The blogs are always abuzz about some hot new ethnic tracks, weather it be the Indian cum British triumph of Beriut, any mish-mash MIA touches, or the ‘horror’ of Vampire Weekend’s lighthearted appropriations. But weather we’d like to admit it or not, it’s generally progress, opening the world’s ears, little by little, the a broader horizon. Lately I’ve been really taken with the Malawi born Londoner The Very Best’saptly named Warm Heart of Africa, a joyous amalgamation of hip samples, traditional Africana, and commiserations. With guest spots from accessible, aforementioned bridge artists like MIA and Ezra Koenig it’s a fun, eminently accessible slice of the Dark Continent’s enduring spirit. Much of it is akin to listening to Graceland or My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, without the pervasive overarching influence of a presence like Simon or Byrne/Eno. It’s singular, but with the feel of something larger than just ‘a band’.
Stock up on super-sized freedom fries because the adorably foreign sound smiths who do their versions of popular songs with a bossa nova and troplicalia twist are headed to our fair town of salsa and queso. Culture shock is right around the corner! Nouvelle Vague will be at the Mohawk on Saturday, February 13!
The icing on the cake for this show is that hometown weirdo heroes Pataphysics are opening. Nouvelle Vauge will leave the country and tell the story about one wild band they met in particular in a wacky town called Austin who wore wolf hats and sang about things that didn’t make sense.
Check out the jazzy take on the Depeche Mode track below…
There is a GREAT show tonight at the Red Eyed Fly and I think this is the first time that statement has ever appeared on this website. San Marcos house party brosZlam Dunkand one of our favorite bands from the DFW hood Giggle Party! Have you had a chance to check out the Giggle Party Video for Jason Bought a Hatchet yet? It is silly. Unless, of course you think that unicorns, robots, lightsabers and Lincoln in Wayfarers are all serious subject matter. The video is a blast because it captures the fun of the music and is visually as entertaining as something form the mind of Brad Neeley. Check it:
Giggle Party has a early Lookout Records vibe going in terms of carefree catchiness but with a Death Set head injury that leaves them with post-modern sing-along songs that are insistently fun.
You can download the WHOLE debut EP The Holes in the Your Face Are Pleasing from Giggle Party from a banner on their myspace page HERE. The band is working on a new record for March and until then, they are releasing a free track every Tuesday HERE. How very web 3.0 of them!
These two bands on a bill together makes so much dance punk sense it’s not even funny. Zlam brings the short shorts and basketball gusto, Giggle Party brings the silly string and drum machines. If Zlam Dunk is a spazzy Jason Siegel, Giggle Party is Paul Rudd with Forties taped to each hand.
I hope that the Red Eyed Fly stage lays down some newspaper or something first because there is going to be a odd mixture of sweat and confetti at the end of the night…
Tonight at the Scoot Inn is a crazy-good 9-piece orchestral punk ensemble and choir from Grapevine, Texas called Mount Righteous.
These guys and gals don’t need electricity to make you need earplugs at the club. Like a group of punks expelled from marching band, Mount Righteous’ fat tubas, call and response vocals and the overall musical uniqueness help make street music that is actually enjoyable. They fuse the group dynamic and musicianship of Polyphonic Spree with the jaunty jigs of the Decembrists.
No synthesizers or arpeggiators here. Only a sousaphone, trombone, trumpet, drums, piccolo, melodica, bells, slide whistle, and guitar, and 8 harmonized voices having a good ol time.
The group has two releases out now and just finished recording a third with my favorite producer working right now John Congleton. The man behind the boards brings a lot of fitting elements to the table that compliment the North Texas band’s sound. One obvious attribute is his work with the recent Polyphonic Spree record, which redefined their sound and gave them more of an edge. The one song I’ve heard from MR’s yet to be released album (below) is a great next step in maturity and controlled dissonance. This ambition to grow is one of many things that excite me about this band! The idea of controlled discord is a specialty of Congleton who has helped Explosions in the Sky, the Paper Chase, and even Bill Callahan find the right balance.
Check out this fun lil’ video for Suburban Homesick Blues (get it? ) This is the first chance to sample a song from the new album, which is currently being mastered by Congleton. The yet to be titled full length album should be out early March.
