Album Review: Agent Ribbons
Chateau Crone – 2010
Chateau Crone is the upcoming sophomore album from Agent Ribbons, a trio of ladies originally hailing from Sacramento, but now calling Austin their home. The band consists of Natalie Gordon (vocals and guitar), Naomi Cherie (violin, cello), and Lauren Hess (drums, percussion), and together, they specialize in a sort of vintage sound with a few modern twists. Agent Ribbons can probably best be likened to minimalist baroque pop, but even that effort at genre-tagging is an overly complicated explanation of the utterly charming, delightful tunes contained on Chateau Crone.
The instrumentation on the album features quite a bit of 1960s-influenced electric guitar work and simplistic drum beats; then there are also fuzzy musical breakdowns and dramatic violin tangents (“Born to Sing Sad Songs”). All of this blends together in a disarmingly retro fashion, drawing you toward Agent Ribbons’ remote spot of sun-drenched antiquity. What’s interesting about the instrumentation is that there really is no clear influence to pinpoint on Chateau Crone. While there are very light shades of a few artists and sounds, like The Zombies, Neko Case, Beirut, and even ramshackle garage bands, Agent Ribbons have really worked to craft their own sound here. It’s been a while since an album didn’t immediately remind me of another band or artist.
Importantly, the music works so well because of the vocal tracks, one of the absolute best parts about Chateau Crone. Natalie has masterful control over her voice; it’s simultaneously sweet, alluring, and aching, and she has clever phrasing akin to Regina Spektor, but without ever becoming precious or indulgent. It’s just a pleasure to listen to her sing, and it’s been captured very well on this album. The delicately layered vocal harmonies (“Your Hands, My Hands”) are also a treat, as are the carefully designed lyrics touching mainly on love and heartache, and reaching beyond the self-confessional to the considerably tougher territory of descriptive storytelling.
As a whole, Chateau Crone sounds like the type of album you might hear being performed in a cabaret or small theatre. It’s performative while managing to be mellifluous and full of heart. The songs veer from poignant to sassy – and all are simply beguiling. Agent Ribbons has a real winner on their hands, an album that exists outside of much of modern music while still sounding very in the moment.
Chateau Crone will be released in October. Look for it online.
Austin Events: July 26 – August 1
Monday, July 26th
Maps & Atlases with Cults, The Globes
Indie art-rockers Maps and Atlases will play tonight at Emo’s, doors at 9 pm. Tickets are $10 and you can buy them here.
Robert Plant & The Band of Joy with Bettye Lavette
This is a big one, tonight at Stubb’s, doors at 7 pm. Tickets are sold out! If you’re in need, check out Craigslist.
Say Hello To The Angels, The Riot Scene, A Shattered Hope, Monsters Scare You!, and No Champions
The rock/punk show will be at Red 7, doors at 9 pm.
Tuesday, July 27th
Big Chicago Blues Show with Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Stroger
Blues legends play Antone’s tomorrow night. Doors at 7 pm. Tickets are $12, $30-$40 for VIP. Pick them up here.
Bass Science, Truly Grimy, Fresh2Death, Nuggatron and Pharo
Check out this show at The Parish to get your dub-hop, experimental dance beat fix. Doors at 8 pm, tickets are $12. Buy them here.
WORLD MUSIC NIGHT (sponsored by KUT) with Amie & Sangeet Millennium, Cerronato, Mystic Moot
See some traditional Indian music, some Colombian cumbia, and some reggae all in one show. It’s happening at Momo’s, doors at 8 pm. Cover is $5, $3 with student ID.
Wednesday, July 28th
No Mas Bodas, Rescue Mission, Ichi Ni San Shi, Palit
Innovative lady-band No Mas Bodas headlines a post-punk experimental lineup at Beerland. Doors at 10 pm.
The Poison Control Center with Leatherbag, Minocran, Follow That Bird!
