The Oak Room

Max Roach 1924-2007

2007-08-17T14:00:00.000-04:00

Max Roach: "Conversation" (from Deeds, Not Words 1958. Buy/download)

The great jazz drummer Max Roach died yesterday. (Born in Newland, NC, so there's the "local music" connection I'm hanging this post on.) He was a real innovator in a way that's hard to appreciate when so many have followed in his footsteps. Most notably in his solo pieces, he treated the drumset as an instrument. Rather than displaying mere technical flash, Roach created themes -- melodies, really -- and structured his solo around them just as a trumpet or piano player would. You can hear this in "Conversation" which I've posted here.

What's particularly impressive to me is the way he continued to stretch his boundaries throughout his life, working with a full-blown percussion ensemble, a brass quintet, a string quartet, gospel choirs and hip-hop artists. It's also worth noting how effectively he used his music and his celebrity to advocate for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.

On a personal level, he was a key figure in opening my eyes and ears to jazz in particular and a wider range of musical possibility in general. In high school, when I was still at the stage where Neal Peart seemed like the pinnacle of percussion prowess, Roach gave a clinic that I attended. I was completely awed by what he could accomplish with nothing more than a high-hat.

Vacation's Almost Over

2007-07-13T14:54:00.001-04:00

Back soon. Enjoy some summer songs for now.

The Red Collar Company: "Bring on the Summer"
(from Rockin' the Blocks compilation 2005.)
You might could still get a copy of the Rockin' the Blocks CD if you bug the folks at Downtown Durham. This was an early incarnation of Red Collar -- Jason plays a mean harmonica!

Work Clothes: "Fort Bragg Summers"
(from These Are the Shoes We Wear 2005. Buy it. Web site.)

Chris Stamey (with Yo La Tengo): "The Summer Sun"
(from V.O.T.E. 2004 Buy it.)

Justin Roberts

2007-05-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

Justin Roberts:
"One Little Cookie"
(from Yellow Bus 2001. Buy/download)
"Day Camp"
(From Way Out 2004. Buy/download)

Well, I definitely did not expect to get scooped on this by Scan, but Rick Cornell had a very nice post about Justin Roberts, who performs at the Carrboro ArtsCenter tomorrow (5/12) at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Rick's exactly right -- Justin makes kid-themed music that adults will get a lot out of as well. His most recent albums -- Way Out and especially Meltdown! -- are really wonderful pop with sophisticated and interesting arrangements and production. Whereas on the early albums he was sort of a kids' music James Taylor, he's developed into more like a kids' music Brian Wilson. (Honestly, I think he's gone about as far as he can go in that direction -- I love Meltdown, but if he goes any further in that direction, it'll be overdone.)

Rick even called out "One Little Cookie" which has always been one of my favorites as well. One of my wife's favorites is "Day Camp", which has a nice Violent Femmes feel to it. Click here to launch Justin's radio player, where you can hear a couple of other songs, starting with the excellent "Our Imaginary Rhino" from Meltdown!

I'll be at the 11:00 show tomorrow, the third one we've seen at the ArtsCenter. Justin puts on a great show even when it's just him and a supporting musician. (I'd love to see the full Not-ready-for-Naptime Players band someday, though!) The early show's sold out, but it looks like you can still get tickets for the afternoon show. If you've got kids, go see this show!

Un Deux Trois

2007-05-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

Un Deux Trois:
"Everything That Is Happening Is Happening"
(from Lovers EP 2007. Buy it here.)

Just a quick post to say how much I've been enjoying the newish EP from Un Deux Trois. It's a low-key set of songs from Heather McEntire of Bellafea and Jenks Miller of In the Year of the Pig. I don't know either of those bands terribly well, but this sounds nothing like I'd expect from a combination of the two. While they both strike me as far more raucous, Un Deux Trois is stripped down and acoustic. The casual nature of the music belies the fairly somber tone of the lyrics, which are generally either regretful or angry (though the last song, "45 rpm", offers rueful acceptance of a less-than ideal situation: "We're not in love but it sure feels nice.")

I'm glad I spent some time considering the lyrics, since they are pretty poetic. I'm especially fond of the scene depicted in "Everything That Is Happening Is Happening", with its heat-weary refrain of "I just want you to come clean" and the marvelously ambiguous closing line: "There's nothing like regret to keep you on your knees."

