Sunday, June 21, 2009

I can’t get over how St. Vincent makes it cool to be smart again.  Seeing her play this past Friday invited pre-show conversations about Arrested Development (namely Bob Loblaw’s Law Blog) and Dylan Thomas (namely that sweet villanelle, "Do not go gentle into that good night" and Wales).  She’s smart that Annie Clark, and I like it.

But you knew that already. Let’s get on with this week’s post.

Things have been what you’d call "slow" around the office lately, in that I haven’t been overwhelmed by a stream of new music.  So this week, instead of the usual re-up on new tunes, I’ll be featuring collected news and releases from Bill Baird’s band Sunset.  Recently, these guys have been all over the map, literally with a huge US tour, and figuratively with new singles, songs and videos.  We’ve got a little of each today from one of the best bands in Austin.

Sunset - Loveshines II

It’s been a couple months since Sunset released this new 45", but with my record player on the fritz (well, fray actually, in the right channel) I’m just now getting a chance to put in some serious listening time.  The title track, Loveshines, and its b-side companion I’m Not A Perfect Person (Looks Like I Fucked Up Again) are exactly what I’ve come to expect from Sunset, and I generally have high expectations for a band that’s proven themselves highly creative time and again.  Loveshines shudders to life with a pulsing, almost motorik piano over which Baird’s signature ghastly vocals develop.  Harmonies sweeten the pot through the chorus, and a flip to the other side reveals an acoustic, self-aware little piece with Baird on all instruments.

Rarely do two Sunset songs sound exactly alike, but there’s a common theme of creativity that’s easy to trace in Baird’s masterful knowledge of music.  It’s that knowledge that brings us odd mixtures of different beats and instruments with both beautiful harmonies and vocals on the cuff of off-putting that always remain squarely enjoyable.  Like the affluent (or at least affluently dressed) have their trusted haberdasher, I have a handful of trusted bands. Sunset is definitely one of them.


Sunset And Weathervane Music

The Weathervane Music Organization is a great little non-profit emerging near Philadelphia to support independent artists, including musicians, producers, film-makers and probably artists operating in mediums that you and I haven’t even heard of yet.  The organization takes the perspective of music as a societal treasure that should be both cultivated and allowed to flourish outside the realms of the income statement.  Personally, I can’t champion such an initiative enough (and if I had any sort of courage I’d be out there helping any way I could).

The first fruits of the new initiative are a collaborative track from Sunset, who stopped by the studio back in April. A song (titled Fishtown) and an accompanying video were recorded, along with a short documentary about the band and the making of the song.  Personally, I think we should check out the documentary first (if only for the great description of Sunset as "floating sounds over hard rhythms") and save the song for desert, but I guess it’s up to you.

WV Project Series 2009: Sunset from Weathervane Music on Vimeo.

Fishtown from Weathervane Music on Vimeo.
 

You can also grab a copy of the song from Weathervane if you give them your email (I’m sure you’ll only get notifications about cool new videos).

As far as I can tell, Sunset have their next show lined up for August, but hopefully they’ll be somewhere in town before then - no rest for the weary.

- John Michael Cassetta -



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