SXSW has been happening this past week and there are some
very cool indie bands that are being showcased (Withered Hand, Tony Molina and
The Pains) as well as some mega stars that should not be showcased (Lady Ga
Ga). I am unable to attend but Anthony Fantano was able to go this year and had
a sit down at one point with The Pains (A little bit jealous).
K Records will have a special compilation released for
Record Store Day. Some very cool bands are going to be on that pink vinyl
release.
Here we go...
This is the first album from Darkside. It was released in
the fall of October, 2013. The music style has been called electronic
downtempo. The album was recorded over the course of two years between Jaar's
home in New York City, Harrington's family barn in Upstate New York, and a
space in Paris where they would stay between tours. The band
announced the album's completion on August 20, 2013, with Jaar and Harrington
inviting fans via Facebook and Twitter to listen to the album with them at a
small venue on New York's Lower East Side. The band had to do two
listening sessions to accommodate all of the people who showed up.
The first song to be released from the album is called
Golden Arrow. It is an electronic opus that runs eleven plus minutes. There are
no discernable lyrics but there are vocals that have been manipulated but are
still recognizable as human sounds. It is an interesting track that doesn’t
exactly make me sleepy but I don’t want to get up and dance either.
I haven’t seen anything about an official release but I have
seen a video for the song Paper Trails. If it is a second single for the album
it is a very good track. The guitar sounds perfect. The vocals are uniquely
backed buy the bass guitar and sound deeper than deep. This is probably one of
the coolest effects for vocals that I have heard in a long time. This track has
actual words in the vocal parts making it more interesting I think. The drums
are very quiet in this track. I really like the staccato rhythm guitar parts.
The solo guitar parts are just as cool with their jazzy sounds. I think I would
recommend this track over Golden Arrow for people that haven’t heard anything
from the group before.
This is a very interesting album with lots of fun twists and
turns but from a chill perspective.
This is their third album. It was released in January of
2013. I am getting to the album a bit late, over a year late actually. I had
heard the first single over the past year and thought that I liked it but I
just didn’t have enough interest in the song to get it until just recently. I
had had enough of hearing the song and saying to my self, “That is a pretty
good song.” So, I finally broke down and bought it on vinyl.
The first single is called Shuggie. The chorus of the song
reminds me of the early sounds of David Bowie and the verse sections remind me
of The Velvet Underground. Since both David and VU were together during the
time that I am thinking of the two different styles of song actually go pretty
well together. It is hard to get over how much that the song sounds like the
two other bands though and detracts from the song just a little bit. This song
is the reason that I got the album though so I must be able to live with the
similarities to some degree.
The second single from the album is called San Francisco.
This is not really my favorite song from the album. It sort of tells a story
but doesn’t really go anywhere. It is more like fragments of stories. I get
into what he is singing then the story completely changes with no resolution to
what he was just saying. The chorus isn’t all that interesting either. The one
thing that the song has going for it is the VU sound that the song carries with
it.
The third single from the album is called No Destruction.
This song reminds me of something that Lou Reed has done in the past. I just
can’t quite put my finger on what song exactly that I am thinking of. I really
like this song because of the Lou Reed references.
I can’t say that this is a great album but if your into Lou
Reed, The Velvet Underground or David Bowie this album may be for you.
This is the first 7” single in support of the new album from
Withered Hand called New Gods. It was released on gold vinyl and limited to 500
pieces. The color looks solid when you look at it but is somewhat translucent
with a light behind the record. The record was released on Feb 10, 2014 or 25th
of Feb depending on where you look.
The A side of the single is called Horseshoe. It is mainly
an acoustic based track with organ and piano floating in the back ground. The
drums come off very big sounding and take over most of the track. The drums are
simple but big. There is also electric guitar but it is kept simple to focus on
the vocals. The vocals are the star of the show next to the big drum sound. It
is a good song that I can get use to hearing quite frequently.
The B side is called Not Another Sunny Day. This song starts
off with the drums and the electric guitar. The drums are not nearly as big
sounding as Horseshoe. This song is a bit more quieter. It is an easer song.
The song reminds me of The Velvet Underground song called Who Loves The Sun,
not musically but lyrically. That is one of my favorite songs from The Velvet
Underground and this song sits well with me because of the link that I have
made with the VU song.
That is all I have for this week...
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