Upcoming tour dates: 2/4/10 Scoot Inn - Austin, TX (with String, 100 Flowers, and the River Hymn)
2/5/10 1816 Calumet - Houston, TX
2/6/10 Blind Mule - Mobile, AL
2/7/10 Spring Street Fire House - Birmingham, AL
2/8/10 Wonder Root - Atlanta, GA
2/10/10 Soap Box Laundro Lounge - Wilmington, NC
2/11/10 Wind Up - Baltimore, MD
2/15/10 Webster’s Hall - New York, NY
2/16/10 The Modern Exchange - Southgate, MI
2/17/10 Ronnie’s Garage - Chicago, Il
2/20/10 The Brick - Kansas City, MO
2/21/10 Sound Pony - Tulsa, OK
2/26/10 The Opolis - Norman, OK
3/13/10 Bee’s Fifth (NX35) - Denton, TX
I am often a bit behind the times these days when it comes to the hot & new, I’m loosing my edge, I know. So I have to thank my good friend Erik for pointing me to this so far pretty amazing group, Die Antwoord. South Africa is hot, not only literally, but between District 9 and Invictus, a new telescope has been stretched from the world stage to the jutting, troubled (though less than other parts) end of the African continent. No longer is the area’s clearest media representation the bad guys in Lethal Weapon 2.
Die Antwoord mixes together a lot of elements you’ll be more than familiar with: bass bumping radio-rap production, high-speed verbage, and yell-along choruses. But, these are infused with all kinds of likable new bits and pieces, like mixed languages, worldly themes, truly unfamiliar rhythms and cadences, and a look into the common life of an area that I personally know very little about. Akin to the Streets or Bonde Do Rolê, much of the charm comes from the juxtaposition of the familiar with the foreign, and the honesty of coming from the common side of the tracks.
This could begin the equation of South Africa to 2010 as Brazil was to 2006, we shall see. It looks like there is a fair few Euros behind this crew overseas already, I can’t wait to see how it translates to this side of the Atlantic.
The whole album, $o$, can be listened to on their main site here, Vampire Weekend style, sort of. I think a lot of the tracks there are stronger than anything they have a video for so far, so these give you a little bit of a look into the culture these three bad dude s/ dudette herald from.
The nice thing about events like the Fashion Freakout in Austin this Friday Night is that they NEVER feel like anything out of Bruno. For a queso stained t-shirt wearing guy like myself, they tend to be great rock shows full of more fashionable friends, booze and all that; there just happens to be a big catwalk set up and more photographers than usual. To the fashionistas of the town- events like this help set Austin apart from other trendy towns as something special. I don’t get the impression that Austin’s laid back and musically inclined enthusiasm would fly at say….a NY fashion week, where the taste-making elite wouldn’t bother to be in a music venue that will eventually be littered with Lonestar cans; in my mind they wear all black and drink something fancy… like red wine (not from a box mind you…)
Sure, there will be plenty of silly hairdoos and complicated shoes at the Fashion Freakout, but on this evening it can be embraced instead of eyes rolled at; because I guess… that’s fashion. Local hotspots New Bohemia, Buffalo Exchange and the ever-awesome Prototype Vintage will be on hand with goods and services for sale and will be staging areas all around the multi-leveled Mohawk to make attendants feel special. And get this: Motown throwback power-pop all-stars the Carrots will play TWO sets and comedian Matt Bearden will be telling clever antidotes all night. Sacha Baron Cohen’s flamboyantly gay Austrian alter ego wouldn’t quite have enough material to make fun of- he would just have a grand ol time posing for cameraphone pictures with the taxidermy bear of the Mohawk just like the rest of us.
Every year Fashion Freakout has sold out, and for good reason: it’s a different night out on the town. It is a different Mohawk experience to hear comedy, see music, and feel culturally enlightened by checking out the state of Austin style.
For advance tickets to Friday night’s event, click HERE.
I know a lot of people who are on the fence about the dream-pop bloghouse sensation Beach House, and probably just as many that are entirely polarized. Personally, I’ve always been enthusiastically ‘ehh’ about them. There’s no denying the pure talent pervasive in their brief discography, but their stylization can be difficult and dense, and the hype backlash brutal. Luckily their latest release, Teen Dream, though it’s name may be a little on the nose, takes everything that I’ve enjoyed about the band and tightened it into a more accessible, and potentially much broader sound. Everything you might have liked in the past remains, the breathy androgynous vocals, the almost shoegaz-ey quality of compounded reverb and airy instrumentation. What’s new to me are much more discernible melodies and almost catchy riffs and harmonies, as well as a baser pop sensibility that is tastefully difficult to nail down as an element.