McEntire and Miller are playing separately at 305 South in Durham tonight as part of a big CD release show for Burly Time Records, a label launched by the Indy's Grayson Currin. Burly Time has new CDs from Miller as Horseback, Bowerbirds, and Megafaun (seemingly the remnants of DeYarmond Edison, a band I enjoyed but never got to write about). A very nice lineup, and I'm looking forward to hearing them. Also on the bill tonight, Des_Ark and Pykrete. That's a lot of great music -- and a free show to boot!

Nathan Oliver

2007-04-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Nathan Oliver:
"Black Ship White Sails"
"No Name"
(from Nathan Oliver 2007. Buy it here.)
My Space :: ReverbNation

Nathan Oliver's self-titled debut CD is a little gem of well-crafted, folkish pop songs. UNC dental student Nathan White enlisted a fine cast of musicians to flesh out his creations, including Lee Waters (Work Clothes), Matt McCaughan (him again -- Rosebuds, Portastatic, etc), and the production skills of Zeno Gill.

I'm not sure that the dental student thing is that relevant to the music, but I suppose that spending that much time staring into people's mouths might twist your perspective a bit. And there is something pleasingly off-center about this album, from the sonic quirks that make this more than generic guy-with-guitar rock (I guess that's viola on "Black Ship White Sails"?) to the obscurely dark tone of the lyrics. White ranges from quiet, acoustic numbers like "Sleep Song" -- mainly guitar, but still there's a noise in the background that complicates things -- to straight-ahead rockers like "Greys and Blacks". In between, he nods to the Violent Femmes ("Old Slow Poke") and reimagines the Ace of Base song "All That She Wants" in a bleakly haunting manner. But amidst all this, White has some lovely pop songs, and the two numbers that I'm featuring highlight that craft.

Nathan Oliver plays Sunday night (4/29) at the Cave in Chapel Hill, opening for the Trolleyvox. They don't have any more shows on their calendar after that, so check them out now!

The Rosebuds: Night of the Furies

2007-04-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

The Rosebuds:
"Get Up Get Out"
"I Better Run"
(from Night of the Furies 2007. Buy/download)

I've been giving the new Rosebuds music time to sink in before I say anything about it. It's quite a departure from their previous albums, most easily glossed as "Rosebuds-go-new-wave". Given my real fondness for their prior output, I felt like I owed them more than my initial, knee-jerk "I don't like this" response. So I've listened to it plenty, and thought about it a lot. I've come to see some good things about it, but it's still not really doing much for me.

There are certainly some continuities here. Ivan Howard still has a knack for melody and nice bits of la-la-la/ooohhh-ahhh. The lyrics and overall tone carry on the darker vein the band had opened up on Birds Make Good Neighbors. Really, I think the lyrics are pretty interesting -- the overall album has a sort of Southern Gothic/Faulkneresque feel to it, with the relentless pull of grim fate hanging over the proceedings.

But earlier Rosebuds albums bounced along with a charming casual energy -- Ivan's jangly guitar, Kelly Crisp's organ, shuffling drums -- and an overall organic feel. Night of the Furies, on the other hand, is dominated by 80s synth patches and drums that are either programmed or processed so much they might as well be. Bass is far more prominent, and the guitar is pulled way back. A few changes are welcome -- it's good to hear Kelly taking more lead vocals, and the occasional touches of piano are nice -- but on the whole, the production just doesn't work for me.

And I do think it's the production more than the songs themselves, which as I noted above, have strong lyrics and a good melodic core. I wish this version was a remix album and I could hear the originals. Failing that, I suspect that they open up a bit live, especially with a fine drummer like Matt McCaughan on board. There are some live performances from SXSW here and a video here (via Scan) that seem to confirm this idea.

I'd like to think my reaction is more than simple rockism or reactionary change-is-bad sentiments. Maybe it's a bit of both, since I do feel like the production puts what could be some compelling songs at a bit of an emotional reserve, and I keep trying to imagine what they would sound like as "old-school Rosebuds songs". Maybe I'm just wrong -- Night of the Furies seems to be pretty well-received in most quarters -- but to my ears, this is a misstep by a good band. I'll definitely be looking to see what happens next.

