The music world converged on Austin, Texas today for what is generally viewed as the biggest, bestest music industry event in the world. The thing that makes SXSW so unique is that you not only know you’re going to see some great bands you’ve had your eye on, but you’re also going to discover some great new bands. There are so many playing all over town all day for four straight days, so you can’t help but just stumble upon some cool new sounds.
This was the case early on when the line to try and see Broken Bells’ 1:00pm Red River garage show was too long to get in. I wandered over to the Mohawk up the street and there was a band throwing down a strong sound with some Neil Young/Crazy Horse vibes, and some of that My Morning Jacket kind of vibe. It was Yukon Blonde from Vancouver BC. Good stuff.
The line at the Forcefield PR/Terrorbird Media day party at Red 7 was also way too long, so again I wandered up the street and heard some Beatles coming out of Jaime’s Spanish Village, a Mexican restaurant across the street from Stubbs BBQ. It has a small patio where The Eggmen where dishing out the Beatles tunes, which sounded great on a warm sunny afternoon. It was a rotating lineup, with seven musicians up there for great readings of “I’m Only Sleeping,” “Fixing a Hole,” “From Me to You” and “All You Need is Love.”
I waited in a crazy 45-minute line to get into the Levis/Fader Fort, because I wanted to see Philadelphia band Free Energy. The band’s studio stuff sounds amazing, but it was too bad they didn’t seem able to match it live. They have great gear, great looks and a great name, but something in the musicianship seemed lacking. Maybe I’ll give them another shot on Friday. The venue was pimped out though, dubbed by one fan as “a funhouse for hipsters.”
Walking past the Independent up the street, I heard the call of a bluesy sound, the Maldives from Seattle were rocking out, also with a Crazy Horse vibe, and maybe some Ryan Adams & the Cardinals influence. The Canadian Blast tent outside by the registrants lounge closed out with Plants and Animals, who blended reverb-y vocals with a cool groove to close their set. Austin’s own Strange Boys packed Emo’s Jr for an 8:00 set of their retro ’60s-style garage rock. There were moments, but I don’t think it was really my thing.
Jonneine Zapata out of Los Angeles caught my attention first with her name and then with her powerful voice at the Red Eyed Fly. This is a great little venue with nice outdoor stage where Zapata and her band rocked the stage with a powerful bluesy sound that recalled Concrete Blonde.
Here We Go Magic packed Club Deville for a 9:00 set. The sound was excellent although the songs kept seeming like they were building up to something that never came. They were doing something right though, as the indie rock crowd seemed to dig it.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings tore up the stage at Stubbs BBQ, with the great band throwing down ’60s and ’70s-influenced funk behind the soul queen. This was the first major highlight of the day.
I caught up with Broken Bells when they followed Jones at Stubbs and James Mercer of The Shins led the band through a collection of tunes that sounded pretty Shins-y, with maybe more synth and less guitar. But when they added some more guitar toward the end, it was even better.
I bailed waiting for Spoon at Stubbs to go back to Emos main for Nas & Damian Marley. Mixing the hip-hop with the reggae was a slamming formula for the really packed crowd, who loved every minute. This is the new duo to watch out for in 2010, what a great set! It was all too brief though, leaving me able to catch the end of Spoon’s set. These guys confuse me. They play three songs in a row that are kind of blah, and then just when you’re about ready to give up on them they throw down a great rocker. Then they play two or three more blah, than some dope groove. Strange formula.
Compared to last year, this first day was so-so at first, picking up toward the end. Things looked primed to pick up tomorrow though, stay tuned…
With an album name like Transference, generally meaning misdirected emotions or a kind of displacement, it should come as no surprise that Spoon side-step their usual M.O for their seventh studio album. For those who grew accustomed to the band’s neatness on albums like Gimme Fictionand Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Transference will feel unkempt, while early adopters of the band might appreciate the album’s raw qualities.
With the standard two to three years Spoon takes between records, it’s clear that a lot of planning goes into each album – but with Transference, that implication is a bit sad, because the album projects a one-off kind of attitude. Apparently the band had to work hard even to make it sound like they didn’t. The songs are rife with actions that make the writing feel half thought out – from pauses in the middle of words and sentences, to uncharacteristically long and directionless instrumentals. It would be something if this resulted in some new experimental form or sound, but it’s not wildly different – just slightly off-kilter. So mostly it reads like Spoon got into the studio with material that hadn’t quite fermented.