If you haven’t listened to this yet, say, you’ve been kidnapped by drug lords for the last few months or something, in which case some soothing dream-pop might do you some actual good, check it out:
Alsoyou might like this kind of cool, kind of really fucking weird video made for their track Silver Soul, by none other that Beach House front-lady Victoria Legrand. I hear they are making a video for every song on the record, I just hope that quantity doesn’t trump quality, as this type of plan has proven in the past.
P.S. Please don’t search for images in Google under ‘Teen Dream’, a mistake I made looking for a picture for this post. It’s probably just not what you’re looking for.
The laid back and jazzy lyrical flow of The J. Davis Trio has long been a favorite. They swung by KVRX for a Local Live set back in 2001 and that recording is all I have known about them over the years. I know that they feed on my secret love of that one US3 album and have a fun style that should be practically universally loved. It is safe, it is clever, it is musically skillful. I have not kept up with this Chicago trio over the years but their new album These Things Happen is MOS DEF on my radar. I really dig this single Breezay that you can download guilt-free below.
This yet to be released Peter Gabriel record Scratch My Back has been blowing my mind a little lately. It consists entirely of covers from everyone from Arcade Fire and the Magnetic Fields to Paul Simon and Lou Reed. There is a breathtaking string arrangement on every song and with Gabriel’s straining voice leading the way; each song is a whole new experience than what you are familiar with. When David Bowie’s Heroes picks up and reaches the climax after almost three minutes of building, it is one of the most perfect and powerful things I have run across so far in 2010. You just can’t beat a good version of a good song. I’d like to see Gabriel’s take on Single Ladies or My Girls.
The record comes out February 15th and at some point in the future a counterpart will be released called I’ll Scratch Yours where each of the artists he covers will return the favor and cover a Peter Gabriel song. You can buy the album HERE, which comes with a bonus disc of remixes and alt versions…
You know who has a great Soundcloud page full of awesome remixes? This DJ from Austin named Chase Marz. His production will incorporate Missy, Luda, Pitbull and everything else good you hear on the airwaves but add a dark element and maybe a twist of dubstep. How have I never seen this bro live?
Check out this shiny new act out of Austin called Jet Horns. They are a rad little electronic/dance outfit with a new FREE EP out now called Onward Space Hologram. Grab the whole thing HERE!
They have a crude Wham City whimsical element to their design and a DFA twist to the fun, dancey music. The main mastermind bro Jon Von Letscher is also a visual artist and oversees all of their branding elements; so he makes sure that both the music and visuals fit hand in hand. They are both a little raw, full of life, bright colors, and fun.
Take out a pen and paper and add the name ‘Jet Horns’ to the short list of up-and-coming Austin electro acts alongside Neiliyo, Vega and L.A.X. Keep and eye on that piece of paper and watch as everyone on it has a huge 2010.
UPDATE: The band will be performing at The Highball alongside The Laughing and UME at the 101x Homegrown Live show on February 12th 2010! More info HERE.
There is a BIG weirdo show at 1808 tonight (Saturday) featuring The Return of the Reverse X Rays! This lineup is quite peculiar and perfectly exemplifies the sort of shows that 1808 is capable of pulling off despite being near one of the sketchiest corners in Austin.
Reverse x-Rays have been away from playing live for a while but are back in the game with their signature oddball time structures, and overall spazzy/snazzy psychotomimetic rock. Helping them bring back in their supremacy of the Austin underground are: veteran weirdo trio Weird Weeds, avant garage rockers No Mas Bodas, circuit bending instrument inventors E Squared and filling in all the gaps: some DJ action from Dj Trailmix and Sweet DJG. Welcome back Reverse X-Rays you crazy bastards. Keep Austin…. yada yada yada…..
This song Backseat is cussing great. Watch the above video. From Swedish group StayGold (..not local djs…) the track has all the great elements of a falsetto dance pop jam and is standing on it’s own two feet pretty well… and then BAM! It gets even better when SpankRock comes out dressed kind of like a priest and drops a verse while booty dancers get down on the ground. The song could end there and be great- WHOA- then Robyn comes out of nowhere and does her Swedish crooning thing! The hoochie theatrics, the lights, the vintage synthesizers, the dancing… geez I may have said too much already. This video is from some sort of Swede awards show that is 1000 times better than any incarnation of a Jay Leno related could ever be…
Ladies and germs of the internet- this is your internet sensation of the weekend. Please download it below..