Update 5/4: This review gets at a lot of what I was trying to say, in a much more articulate manner. Thanks Robbie!

Callum Robbins Benefit at BCHQ on Saturday

2007-04-06T12:26:00.001-04:00

Fin Fang Foom: "In Harm's Way" (from With the Gift Comes the Curse 2005. Buy/download)
Red Collar: "Used Guitars" (from The Hands Up EP 2007. Buy/download)
Caltrop: "Dr. Motherfucker" (from Caltrop 2006. Buy)

There's a couple of good causes you can support by attending this show tomorrow night. First of all, you can help a cool fledgling performance space in Durham, Bull City HQ, get off the ground. It's great to see a grass-roots place like this spring up, and I certainly hope they can make a go of it. (Especially in light of this fascinating discussion and the closure of a couple of fine venues in Raleigh lately.) They could use a good turnout.

This show in particular is a benefit for Callum Robbins, the fifteen-month-old son of "DC punk rock icon, J. Robbins", who was has a brutal disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I don't really know Robbins' work in bands like Gvmt Issue, Jawbox, and Channels, but I have kids, and thus huge sympathy for parents dealing with such a serious -- and expensive -- problem. This show is part of a much wider effort to help support Callum, and you can certainly make a direct donation, but seeing this show would be a great way to kick in as well.

So, the music: I've said my piece about Red Collar before. They are great -- don't miss their tour blog for some interesting thoughts about the SXSW experience. I don't know the other bands well at all, but Fin Fang Foom (MySpace/ReverbNation) seems to do some interesting, moody post-punk/math rock stuff. I think the title of their 2001 release Texture, Structure, and the Conditions of Mood is pretty evocative, though the little that I've heard of their later work sounds a little less raucous and thus (to me) a bit more interesting. I'll have to investigate further. Caltrop puts out some complex metallic rock that's more interested in being heavy than being fast. Red Collar's probably the odd man out here -- they are far more straight-ahead rock than the other two -- but there's definitely some interesting music on tap. Suggested donation $5; starts at 8; 723 N. Mangum, Durham.

Don Dixon

2007-03-30T15:33:00.000-04:00

Don Dixon:
"Roommate"
"ICU"
(from The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room 2006. Buy/download)

Don Dixon has a long history of involvement with great southern rock music. In the 1970s, he was a member of Arrogance, probably the first of North Carolina's should-have-made-it-big bands (and mentioned in just about the first post I ever wrote, though I didn't know much about them back then). Subsequently, he produced R.E.M.'s Murmur with Mitch Easter, and worked on other records in that vein by Chris Stamey and others. He also released a couple of well-regarded pop albums in the 80s and 90s.

Last year, Dixon put out his first new recording in a while, The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room. Each of the songs is a slice of life taking place in a single room -- it's less of a concept album than one with a nice device to ground the songwriting and unify something about the point of view. As Dixon notes, "the the rooms are almost characters in the songs" themselves.

Combustible World is full of smart songwriting, and the great production that you'd expect from someone with Dixon's track record. It strikes me as similar to late-80s/early 90s Elvis Costello -- sharply observed songs and interestingly arranged music that covers a pretty diverse range of styles in the course of the album. "Roommate" is one of the most straight-ahead pop-rock songs on the album, the story of a girl who can't really admit to herself that she's fallen in love with her roommate. "ICU" stands out to me since I'm always a sucker for interesting percussion sounds. The album has plenty of other good stuff, including a cover of Let's Active's "Room With A View".

Noisy Rockshow feat. the Nein, Maple Stave, Sorry About Dresden

2007-03-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

The Nein:
"The Vibe" (from Wrath of Circuits 2005. Buy/download)
"Decollage" (from Luxury 2007. Buy/download)
(MySpace :: ReverbNation)

I'm still absorbing Luxury, the latest release from Durham's art-punk quintet the Nein, but since they are part of a great line-up in a free show at Local 506 tonight, it seems like a good time to give them at least a nod. If nothing else, the show should be loud, including not only the Nein, but Maple Stave and a rare appearance by Sorry About Dresden. I saw Maple Stave at Troika last fall -- their recordings don't do justice to the racket they make! But it's not "nothing else", of course, because the guys in Maple Stave have the technical proficiency to pull off their complex songs, and Sorry About Dresden carry on the classic Chapel Hill indie rock tradition in fine style.