Indie tunes at The Parish. Cover is $7, $10 for under 21. Doors at 8 pm.
Los Lonely Boys
The Latin rock group hits up the Dell Diamond, doors at 6 pm. Advance tickets are $20 and you can buy them here.
The Sparta Philharmonic, Milk Thistle, The Sour Notes, and White Dress
Check out this FREE show at The Hole in the Wall. Doors at 9 pm.
Thursday through Sunday, after the jump.
Album Review: The Clouds are Ghosts
The Clouds are Ghosts – 2009
Local Austin band The Clouds are Ghosts, composed of four members from Beaumont, TX and Savannah, GA, formed in 2008 and released their first album, The Clouds are Ghosts, late last year. Ever since then, they’ve been making the rounds in Austin’s music venues to drum up support for their album. I recently had the opportunity to listen to their debut, and among the many Austin bands I have heard, The Clouds are Ghosts have a certain sound, drive, and professionalism that differentiates them from the pack. Based on this album, they’re definitely one of the local bands to watch.
The Clouds are Ghosts does not fit neatly into any one genre, but instead pulls elements from many different musical styles and combines them to dramatic effect. The band’s particular brand of drama at times recalls Bjork, Radiohead, and Blonde Redhead, with a shot of Queen tossed in for good measure. As a result, there’s a lot to unpack here – pieces of industrial electronica, space rock, evocative electro-acoustic instrumentation, emo synths, and passionate vocals. The prevailing theme on the record is mysteriously dark emotion with a melodramatic flair. Despite how heavy all of that sounds, it’s an intensely satisfying listen, one that will have you clicking play more than once to catch all the different components.
In fact, listening to the album and hearing those different components gives the distinct impression that this band’s aspirations exist in an entirely different plane altogether. They’re futuristic, but somehow nostalgic. They’re emotionally wrenched, but still uplifting. The album is conceptually scenic, but individual tracks are still covertly engulfing. The violin and (really quite beautiful) piano work create warmth, while the synths take it away. It’s a real feat to keep a distance as well as to compel, but The Clouds are Ghosts pull it off in spades. There is so much quality musicianship on this album, and Jason Morris is an extremely versatile and talented vocalist. While some tracks do stand out more than others, my recommendation is to listen to the album as a whole for full effect. The Clouds are Ghosts clocks in at under 34 minutes and it’s time well worth spending.
The Clouds are Ghosts are giving the album away for free on their website. Download it, check it out, and let me know your opinions.
Austin Events: July 19 – 25
Monday, July 19th
Silversun Pickups with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People
This show is sold out. It’s taking place at Stubb’s at 7 pm. Check out Craiglist if you need tickets!
Streetlight Manifesto featuring The Supervillains, The Wonder Years, Dan Potthast
A ska, pop-punk show at Emo’s. Doors at 7 pm, tickets are $13 and you can buy them here.
The Henry Clay People
Check out a FREE performance by The Henry Clay People at Waterloo Records tonight at 5 pm.
Tuesday, July 20th
Reverend Beat-Man, Delaney Davidson, John Schooley, John Wesley Coleman, T Tex Edwards
An interesting, trashy-blues one-man-show at Beerland. Doors at 10 pm.
La Snacks, The Action Design, Zlam Dunk
Buzzworthy local bands play at Mohawk on Tuesday. Doors at 10 pm.
Asleep At The Wheel
The Texas swing band will play for FREE at Waterloo. Doors at 5 pm.
Wednesday, July 21st
Austin’s finest soul dance party with Soul Track Mind
More dancing times at TC’s Lounge. Cover is $5, doors at 10 pm.
KGSR Blues On The Green with BoDeans
The BoDeans play KGSR’s FREE music series out at Zilker. Be there around 7:30 pm.
The Cowardly Leon and Graham Weber
This a FREE show celebrating the release of The Cowardly Leon’s new EP Pocketwatch. It’s taking place at The Cactus Cafe, doors at 8:30 pm.