MP3: Stay Gold featuring Spank Rock & Damien Adore- Backseat
We haven’t heard much out of MIA lately, all the hooplah about retirement, and un-retirement, and babies, and all that crap. Well, apparently un-retirement is branching further than just supporting the Paper Planes phenomenon as a new album is on the near horizon, which is what brings us this new video / track. I’m traditionally a big supporter of her music and overall style, even when it strays into the ‘a bit too much’ realm, but the couple of times I’ve watched this video I cannot say I have the same enthusiasm as I’ve had for her last two first singles. The ray of light is that Bird Flu was the early single off Kala, and was one of the least impressive tracks. So maybe we’re being set up for relief.
Hey Hold Steady fans- everyone’s favorite mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay has officially left America’s best bar band to pursue solo stuff. The announcement was made on his website yesterday. He was with the band for five great years and was with them thru a great rise in popularity and helped unify quite a few scenes.
Franz always stood out a little with his gypsy-punk aesthetic in the midst of a group of regular dudes who rolled onto stage with whatever clothes they woke up in ready to play some solos and sing singalongsongs. Franz was the presentable one. He would tuck in, tie a bowtie, and wax his facial hair into sharp points. The mix strangely worked. In the studio he gave the band more sounds than they would otherwise have utilizing the harpsichord and pushing new limits as call and response choruses. Franz was a crucial part of the Hold Steady and he will leave behind some big shiny fancy shoes to fill.
At least NBC didn’t fire him and at least he didn’t die.
To see a list of upcoming Franz solo shows click HERE.
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In other news- have you heard that the Conan deal is officially over? Friday will be his last show. He is taking home 33 million and his staff will get to share 12 million. He will be allowed back on the airwaves in September, a month that can’t get here soon enough. Here is a link about the exit deal.
What is the internet good for aside from re-watching the Raaaaandy shorts, getting trivia for Party Down and looking up pictures of Chupacabras? Well, there is this rapper named Onry Osborne and he has been putting out great tunes for the past decade, and this latest video is weird/wild stuff.
The video is three songs (Doom/Go Team/The Wrong Kids) patched into one, so to get the full effect you really need to commit the time to watch the whole thing. The interestingness will pay off. It begins as a pretty regular rap song with a cool line about a Siouxsie Sioux shirt, the verbal flow changes nicely and it leisurely evolves into something else. The whole thing is steady handed and subtle but positively rises to something more than the typical hip hop vid; and yet not over the top and zany either. (Speaking of …. that new Dan Deacon video is too trippy for it’s own good…) It is all gradual and eventually the visuals become almost trance inducing. A very laid back trance.
The project is called Dark Time Sunshine and is collaboration between Orny Ozz, who for this go round is going by Cape Cowen, and a Chicago producer with the handle Zavala. Why the mysterious name change? That is one of the great things about hip hop- you can change your persona practically anytime you like. The Seattle MC felt the need for a change and I am not complaining. Dark Time Sunshine keeps it real.
The new record is called BELIEVEYOUME and can be downloaded entirely for free (along with the instrumentals if you are so inclined) courtesy of one of the raddest labels in the game Fake Four Inc. Grab the whole thing guilt free HERE!
I first caught wind of Fake Four Inc last SXSW when the owner (I think) showed up giving out samplers at two different Astronautalis shows and now I can’t stop hearing about them. The are repping Sole, Myka 9 and all sorts of other bros. Astronautalis was kind enough to chat about the label with us late one night…. Check it:
“Fake Four is my new favorite tiny indie label. They put out amazing weirdo hip hop, great traditional hip hop, amazing symphonic indie pop, and Electric President’s new album?! What?”
Astro is currently on tour with the miraculousPOS and should not under any circumstances be missed as he comes thru your town.
If you like the hippity hoppity above be sure to download the whole thing for free because another great thing the internet is good for is loading up your iTunes with quality music and it’s all the better when that music is legit.
Here is a fun recap video from the release show from the ex Single Frame, performance art and hip-hop projectCUSTODIAN. The release is called Ultra-Fresh and as you can see in the video, it comes packaged in a pretty sweet janitorial soapbox, complete with actual sponges sealed inside with the CD. The video is filled to the brim with dancing, Beach Boys samples and a surprising amount of uplifting yellow imagery. Check it:
For more info or to pick up the limited edition CUSTODIAN EP click HERE.