I'm still mulling over Luxury, so I don't have a detailed analysis. (Not that I'm ever much of an album-review guy...) Although I'm generally enjoying it, it's a good bit more experimental than Wrath of Circuits, and I haven't been able to give it a close enough listen to work out what I think of this shift. As these reviews note, this time around, the songs were built from the ground up with tape effect/sample guy Dale Flattum on board (rather than grafting his contributions onto already-written songs), which makes for a more varied and ambitious sound. As with most challenging music, its appeal is not as obvious on first listen. We'll see how it shakes out for me in the long run, but hats off to the Nein for pushing their sound in unexpected directions.

I've posted one song from each album, not because they're particularly representative of either one -- they're not at all, really. But they do sum up something about the difference between the two. In one sense, they are similar to each other, with some spacey sound effects and great pounding percussion. But "Decollage" is more out-there, walking the edge of falling apart.

I've been experimenting with my Reverb Nation account a little bit this week. As a music-oriented social networking site, they have MySpace beat badly in terms of technology and general experience. I suppose the main "drawback" is that you can't customize the appearance of your page, but given the nasty layouts so common on MySpace, I'm not so sure this is a negative at all. In any case, one thing you can do is assemble a mix from various artists and plug it into your own site. So here's a sampler of the various bands at Local 506 tonight -- you can download most of them for yourself if you go to Reverb Nation.

Crunchy power pop from Stratocruiser

2007-03-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Stratocruiser: "Starched White Shirt" (from Revolutions 2006. Buy/download.)

Not a lot of time for posting this week, but I'm committed to keeping this thing rolling. So let me just say that I've been really enjoying Revolutions, the recent release from Chapel Hill's power pop/classic rock quartet Stratocruiser. While I question the necessity of their Led Zep cover, their originals carry on in a fine Cheap Trick-T Rex vein. Great for air guitar! I'll offer up one song here; you can listen to a few more on their MySpace page.

Also: shows to see this weekend: On Friday, the Rock for a Cure show at Broad Street Cafe featuring Red Collar (great show last week, guys!), Can Joann, The Relatively Calm, Saunter, and Jeff Crawford. On Saturday, the grand opening of Bull City HQ, featuring Dead Elephant Bicycle, the Future Kings of Nowhere, Beloved Binge, Eberhardt, and Mandarin Dynasty. (Chaz has to be Durham's MVP this year -- great record store, key Troika guy, and now spearheading this new performance space. Great work!) Wish I had time to say more about these, but perhaps I'll come back to some of these bands soon.

Red Collar EP release

2007-03-01T09:09:00.000-05:00

Red Collar: "Used Guitars" (from The Hands Up EP 2007. Buy/download)

There's a lot of good stuff happening for Durham's Red Collar. They've put out a great EP on 307 Knox and have a release show this Friday at 305 South. Even better, they got a slot at the Reverbnation showcase at SXSW later in the month. Couldn't happen to nicer folks.

The EP features two songs that the band has had up on MySpace for a while ("Used Guitars" and "Witching Hour") and two that are new (to me) ("Hands Up" and "Stay"). As I've noted earlier, the music is smartened-up punk, and the lyrics are thoughful and sensitive to the plight of folks on the verge of being crushed by forces beyond their control. The disillusion of "Used Guitars" is compelling -- listen to Jason Kutchma spitting "We can't be everything we wanted to be" as the song winds up -- while "Stay" manages to find a glimmer of hope in amidst creditors and auditors. In addition to the well-crafted lyrics, the music is pretty smart as well: "Hands Up" makes the most of a nifty pair of interlocking guitar parts, and the "Stay" gets a jolt from some jumpy odd-time sections.

Grayson Currin gives the EP a thoughtful look in this week's Independent, and the Daily Tar Heel has a nice conversation with the band. (I already thought Jason was pretty cool, but to know that he covered "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" in a former band takes the cake...)

So, the CD release show at 305 South on Friday is $5, which also gets you a copy of the EP. There's another show at the Broad Street Cafe the following Friday (3/9), a benefit for the Leukemeia and Lymphoma Society. Among others on the bill is Can Joann, a band that carried the promise of the Aiden Grace EP into last year's strong release, Hurt People Hurt People. Here's hoping Red Collar can follow the same trajectory.