Thursday through Sunday, after the jump.
The Rumble Austin at Beerland Preview
Tonight at Beerland, Future Sounds brings you The Rumble Austin, a FREE event featuring three up-and-coming Austin bands that are quickly becoming must-sees in the local music scene. International Waters, led by Mitch Calvert of the recently disbanded Voxtrot, are headlining. International Waters have been heavily influenced by the indie-pop genre, and offer a fun mix of ringing, shimmery pop-rock tunes.
The Frontier Brothers, a space-rock glam outfit, recently released a new 5-song EP, and ever since have had a huge presence in Austin. Their on-stage performances are highly entertaining and energetic.
The newest group of The Rumble bunch is Candi and the Strangers, an indie-electro band that has continuously gained buzz since their formation in early 2009. Think the dark, airy sexiness of Blonde Redhead, but with wiggy stage visualizations and more electronic psychedelia.
Since The Rumble Austin is FREE, there’s really no excuse to miss these bands. Local shows with this solid of a line-up are rarely free, so make your way out to Beerland and check it out. The doors open at 10 pm.
ACL Festival Grid Released
The Austin City Limits Music Festival grid was released earlier today, so it’s officially time to start (further) obsessively planning your schedule for the second weekend in October! If you missed my reaction on the bands in the lineup, check out that post here, but since then, the festival has also added The Black Lips, Silversun Pickups, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and more (check out the rest here), sweetening the deal for the very stacked mid-size band section.
So, let’s talk about the grid. Friday and Saturday are definitely the most crowded days, with Sunday being slightly lighter on bands I’m interested in. Since the majority of bands I want to see fall on the first two days, there’s bound to be a few conflicts and hard choices to be made.
Friday, there’s only a couple of tough decisions. Miike Snow and Girls (who are not dissimilar in genre, by the way) both go on at 4:00 pm, immediately followed by the Black Keys and Broken Bells (if you missed it, read my review of Broken Bells’ album here) at 5:00 pm. I really like Broken Bells, and they probably won’t come back through these parts any time soon, but the Black Keys’ new tracks have impressed me and it could be an exciting show. I’m still not sure yet how my particular cards will fall, so I’ll wait until my ACL Weekend Preview in October to sort it all out.
Saturday is a bit more of a mess right now. There’s Local Natives, Dan Black, and Silversun Pickups all starting between 4:30 and 4:45 pm, then Temper Trap and The xx at 5:30 pm. Finally, the giant cluster-you-know-what happens when Monsters of Folk (who are playing a very, very rare 2 hour set in the middle of the afternoon), Gogol Bordello, and LCD Soundsystem all play in the early evening hours. While right now I’m tempted to skip Gogol since I’ve seen them several times, I’m not making any firm commitments right now. At least Sunday is completely conflict free for me…a lovely day that’ll also probably be ending, oh say, around 8 pm.
Alright, so what are your big conflicts? What major scheduling decisions do you need to make? Are you an early committer, or are you going to wing it? And what advice do you have for my Saturday dilemmas? Okay…go!
Austin Events: July 12 – 18
Monday, July 12th
Chris Jamison, Jeff Plankenhorn, Bob Schneider‘s Lonelyland, and Matt The Electrician
It’s taking place at the Saxon Pub. Doors at 8:30 pm, cost is $10.
David Garza
Check out David’s FREE Monday show at the Cactus Cafe. Doors at 8 pm.
Drama Scene, Poisonwood, Shadow Spectrum, Left For Dead
Some hard rock at Headhunters, doors at 9 pm.
Tuesday, July 13th
Jamie Cullum with Gin Wigmore
See the British singer live at Stubb’s tomorrow night. Doors at 7 pm, tickets are $22. Buy them here.
World Music Night with Justin Black, Doug Marcis, JEZ
Check out the weekly KUT event at Momo’s. Doors at 8 pm, cost is $5, $3 with student ID.