As we waved goodbye to yet another successful and blustery Free Week, Austin has so many great memories to look back on from this year; freezing jaunts from our cars for blocks, huddling under outdoor heaters, and the hot, hotness at our Beauty Bar show last Saturday. I have to admit that I haven’t been this thoroughly impressed with the technique and energy of an entire lineup in a good while.
The evening kicked off with the always impressive and ever evolving the Laughing, always a favorite. These guys, always adept, always on the technical cutting edge, and always keenly aware of the delicate balance between pop sensibility and artistic merit, killed it with a notably tight and raucous set of new and old future classic. Eschewing their theatrical background now for a more strait up rock vibe, the band was laser focused on making the set everything it could be, and they succeed admirably. Yet again, one of the main bands to watch this year.
And speaking of Austin neo-classics to watch this year, the newly boiled down Moth Fightsounded amazing with their more concise, three man lineup. The refined grouping didn’t disappoint on any of what has made Moth Fight so notable, all of the wacky, lilting, energy comes through only clearer.
Of course, there’s everyone’s new local favorite tribute to a national favorite All My Friends, the LCD Soundsystem Tribute band. These guys are making waves not for original music, but for the deftness with which they present the already loved material. So sing-along-able, and yet so dancable. The crowd went crazy for these dudes. Wow.
And to cap the evening and dance everyone into the oblivion of the night was local big shot DJ Car Stereo Wars, bringing the house to a sizzling boil with his signature brand of feverish mash-up mayhem, his now classic blend of hip-hop, indie, and pure irony performed it’s magic as it always does. CSW wedged himself securely in the top echelons of shit to go to in Austin once again; never disappointing.
The song Message Erased begins with a unpersonable voice message break up as a jumping off point. Then the Richmond Virginia duo bbopnrokstedy make a nice little electro track featuring clap tracks, gritty synthesizers, and all that good equipment that makes all that music that the kids are wild for these days. More than the music itself, I just like that their name sites the best dimwitted henchmen of all time and that in doing so, they tap into a prime ironic nostalgia ventricle vein. It is all very fitting. These two are doing their best to do big things out in Virginia and for that they deserve props. Krang and everyone at the Technodrome would be proud.
In Austin we have some pretty great stuff on the airwaves now and then between KVRX, KOOP, KAZI and now an oldies station hanging out over at 92.5; we are doing alright. We have one “modern rock” station that plays whatever is popular in terms of “rock” called 101X. Lets just say that their web banner has a funny photoshop job of Trent Reznor, Kurt Cobain and Jack White. Anyway- in an effort to keep up the “local and alternative” part of their mission statement, the station hosts some pretty great local shows now and then as a part of their Home Grown Live series. The installment coming up this Saturday at Emo’s is especially good looking.
Headlining all the way from San Marcos are the bromantic and hyper energetic Zlam Dunk. Expect these five guys to get their sweat over every square inch of that small inside stage. Also performing is the electronic, riffy-funk sounds of Fresh Millions featuring members of the Sword, as well as another San Marcos group called the Couch. Opening up is PartyEnds pick for replacement of Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks: CUSTODIAN. The group opens up the night, but odds are that it will take a few bands for jaws to close and get back to normal only to be blown open again by Zlam when they break into a rousing rendition of Unchained Melody out of nowhere. For realz. There will be sweat and there will be a spilled Lone Star or two, but luckily there will be plenty of cleaning solution on hand from CUSTODIAN to leave the place the way everyone found it. What we have here a damn fine local show and a perfect excuse to spend your milk money at 603 Red River. Kudos to Knuckle Rumbler for pulling this show together. If only there were free Shiner and Gatties…
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The blogs are always abuzz about some hot new ethnic tracks, weather it be the Indian cum British triumph of Beriut, any mish-mash MIA touches, or the ‘horror’ of Vampire Weekend’s lighthearted appropriations. But weather we’d like to admit it or not, it’s generally progress, opening the world’s ears, little by little, the a broader horizon. Lately I’ve been really taken with the Malawi born Londoner The Very Best’s aptly named Warm Heart of Africa, a joyous amalgamation of hip samples, traditional Africana, and commiserations. With guest spots from accessible, aforementioned bridge artists like MIA and Ezra Koenig it’s a fun, eminently accessible slice of the Dark Continent’s enduring spirit. Much of it is akin to listening to Graceland or My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, without the pervasive overarching influence of a presence like Simon or Byrne/Eno. It’s singular, but with the feel of something larger than just ‘a band’.
click here 
