SXSW Spotlight: The Sandwitches
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With the music portion of SXSW kicking off a week from today, it’s time to start scanning the various free shows Austin has to offer and picking out some must-see bands. If you can’t catch one of the five shows they will be playing then, check out The Sandwitches Myspace page for more tour listings.
The San Francisco-based band released one of the most criminally overlooked albums of 2009. The Sandwitches’ How To Make Ambient Sadcake is a true throwback to girl groups from the 1960s. And with so many bands as of late borrowing the sounds and style of garage rock from that decade, this just seems like the next logical step. I would be selling these three ladies short, however, if I were to just leave it at that. The album is much more than an ode to a decade.
On “The Revisionist”, the band taps into their inner Stevie Nicks. The blues of a band like Fleetwood Mac mixed with gritty southern folk is the bedrock of the album. It’s something the Watson Twins have been trying to pull off for a number of years now and just haven’t been able to do over the course of a full album. I listen to the next track, “Strangers Shadow”, and think “I bet the Twins wish they wrote this”.
The Seams – Spanish American [FREE DOWNLOAD]
Happy new release day, everybody! Today is a big day for us. Not only did I get a free coffee today at the local coffee shop (which is a long, elaborate story I will discuss in the comments) but today we are giving away our newest release: Spanish American by The Seams! Included in the download are 9 tracks, liner notes, lyrics and hi-res album art.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD (53.5 MB)
If you would be so kind as to use the following link to share this album across the World Wide Web, we would be forever grateful: http://bit.ly/spanishamerican – let us know your thoughts in the replies and please Tweet, Facebook, share this thing until your ears bleed.
A&SB Exclusive: The Seams – “Stay”
So we just couldn’t wait until March 9th when we release the new record by The Seams, Spanish American, for free on our site. This track is just too good, was caught in my head for 3 days and just needed to be heard by more than 5 people (that’s me, the band and maybe some girlfriends). Listen to the track “Stay” below and check out a little info about the track by the band’s singer/songwriter Jon Lullo.
“Stay” is the first song I wrote after DTEA broke up. I did a little writing with a friend in Los Angeles (Kevin Ridel) while writing for DTEA’s second record, and it completely changed the way I approached songwriting. I kept the different tricks he had taught me in mind while writing this track, and I feel like it helped set the tone for the kind of songs I wanted to do with The Seams. Also, while it’s a fleeting moment, it’s the first track where I got to bust out my remedial slide guitar skills.
DON’T FORGET: Spanish American will be available FOR FREE right here on Air & Sea Battle on March 9th!
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat the Devil’s Tattoo [Review]
After 12 years of playing together, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a California band that has tried it all and still hasn’t found what it wants. After releasing the maligned “The Effects of 333,” BRMC returns to its roots with Beat the Devil’s Tattoo. However, like a cultural mutt, it can’t quite figure out what style to call home. And unfortunately, on this record, BMRC refuses to do the hard work of creating a coherent, consistent identity.
The record starts out promisingly, with the title track, “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo”, a chant-filled hillbilly stomper, where the vocals follow the minor-tinged guitars and the percussion is provided primarily by the boots of the band. The song iterates between verse lyrics and and “AH-ah-AH-ah” choruses, with more guitars added as the song reaches its climax, a hypnotizing recitation of the song title. A promising start.
The next tune, “Conscience Killer”, is a faux-Stooges rocker that tips its hat to the band’s Wild One motorcycle roots. Unfortunately, for all its “rock”, it gives me a greasy garage-rock-revival feeling that I thought was left back at the beginning of last decade. A brief detour for the brit-pop “Bad Blood” (and more guitar pedals), and the band returns with more stomp. The molasses-paced “War Machine” would be punishing, but for the deep-on-drugs vocals, which seem to have forgotten that the band was supposed to be gritty again on this jam.
This Week’s New Releases: March 2, 2010
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Below is a list of new releases that we either listened to and love, or expect you to care about. Let us know if we forgot anything in the replies.
MUSIC:
Athlete – Black Swan
Clogs – The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton
Golden Triangle – Double Jointer
Japanther – Rock and Roll Ice Cream
Little Boots – Hands (CD)
Loscil – Endless Falls
Owen Pallett – Heartland
Peasant – Shady Retreat
Peter Garbiel – Scratch My Back
Rogue Wave – Permalight
The Ruby Sons – Fight Softly
Sharewater – Golden Archipelago (vinyl)
Strange Boys – Be Brave
These New Puritans – Hidden
LAPKO: This Is Not A Video
Later this year LAPKO will unveil their new album, A New Bohemia, in the US – for now all we get are teaser videos and cryptic messages from the band. You can also check out a new track “A New Bohemia Melody” on their MySpace.
Serena Maneesh – Abyss in B Minor [Review]
Abyss in B Minor, the latest album from Oslo natives Serena Maneesh, is a stellar and challenging follow-up to their self-titled debut. Incorporating electronic and industrial elements, Abyss creates a haunting, shape-shifting atmosphere.
In order to fully understand what you’re getting into, two points of note are in order. First, Abyss was recorded in a cave. Second, it was mixed by Rene Tinner, longtime dedicated engineer for krautrock masters, Can. The result is that the album frequently sounds like Can, recorded in a cave.
That’s not to say Serena Maneesh ditches the familiar (some would say too familiar) elements of their first album. In fact, the album seems to alternate between its new, heavier influences and their older, more Shields-laden style. But the ubiquity of that sound (especially after the MBV reunion), makes those tracks sound particularly staid.
The standout tracks here are, conveniently, the odd numbered ones. The album opener, “Ayisha Abyss,” is a sonic expedition. It features dark, haunting chords, chopped vocals, undulating bass, and layers of percussion that build and collapse over nearly eight-minutes, never quite releasing, never quite resolving. Serena Maneesh has always been best in its opening moments, and this album is no different.
Taxijam presents Die Antwoord [Video]
Who doesn’t want to jam the fuck out in a taxi? Die Antwoord does just that in the Taxijam series (which seems to be videos of different artists each week singing in a taxi). It’s slightly frightening.
Why can’t New York taxi’s be this roomy?
Video of the week!
This Week’s New Releases: February 23, 2010
Below is a list of new releases that we either listened to and love, or expect you to care about. Let us know if we forgot anything in the replies!
MUSIC:
Alkaline Trio – This Addiction
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Who Killed Sgt Pepper?
Clem Snide – The Meat of Life
Johnny Cash – American VI: Ain’t No Grave
Efterklang – Magic Chairs
High On Fire – Snakes For The Divine
Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me (CD & Vinyl)
Rocky Votolato – True Devotion
Shearwater – Golden Archipelago
Shout Out Louds – Work
Butch Walker – I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart
Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself (CD)
MOVIES & TV:
Jersey Shore: Season 1 Uncensored
The Informant!
The Universe: The Complete Season Four (Bluray)