Toni Price
The popular Austin songstress will be at the Continental Club. Doors at 6:30 pm, cost is $7.
Wednesday, July 14th
Forever The Sickest Kids with The Ready Set, The Scene Aesthetic, Phone Calls From Home, A Cursive Memory
Some pop power-punk at Emo’s. Doors at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $15 and you can buy them here.
The Rumble in Austin: International Waters, Candi & the Strangers, The Frontier Brothers
Beerland hosts a nice mix of indie rock and pop bands on Wednesday. Doors at 10 pm.
Suzanna Choffel with Home By Hovercraft, Robin Smith, Kathryn Hallberg, Nick Hirsch, and Tricia Mitchell
Check it out at Momo’s, doors at 5:15 pm.
Thursday through Sunday, after the jump.
Concert Review: Everclear & MoTel Aviv (Austin, 7/2)
This past Friday, the popular ’90s band Everclear played at the Marchesa Theatre. I wrote in my preview (if you missed it, read it here) that back in the day I was a huge Everclear fan, which means that I jumped at the opportunity to hear some nostalgic songs live for the first time. But honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from the band. After all, Art Alexakis is the only remaining original member, and sometimes, that equals doom for veteran bands trying to make their comeback.
Not so for Everclear. I was impressed for several reasons. First of all, I was really surprised…like no, really surprised…to come back after the supporting band to find Art posing for pictures in the hall before their set. I’m a big fan of bands who understand and appreciate fandom, so this immediately won points with me. But, hey, it’s not all about the gestures – there’s also tunes to deal with.
We had been told that we could only take photos during the first three songs of Everclear’s show, so I guessed that we were going to hear some hits right off the bat. Sure enough, when the band took the stage, they played “Father of Mine,” “So Much for the Afterglow,” and “Heartspark Dollarsign” right away. In the beginning, there were a few issues with sound (mainly Art’s mic not being loud enough) that put a gap between the band and the audience. Finally, after about four songs, the sound problem was fixed, and the show really picked up.
Read the rest of my review, see more pictures, plus, my review of MoTeL Aviv after the jump!
Austin Events: July 5 – 11
Monday, July 5th
Dustin Welch and Drew Smith with Javi Garcia And The Cold Cold Ground, Me And B, 16 Strings, Stephanie Grisset
Momo’s offers up the usual mix of singer-songwriter acts tonight. Doors at 5:15 pm, cover is $5.
Republic of Texas Big Band Night
Bands cover the classics of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and more at the Highball. It’s FREE! Starts at 8 pm.
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Jeff Plankenhorn, Bob Schneider’s Lonelyland, and Daphne Willis
Every Monday at the Saxon Pub. Set starts at 8:30 pm, cost is $10.
Tuesday, July 6th
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
The indie-hippies will be at La Zona Rosa tomorrow night, but the show is sold out. Doors at 8 pm. Check out Craigslist for spare tix.
Cage and Hate Your Guts
A rap show at Mohawk featuring underground rapper Cage. Doors at 8 pm, tickets are $10. Pick them up here.
KUT World Music Night presents Leticia Rodriguez
Also scheduled to perform at Momo’s on Tuesday are Joel Segura, Austin Piazolla Quintet and Myrna Cabello. Cover is $5, doors at 10 pm.
Wednesday, July 7th
101X Presents Thrice, Kevin Devine, Bad Veins, The Dig
See the hard rock band at Emo’s. Doors at 6 pm, tickets are $19. You can buy them here.
Hod, Gravehill, Cardiac Arrest, Birth A.D.
Another mid-week hardcore show, this time it’s metal at Beerland. Doors at 10 pm.
Seabird with House of Heroes
Check it out at Stubb’s, doors at 9 pm. Tickets are $12 and you can buy them here.
KGSR Blues On The Green: Alejandro Escovedo
One of Austin’s best will play the FREE Zilker event on Wednesday. It begins around 7:30 pm.
