If you want to check this party out fo' free! Then all you have to do is R.S.V.P here. Or you can shill out the $3 bucks at the door, but that's your call cowboy.
Review and such after the jump. Animal Collective is one of those bands that you're, kind of, supposed to like if you want to call yourself an indie-rock aficionado. Lucky for us no one really wants that title. In any case, I find myself listening to their latest record Merriweather Post Pavillion more and more every day. Thanks, in no small part, to that song above the break.
I have never seen AC live but they have a reputation for putting on great shows. Be forewarned musician snobs their live show is more like keyboards, sequencers and other studio equipment, than guitars, bass and the like. Come on though, it would be like a band trying to cover themselves if they did that. These guys are studio wiz kids. They're all about constructing and deconstructing pocket symphonies a la Brian Wilson.
However, I must say that My Girls does remind me of Peacebone from their last LP, Strawberry Jam
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that if you'd like to see Animal Collective in your town, check here. If you want to see them here in Austin you better get on top of the ticket situation 'cause this show is gonna sell out fo' sho' and the tickets went on sale today!
MGMT - Kids Live in a parking lot behind Urban Outfitters @ SXSW '08
So, maybe January is a bit early to get my panties in a wad over South by Southwest (SXSW). But you know what? The official band list has been out for a few weeks. So, that means it's the perfect time to let the hype rain down.
Just like the last two years, Austin Bloggy Limits will not be purchasing any sort of badge or wristband to enjoy official showcases. No, loyal reader, for us SXSW is all about the free day party...and after party. So I shall spend the next month or two scouring the internet for the coveted RSVP lists. For now, let's focus on the music shall we?
It's a bit daunting to choose bands to highlight from the enormous list of artists. Party because there are so many to comb through but partly because chances are the highlights are bands I don't know yet. Keeping that in mind, I'm probably just going to highlight some of the names, which are easier to recognize.
Akron/Family Anti-Pop Consortium Au Revoir Simone Balmorhea The Band of Heathens Beach House Andrew Bird The Black Angels Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears Black Lips BLK JKS(!!) Buck 65 Cadence Weapon Margaret Cho (?) Colour Revolt Crystal Antlers The Crystal Method Cursive Danny and The Champions of the World Delta Spirit Easy Star All-Stars Explosions in the Sky Ferraby Lionheart Tim Finn Robert Francis Sage Francis Gang Gang Dance The Girls The Grates Grizzly Bear (!!!) Handsome Furs Ed Harcourt Ben Harper and Relentless 7 Head Automatica HEALTH I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness Japanther La Snacks Monotonix Monte Negro Motel Motel Mr. Lif Moth!Fight! Peelander - Z Peter, Bjorn, and John The Pink Spiders +/- Port O'Brien Primal Scream Ra Ra Riot The Raveonettes The Republic Tigers Rival Schools Russian Futurists Rye Rye (!) Langehorn Slim Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Starsailor Stars of Track and Field St. Vincent Superdrag Throw Me the Statue J. Tillman Tiny Masters of Today Viva Voce Wale When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth White Ghost Shivers Year Long Disaster
Like I said, this is certainly not the comprehensive list. And I'm not putting all the damn links because the official list is all linked out. Basically the above list is me combing through the master list and writing names I recognize :-). I'm sure after SXSW I'll have a list of artists I had never heard of that kicked ass! See you in March :-)
It looks like two of Austin Bloggy Limits' favorite "local" groups will be sharing a bill Saturday night. You can catch Harlem and {{{Sunset}}} at Club DeVille's inside stage, the show is alleged to start at 9pm. But something tells me it's actually going to start closer to 11pm.
That same night there is a CD release party for Built By Snow. Oh yeah and some guy name KRS One will be next door at the Mohawk the same night. SO I guess it depends, would you rather see a legend in his own time, or future legends ahead of their time?
You can sample 5 versions of the same song by {{{Sunset}}} to experience its evolution or whatever here:
Harlem - South of France Harlem - Beautiful and Very Smart I, along with many others, are calling Harlem out as Austin's next big thing. Even though they are actually from Tucson via Nashville and just moved here this year. But still, I would say 3/4's of all "Austin" bands just moved here...like me :-) Not that I'm a band but you get my point. That song South of France I put above the break is totally indicative of the 2009 sound. Which, I shall refer to as garage-surf.
Garage-Surf is the new 80's as far as indie-rock trends go. Dress accordingly.
Harlem - Think I'm Thinking 'bout video via YouTube
Isn't that song so damn infectious? They play it a lot on the adult alternative station at work. As well as on KGSR, which gives it a little more indie-rock cred but seriously if that song doesn't make you want to sing along, you should check your pulse. Looks like Mr. Dennen is actually on tour right now. If you're in Austin you can check him out at La Zone Rosa on the 23rd of this month. Tickets still available y'all.
Speaking of guilty pleasures, I never really got into the Ting Tings. For some reason when your album is a top seller on iTunes and I have never heard your music it makes me suspicious. But the High School/College set seems to really like these kids. Their show here at Emo's a while back sold out. In any case their newest single is the perfect example of modern-day lazy feminism, it is SO bratty and I love it.
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name video via YouTube
While we're on the topic of lazy pseudo-feminism I should include the top single of 2008. I'd like to think this song would be just as enjoyable or maybe MORE enjoyable as an instrumental.
When you google "Feminist Music" you get all kinds of lesbian/lilith fair, fare. But you also get a little Le Tigre, which Timmy G and I used to play on the radio freshman year in college. This is my kind of feminism:
At this point I'm pretty much over 2008, but alas what is a blog without a year-end list. Some call it lazy writing, others call it linking hell. I hand wrote a list of contenders for a top 20 of '08 but in counting my list I realized I had 44 contenders so I figured WTF I'll just do a top 40. Shall we begin at the end?