Spider Bags: rowdy, sloppy country rock

2007-02-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

Spider Bags:
"Blood For You"
"So Long A Rope"
(from A Celebration of Hunger 2007.)

So what does it take to rouse the Oak Room from its hibernation? Well, a great country rock CD in the mail seems to do the trick. I had heard rumblings that Chapel Hill's Spider Bags had signed to a label, but hadn't really been keeping tabs on the news -- so it was a real treat to find their upcoming Birdman Records release A Celebration of Hunger in my mailbox when I got home yesterday.

As I noted when I wrote about Spider Bags previously, they pull off an appealing mix of rock and country/roots influences -- not neccessarily the most ground-breaking stuff if you've listened to stuff from Bloodshot Records, but pretty rousing all the same. I haven't seen them live, but I bet they're a real good time -- a lot of it sounds like music to break beer bottles to. I posted a rowdy singalong, "Waking Up Drunk", the first time I wrote about these guys, so this time I'm showcasing a little more range. "So Long A Rope" is a little more mellow but still quite rootsy, while "Blood For You" turns down the country a bit and ramps up the rock.

Locals can catch Spider Bags at the Cave on March 10 (with like-minded NYC twang-rockers the Coy Dogs); if you're attending SXSW, you can see them at the Birdman showcase on March 14.

(And by the way, boo to SXSW for not sorting bands by state this year, but the crew over at the Daily Tar Heel's Diversions blog is keeping track of the local folks making the trek to Austin.)

Grasshopper

2007-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Grasshopper:
"Ex-Sunbeam"
"I Used To Sing Along"
(from Just Like You EP, 2006. Buy a copy here.)

I think I first noticed Grasshopper when they played a couple of shows with Red Collar [previously]. They have some similarity in sound (particularly "Ex-Sunbeam"), but Grasshopper seems to have a bit more pop in the mix. Good indie rock (and if that phrase means anything as a stylistic description, it's something like this) from a Chapel Hill trio. Sometimes I don't have much else to say but "I like this music", and this is one of those times.

Hear a couple of demos at their MySpace page, or at the super-slick ReverbNation, a quite cool (and locally-based) music social networking site. (The Oak Room is there too.)

Christmas Mix

2006-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

"Morning Star" (The Brantley Family Band)
"Christmas Time Is Here" (Thad Cockrell and Roman Candle)
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (Trekky Yuletide Orchestra)
"Little Drum Machine Girl" (Gerty!)
"Oh It's Christmas" (The Rosebuds)
"Feliz Navidad" (The dB's)

Well, I meant to run this as a series all week, but that's not happening. Here's a mix of old and new Christmas music from local bands. A quick rundown of what's what:

This year, Jim Brantley (currently with Bull City, formerly of the Balance and Ashley Stove) put out his third on-line Christmas card (here's 2005 and 2004). They tend to be a mix of the lovely and the silly, and this instrumental version of the Moravian hymn "Morning Star" is definitely the former. (Check this death-metal "Silent Night" for the latter!) The Moravian influence is pretty strong around Winston-Salem, and since Jim's from around there, as am I, this one makes me happy.

"Christmas Time Is Here" is an original song, not the Vince Guaraldi classic from A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it's a great collaboration between Triangle expat Thad Cockrell and still-local Roman Candle. This is a new addition to the expanded re-release of the Chris Stamey/dB's Christmas Time album; the charmingly loose dB's cover of "Feliz Navidad" is from the original. (Buy/download)

At some point before new-wavers Gerty morphed into the Ex-Members, they recorded a Christmas CD, which is the source of "Little Drum Machine Girl". If you are thinking of Beck's "Little Drum Machine Boy", this is a more straightforward adaptation of the traditional song, but with some Gerty flair.

One of two local benefit compliations released this year, Trekky Records A New Old-Fashioned Christmas is a surprisingly (to me) conventional collection of traditional holiday songs. I know it says "old-fashioned" in the name, but I didn't really expect the conventional song selection and straightforward arrangements from members of the Never and the other Trekky bands. It's good stuff, though, and I love this version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", one of my favorite Christmas songs. Proceeds benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, so buy a copy here.