Thursday through Sunday, after the jump.
Album Review: Broken Bells
Broken Bells – 2010
Welcome to the very first in my series of album reviews covering Austin City Limits Music Festival 2010 artists! Obviously it’s July, and the festival isn’t until October…but there’s no better time than the present to acquaint yourself with the bands who will be performing so you can plan your schedule and/or make yourself an ACL Fest mix to console yourself if you’re not able to attend. So be on the lookout for the next three months for more album reviews discussing Monsters of Folk, Gogol Bordello, Yeasayer, The xx, The Temper Trap, Mayer Hawthorne, Two Door Cinema Club and more. (Also, come back early next week for my concert review of tonight’s Everclear show.)
This week I’m writing about Broken Bells, the collaboration between James Mercer of The Shins and producing dynamo Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) of…well, of lots of things, including the infamous Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley, and the Gorillaz’s Demon Days. Broken Bells presents an opportunity to unite Mercer’s indie songwriting sensibilities and the dynamism of Danger Mouse’s electronic prowess into something truly remarkable. After all, these two have some pretty serious credentials that didn’t go unnoticed when it was announced that they’d be working together. Both Mercer and Danger Mouse have pop culture relevance, with The Shins’ big moment coming courtesy of Zach Braff and Danger Mouse having been one half of the pair to introduce the stunning and brilliant “Crazy” into the world. There have been so many genre-crossover collaborations in recent years that it’s no longer a surprise when artists from different musical backgrounds collaborate, and so, all of those factors set the scene and expectations for Broken Bells’ debut.
Sure enough, when the self-titled album begins with the single “The High Road,” you taste a little piece of that promise. “The High Road” feels familiar even upon first listen – it’s comfortable like you’ve heard it before, and that’s for a couple of reasons. Obviously Mercer’s voice is recognizable, but it’s also a very modern song, with the electronic beeps and slides placing it easily in the current musical landscape. The melody and chorus are dramatically catchy, blending acoustic guitar and piano into an airy atmosphere that showcases Mercer’s vocal range beautifully. All of this is a testament to Danger Mouse’s skill as a producer; in the wrong hands, these pieces might not be so compelling. With Danger Mouse at the helm, “The High Road” sounds both fresh and nostalgic, kind of like “Crazy” did, except in an authentically indie style.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album isn’t quite as terrific as “The High Road.” Some of the songs just feel a little lost – kind of in between what The Shins offer and what Danger Mouse is capable of. That’s not to say it’s bad at all; we’re dealing with some pretty talented musicians in the first place, so the songs don’t falter, they just don’t rise to the level you might have expected. “Vaporize” and “Trap Doors” feel like a pretty good indie songs that reminisce in the ’70s, but don’t have the Big Hook. “Your Head Is on Fire” sounds a LOT like Neon Indian at first before blending into an enjoyable, spacey electro-acoustic number. “October” flirts with “The High Road” territory, coming satisfyingly close to its magic thanks to the background vocals, instrumentation, and Mercer’s plaintive voice.
Broken Bells does provide another big bright spot and it comes in the form of “The Ghost Inside.” Mercer uses his considerable falsetto skills in a Prince-meets-The-Shins moment that is probably the most danceable moment on Broken Bells. Among the several trippy and hazy songs on the album, “Citizen” is the most lovely. It’s bittersweet and romantic in a very simple, charming way. The album closes with “Mongrel Heart” and “The Mall and Misery,” which find the duo far more focused and indie-pop oriented than any other songs on the album – a rewarding conclusion to the rest of the tracks.
Overall, Broken Bells offer a lot of elements here, and it’s all nice. Occasionally, those elements come together in a really unique and irresistable way. Even when it’s not irresistable, it’s worth hearing, if only so you can later be a witness to the inevitable growth that the relationship between Danger Mouse and James Mercer will yield. Pick up this album and then watch Broken Bells play on Friday of the ACL Festival.
