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Sunday, May 11, 2008

More Austin Music

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.

- John Michael Cassetta -



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