CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Music I Listen To: The Twilight Sad

The Twilight Sad

Lately I have been getting asked more questions about who I listen to, as opposed to what I review. Like what do I listen to for my own enjoyment and pleasure when not reviewing albums? What's in my car stereo or iPod? Those questions came from complete strangers I was meeting for the first time and from friends who I keep in touch with through Facebook. So, I decided I am going to answer that question in a regular column here on my music blog.

It seemed like a good thing to do since I will be getting away from some writing in 2010 to take more of an editor's role and give new writers a chance to shine. I will still do some interviews and reviews, just not in the same capacity I used to. As usual, I'll link them here so you can find them easily. This column won't be reviews in the traditional format, but rather less formal and me speaking freely.  


For the first installment of Music I listen To, I would like to introduce you all to The Twilight Sad. Right now I think they are the best indie band on the planet. I can't stop listening to their latest album, Forget The Night Ahead. Their shoegazey indie meets post rock style appeals to my love of crunchy guitar and spacey notes. Combined with lead singer James Graham's thick Scottish accent, you have one of the most original indie bands on the scene.

I got to check out The Twilight Sad live in Austin this past April when they played at Mohawk. It was a Sunday night and that meant they had to play the inside stage. For those of you outside of Austin, there is a noise ordinance on the Live Music Capital's most popular and iconic street, Red River. It wasn't always that way, but then some idiots thought it was a good ideas to put up high end condos right smack int he middle of it all. In theory it sounds cool to have the Red River music district outside your door, but because the city has laws about decibel levels around residences, there lies the problem. That's the short version.



Me with James Graham, lead singer of The Twilight Sad, in April 2009

So in the tiny and cramped area known as Mohawk's inside stage, which could be any small bar venue really, my good friend, fellow blogger and Austin Vida's managing editor Ajay Miranda checked out their set. I forgot why we were there, maybe it was for The Twilight Sad, maybe it was for an opener. Anyway, we were blown away at how awesome theses dudes were. There weren't too many people there, but I've seen Mohawk less full. Again, it was a Sunday night. It was actually better that way so I could get a chance to chat with them and snap a photo for my collection. They were very cool dudes and very tired from the grind that is touring. I look forward to interviewing them one day soon hopefully, but until then I have both of their albums and an some five song EP of theirs I found online shortly after their show to hold me over.

Their first album is called Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters. Although I dig that record, I prefer the more melodic Forget The Night Ahead. Both have me singing along in what is an awful sounding Scottish accent, but I can't help it as it sounds weird to me with any other tongue to it. The album came out in in the U.S. on October 5th and is available on Fat Cat Records. Here's the video for one of my favorite tracks off Forget The Night Ahead called "I Became A Prostitute"


The Twillight Sad - I Became A Prostitute from TLOBF.COM on Vimeo.

For more on The Twilight Sad, visit their official website HERE.


Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Album Review: 'When The Devil's Loose' by A.A. Bondy



A.A.Bondy

Indie-folk artist, A.A. Bondy, is not a household name. He will not be selling out stadiums or topping the Billboard charts anytime soon, but you will certainly like him if you listen to his music. If you already have Bondy’s first album, American Hearts, then you already love him. Now that I have heard Bondy’s latest album, I understand why that is.



A.A. Bondy’s sophomore album, When The Devil’s Loose, just became one of my new favorite albums. Released at the beginning of the month, I have listened to it for a around three weeks now. I kept listening for anything negative or imperfect that maybe I didn’t catch previously before I wrote about it. I refused to believe that albums this close to perfect exist anymore, as if it were something of the past. It’s like my dad says to me, “There’s music and then there’s music”. A.A. Bondy makes music.

At the beginning of When The Devil’s Loose, the acoustic guitar intro to “Mightiest of Guns” sound like musical rain drops. Not much else joins the guitar as Bondy begins to sing. His voice is that of a hip, indie rock band lead singer but with the Dlyan-esque warmth that great folk singers possess. He has that old school warmth that too many popular artists lack.

The title track, “When The Devil’s Loose” is my personal favorite on the album. It is a fantastic blues song disguised as indie-folk. Accompanied by a violin and floating guitar notes, it is difficult not to just lose yourself and not focus on whatever you were doing before the song started. Your mind just drifts.

For those who prefer more country or Americana sounds, “The Mercy Wheel” takes a page out of the classic Americana handbook without any twang or indie pretentiousness. There’s a beautiful piano accompaniment to Bondy’s somber and melancholy vocals. It saddens me to listen to it not just because of the lyrics themselves but it is the second to last song on an album you don’t want to end. From beginning to end, When The Devil’s Loose, is music at its absolute best.

Give a look and listen to A.A. Bondy on this great video I came across of Bondy performing "Mightiest of Guns".


Backstage Sessions : AA Bondy - The Mightiest of Guns from Hard to Find a Friend on Vimeo.

Review originally published on Double Stereo here.


Catch A.A. Bondy on tour here in Austin when he performs at The Parish on November 13th. More info here on Do512.



Bookmark and Share

Monday, September 7, 2009

Reel Big Fish Live In Concert DVD

On their new live DVD, Reel Big Fish Live In Concert!, Reel Big Fish rock fans like it is the heyday of the ‘90s all over again. Reel Big Fish Live In Concert! is a 20 song concert DVD recorded in front of their hometown fans in Anaheim. In what was a sold out crowd, the guys from Reel Big Fish prove they still have what it takes to give an amazing live show. Watching it took me back to my early Warped Tour days in South Park Meadows before it was a shopping center. Yeah that dates me a little, but so does loving a Reel Big Fish DVD.

Click here to read the full review on Double Stereo



Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

NOFX Backstage Passport DVD Review

As I gear up for this year’s Warped Tour, I watched the DVDs from the Fuse hit series, NOFX Backstage Passport. I watched almost every episode of the series when it aired last year. In fact, that is most television I watched all year in one sitting. I thought the concept was brilliant. I couldn’t wait to see the train wreck and debauchery set to the music of NOFX. The guys played shows South America, Asia, Israel, Russia and South Africa with nothing but hope and their instruments. After watching this series, I am even more bummed I don't get to see them live again in San Antonio this Thursday. Oh well, I have five NOFX shows under my belt to go off of for now.


Click here to read the full review on Double Stereo




Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Album Review: Trio B.C. by Girl In A Coma


Austin regular and San Antonio natives, Girl In A Coma, have just come out with their most “Moz” like album I have heard from any modern rock group. Trio B.C., the band’s latest release on Blackheart Records, is already one of the best releases of the summer and is sure to make the top album lists of 2009 come year’s end.

Click here to read the full review on Austin Vida





Bookmark and Share