care whatsoever if
she was talented or not. By the time she was
pumping out Ironic and Two Hands, I’d
already counted her off as a parody. Blame my
blunted sense of music appreciation for missing out
on Bjork, thinking The Breeders were a one hit
wonder, and completely missing out on the thrash of
L7, Bikini Kill and Seven Year Bitch. I was
watching MTV and pondering just what lucky guys
hands were on the cover of Janet.
2. The first three CDs ever purchased for me
by my hoodlum friend Scott Smith were Dr. Dre’s
The Chronic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle and
Nirvana’s In Utero. And I think I was
in sixth grade when I received all these.
Instead of judging me for my brainless discounting
of an entire sexes music, I think we should be happy
I made it out of high school without any felony
arrests and/or tattoos. These weren’t female
musicians, let alone female-friendly musicians (does
anyone remember the Nuttin’ But A G Thang
video?) and I think it sort of affected me from the
start. I don’t even think I owned a female
artists’ album until I purchased Polyrhythmatics
when I was 16 (and Apani B Fly wasn’t even the
starring member of that group). Looking back
now, that’s sad. You can blame Scott Smith, my
mother always has.
3. In all honesty, I didn’t start tapping in
to indie rock and the wide world of music until I
was, maybe 23. In high school and almost all
of college I listened to hip-hop – all the time.
My weekly trips to the CD store were solely for
perusing the newest hip-hop albums. I have
four CD cases from high school and college and
they’re full of rap music…and that’s all. No
offense to hip-hop (I’ve posited my feeling on it in
previous posts), but for female artists it’s a
limited field. Yes, today we’re being exposed
to more, amazing female emcees, but for a long time
it was a barren field and I was standing dead center
in the middle of it, completely unaware.
4. The MTV generation, which I’m ashamedly a part
of, isn’t exactly renowned for its amazing female
musicians. Again, this being said with the
express knowledge that I could’ve dug a little
deeper, growing up I wasn’t interested in Britney
(well I was…), or Ashlee, or Janet, or techno-era
Madonna. It seemed like overproduced crap and
I was having NONE of it. Thus I strayed towards
hip-hop and male oriented rock music and up until
six months ago thought that a male-dominated music
taste was just fine.
Goddamn if I wasn’t wrong.
I wish I could I say that what’s going on right now
is a resurgence of female singers, that my brainless
dismissal of nearly one half the species was based
on lack of quality, but lets be honest, that’s
bullshit. It’s been an equal ballgame since day one
and I’ve just been sitting on my thumbs watching a
grand old world pass me on by.
That stops now. Ladies, you’re doing a grand old
job, and you always have been.
For your enjoyment four songs I’ve been digging from
man’s better half.
:Sera
Cahoone - Baker Lake:
Sera Cahoone was seemingly grown directly from the Earth.
In person, the former Carissa’s Weird and Band of Horses’
member looks as if she emerged from the trees to grace us
with the Earth’s very own lament. She’s lean, wiry, and has
seemingly taken the worse the world could lay out, and just
kept on rolling. Baker Lake is a slow, sad little
piece about the good times that came before, and lo and
behold if it doesn’t remind me of pick-up truck rides and
barren one-light towns. Cahoone’s Sub Pop debut album
Only As The Day Is Long was released in March.
:She
And Him - Why Did You Let Me Stay Here?:
I’m almost positive every music writer in the country
secretly believed that actress Zooey Deschanel’s debut album
with M. Ward was going to be a travesty. Well, ladies and
gentlemen you’ll have to reserve that ire for Scarlett
Johansson’s impending shitfest, ‘cause She & Him is an
absolutely brilliant album. A collection of homage’s to
classic rock, 60s be-bop, all lovingly crooned by the
excessively talented, excessively adorable Deschanel. Too
bad her lawyers sent me that restraining order or I’d be
giving her a big old squeeze of congratulations right about
now.
:Santogold
- Starstruck:
I mentioned earlier that rap has never been an entirely
lady-friendly genre, but that notion has been decidedly
turned on its head in recent years. M.I.A. has been showing
her best stuff for a couple of albums now and it’s nice to
see some worthy protégés following in her wake. I know
almost nothing about Santogold, but the blog world loves
her, and this track proves way. Big hard crunching synths
and a delightfully atonal voice rising above it all. Her
self-titled debut album is out now.
:Cryptacize
- Cosmic Sing-A-Long:
Oh man, I was sifting through emails this morning and
happened upon an update from the good people at Asthmatic
Kitty introducing me to this amazing trio. It is really
hard to define this music. It’s got a sort of lo-fi
afro-beat feel to it, but in an almost post-punk way.
Whatever it is, it’s rad. Short, sweet and beautiful and
the female half of the equation, Nedelle Torisi, is just so
simple and clear. Nothing complicated, just an awe-striking
voice. I thought about including one of her solo tracks
from the album, but couldn’t pass up posting Cosmic
Sing-A-Long. I implore you to check out Dig That
Treasure out on Asthmatic Kitty now.
There we have it. Thanks for reading!
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light
In The Attic. If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to
his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so
here.
- Noah Sanders -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
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