40
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
39
DevotchKa - A Mad and Faithful Telling
38
Vivian Girls - The Vivian Girls
37
{{{Sunset}}} - The Glowing City
36
Blitzen Trapper - Furr
35
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
34
Harlem - Free Drugs;-)
33
Ray LaMontagne - Gossip in the Grain
32
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
31
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
30
White Denim - Exposion
29
Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine
28
Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads
27
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
26
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair
Words and more after the jump... The Walkmen's latest album, You & Me is a sleeper record that received a lot of critical acclaim but not a lot of purchase support. Like many listeners, I was a big fan of the Walkmen's earlier album, Bows + Arrows but hadn't really paid much attention to the band since. But You & Me has definitely grown on me since its release back in August. First of all it's really more of a winter album anyway, so if you didn't dig it in August, try again in December/January. Your mood to receive these songs may have been off in August. You can expect a lot Edge-style guitar work, lots of reverb, strained, pleading vocals. All the basic elements for some good heart-wrenching, indie-rock. But don't be mislead, this is a lot more dark and dramatic than, say, Death Cab for Cutie and it may even impress your wanky guitar buddies.
The Walkmen - Dónde Está la Playa video via YouTube
In case you couldn't tell, that was a fan-made video. Give me a break it had the best sound-quality, besides it's better than just a photo of the album cover right?
Here's one from Bows + Arrows that you definitely should have heard by now, but I'm not judging you:
If you're interested, the Walkmen have a few West-Coast dates scheduled for January then it's off to Europe. Incidentally they are touring with Beach House right now, who have also been receiving major buzz on the year-end lists for their album, Devotion.
People in Portland, OR love to make quirky videos around town for haunted indie-rock tunes. That is what I have decided...evidenced 3 vids above and 1 vid below:
Words and more video after the Jump... Well I guess you should know that M83 are French...doesn't that video make much more sense now? They also put out one of the best records of the year. Saturdays = Youth is filled with beautiful melodies that emerge with and from within piles of reverb. I feel like all of their songs are from a John Cusak movie that is locked in John Hughes' vault. In my opinion that's a good thing.
I had the pleasure of seeing M83 perform live at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston back when they were on tour for their album, Before the Dawn Heals Us. My lasting impressions were about some of the more technical aspects of the music. I was amazed that alot of the sounds I assumed were made by keyboards, computers, samplers, etc. were often done using guitars and effects trickery. I recall a screwdriver attached to some sort of spring loaded capo that they would bounce off the neck of the guitar and slide across the frets. Also, the drummer wore some serious noise-canceling headphones, which is smart considering some of the crazy precision drum work this guy has to pull off.
M83 - Don't Save Us From the Flames video via YouTube
Also, if you happen to be shelling out the dough to catch the Killers, here in Austin or elsewhere, you'll see M83 as the Killers opening act (tourmates more PC?). Should be one of the most transcendent yet pretentious shows of the season, I'm excited but not showing it.
This is the area where I had intended to embed the new Killers' video for Human in which Brandon Flowers wears this ridiculous shoulder pad jacket with feathers. But, ya know, they're on Universal Music Group (UMG) <----Not indie, hence embedding is disabled. So instead I'm going to give you some wonky A Capella group given it their all on Mr. Brightsides.
M.I.T. (wonky) A Capella Group - Mr. Brightsides video via YouTube
Don't get me wrong, I love me some wonky A Capella, those Carleton Knights kids keep it indie with their covers of MGMT, Sufjan Stevens, Vampire Weekend as well as 2008 indie darlings Fleet Foxes:
The (wonky) Carleton Knights - Ragged Wood video via YouTube
Vivian Girls - Tell the World video via YouTube It looks like Brooklyn is most-definitely the epi-center of the indie-rock universe at the moment. Vivian Girls sprang out of the loft movement, which refers to bands that play in lofts...instead of say, a music venue. Like 'em or hate 'em they're the next Vampire Weekend. Not that they are necessarily clever and twee, although they are both of those things, but rather that they are the next blog-hype, bubble band.
At first you may find their sound a bit drone-y and basic, but trust me, if you give it a chance it grows on you. I love me some disaffected vocals and it's even better when the disaffectedness is split up over three part harmonies. Besides, can you really resist the surf rock from Brooklyn? I didn't think so.
Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To? video via YouTube
Blitzen Trapper is one of those bands that I had heard a lot about but I hadn't actually heard their music until I saw them live at SXSW. In person their music is very textured, energetic and folk-rocky. What can I say revivalist folk rock is the order of the day for indie-rock, which is a pleasant change from the dance-rock revival of the last couple of years. What's old is new again and I think everyone has been listening to their parent's copy of The Band's, Music from Big Pink and Mountain's, classic record, Climbing.
Blitzen Trapper's latest release is called, Furr and it's already appearing on a lot of year end lists. The new record sounds intimate, like you're sitting in the same room with the band. It also has a very vintage sound, as if this record was just unearthed from a time capsule, only the textural keyboard embellishments give it away as a contemporary LP.
Portland, Oregonians, Blitzen Trapper will be playing the Mohawk on Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve), with like-minded indie folkies, the Parson Red Heads.
Parson Red Heads are from L.A. and although their name is awkward their melodies will stick with you for days. You'll feel like you already know the songs even though it's the first time you're hearing them. If you don't believe me check out the track, Punctual as Usual below.