With its ambling feel, the tracks that bend the ear are the poppier ones, or the serious deviations in style. On “Written in Reverse,” Britt Daniel is literally screaming for your attention – and get it he does. “Who Makes Your Money,” on the other hand, stands out for its echoey, distant subtlety, and “Goodnight Laura” for its unusual display of sentiment, “When you think your thoughts be sure that they are sweet ones.”
Transference is a classic grower, an album that will reward those with the patience -which will most likely be Spoon’s most established fans. Unfortunately for others, what lingers most may not be the songs, but questions of what might have happened if the band sat on these songs awhile longer, or what might have happened if the band actually went wild instead of just trying to sound like they did. Merge 2010
It is increasingly difficult to stand out in the overcrowded pop scene these days, but leave it to Missouri transplants White Rabbits (they’ve since relocated to Brooklyn, much like fellow Midesterners Locksley) to take a trick from .38 Special’s playbook and turn it on its ear: two drummers! The similarities end there, though; It’s Frightening, the second long-player from the White Rabbits, takes those two drummers – think Adam and the Ants, not the Doobie Brothers – and frames them with singer Stephen Patterson’s barroom piano and some sparse guitar work to create the kind of angular pop that you’d expect from the bands on the other side of the pond. Britt Daniel’s presence here as producer is no surprise, as the band’s “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” sounds like a lost Spoon track, and Single of the Year candidate “Percussion Gun,” armed to the teeth with handclaps and double-decker harmonies, is delightfully quirky and insanely catchy. That unusual approach to their drum tracks could prove to be an albatross – ask Guster about that one – but for the moment, all is quite well with the White Rabbits. (TBD 2009)
Anya Marina is an entertainment triple threat—she’s been a radio DJ, an actress, and is now fortifying her music career with a second album release, Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II, released on Alexandra Patsavas’ Chop Shop Music label. Patsavas, one of the best-known film/TV music supervisors, placed one of Marina’s songs on the “Grey’s Anatomy” soundtrack and then signed her to the label. Marina’s unique, sultry vocal is a more alternative version of Gwen Stefani, and her playful songs on Slow & Steady are accented by the hipster production crew of Brian Karscig (Louis XIV) and Britt Daniel (Spoon). Daniel’s drum loops helped give Marina a creative spark and as a result the album is a leap from Marina’s earlier singer/songwriter fare. There are some great moments, especially on the opener “Move You,” the ultra-bouncy “Cut It Out,” and on “Vertigo,” which has an ‘80s, “Pretty in Pink” undertone. But on “Not a Through Street,” which starts out with just an acoustic guitar and Marina’s pure vocal, her appeal jumps through the roof. It doesn’t matter if the flavor-of-the-month artist is your thing or not, there will be something most everyone can like about Anya Marina. (Chop Shop/Atlantic)
Spoon is the brainchild of frontman/guitarist Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno. Hailing from Austin – the home of the University of Texas – the band’s sound feels as if it were shaped in a college town, benefiting from all the creativity and calculation in the air. With help from co-producer Mike McCarthy, Daniel pays great attention to detail and each of the band’s tracks is pleasurable to the ear in one way or another. Over the past decade, the band has released five albums, and while their early punk stuff drew comparisons to the Pixies, the band has been able to refine its sound over its last four releases, developing a kind of rock that is both melodious and thoughtful. Spoon is working on a sixth album, tentatively titled Trouble Minx, for release sometime in 2007. But for now, listen to these 11 songs, and pay special attention to what’s going on in the lower frequencies. Daniel’s ability to create interesting, repeating bass lines and piano riffs is almost unparalleled. When possible, I included links to the songs at iTunes and Amazon and also included either a proper video or live performance for each song (from YouTube). Spoon is a terrific live band, so if you get the opportunity, be sure to see them perform. Spoon MySpace Page | Official Site
BE Reviews: Girls Can Tell | Kill The Moonlight | Gimme Fiction
“The Way We Get By” – Kill the Moonlight
This is the first song I play for people when I’m trying to get them into the band. Daniel called this track “one of the most immediate” of his tunes, going on to say, “Once I sang that chorus the first time and got it on tape, I kind of knew it was going to be a good one.” It’s catchy from the start – he sings over an infectious yet delightful piano riff. It was also a breakthrough of sorts; the song ended up on the first Music from the O.C. mix. You can watch a decent live version here or watch an “O.C.” video below, which has the song as its soundtrack. iTunes | Amazon
With an album name like Transference, generally meaning misdirected emotions or a kind of displacement, it should come as no surprise that Spoon side-step their usual M.O for their seventh studio album. For those who grew accustomed to the band’s neatness on albums like Gimme Fictionand Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Transference will feel unkempt, while early adopters of the band might appreciate the album’s raw qualities.