The other benefit compilation is Have a Holly Raleigh Christmas, which is for the benefit of local high school music programs. (Read more about it here.) I haven't actually gotten my hands on this one, so the sound quality of the Rosebuds song is poor, but hey, it's the Rosebuds. This sounds exactly like what you would think the Rosebuds singing about Christmas would sound like. (If anything, it's a bit of a throwback to their earlier songs, given the somewhat more somber tone of their recent album.) Buy a copy here, or shop in Raleigh (list of merchants here).

So, Merry Christmas (or other appropriate seasonal wishes). Don't look for much from me next week, but New Year's resolution number 1 is to get back on a regular weekly schedule with this thing.

Calico Haunts

2006-12-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Calico Haunts: "New Pinebox Blues"
"Recollection" (demos)

Well, a month off is about enough, I guess. Apologies to anyone who missed me. (Perhaps there was someone...)

Using my tried and true on-the-bill-with-a-band-I-already-like technique, I checked out Calico Haunts, who play with Spider Bags at Local 506 tonight. They are one of those MySpace-only bands, so I don't know much about them, but the music sounds good. The demos on their My Space have a sparse, time-worn folky sound reminiscent of Gillian Welsh's Time (The Revelator). Even the titles have a whiff of anachronism about them ("New Pinebox Blues", "Laudanum Bottle") Their list of influences/sounds like suggests that they might have a little more fire in their bellies than these recordings suggest (citing, for instance, Neil Young and the Kinks), and I'd be interested to hear that thrown into the mix based on these promising beginnings.

So that's tonight at Local 506, a free show no less, with Spider Bags, who definitely do have a fire in their belly (maybe whiskey) and some fine new songs to stream on their My Space, plus the apparently-not-online Stone Fox.

Contest: Roman Candle Tickets Giveaway

2006-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Roman Candle: "New York This Morning"
"Winterlight"
(from The Wee Hours Revue 2006. Buy/download.)

Well, another week of ridiculous busyness, and consequently, little time for blog business. But there is this:

You may recall my enthusiasm when Roman Candle's Wee Hours Revue was released earlier this year. Apart from the saga of its convoluted route to finding daylight, it was a compelling collection of heart-felt, rootsy rock songs. It's been nice to see the group get applause from other quarterssince then. (And thanks to that Pitchfork review for highlighting the soul influences on the album, which I sensed but for whatever reason didn't put my finger on.) The whole album has worn well for me -- it just fits so nicely, it's pretty much the musical equivalent of an old, comfortable flannel shirt. "New York This Morning" is one of the songs that always sticks out to me when I listen to it. It's one of the more overtly country/roots influenced songs, so in one sense not entirely representative, but the evocative lyrics and the warmth of Skip Matheny's voice bring it to the forefront for me. "Winterlight" is perhaps more typical -- full band, Logan Matheny's shuffling drums, a bit of harmonica thrown in.

They've been all over the place in the past month, but are back in North Carolina at the Cat's Cradle next Wednesday (11/8). I've got two passes to the show to give away, so drop me a line (oakroom @ gmail . com) by Monday (11/6) if you're interested. Your chances are doubled if you attach a picture of your Halloween costume.

Also on the bill for this show are Chicago's The Changes and Ireland-via-LA's La Rocca. I don't know much about either one, but a quick listen suggests that they'll fit fine alongside Roman Candle. But the hometown kids are the stars of the show. See you there!

Return of the Pan Pan

2006-10-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

Erie Choir: "Pan Pan, Where Did You Go?"
(from Rockin' the Blocks compilation 2005)

I've got no time for anything right now, but here's a quick update. Erie Choir posed the question "Pan Pan, Where Did You Go?" in a cute song on a Durham compliation called Rockin' The Blocks last year. (Still tracking down a copy, though these folks claim to still have some.) The answer can be found here. It looks like the new Erie Choir CD will be out soon, as they have a release show scheduled at Local 506 on Nov 11. (They don't seem entirely certain of that, though.) Looking forward to it!

Also, congrats to Cindy, who was the winner of the signed copy of Annuals' He Be Me. If you missed them last week, they're at Local 506 as well next Monday (10/30) with blog-beloved Tapes N Tapes.

More next week, I hope, when thing are a little calmer.

Troika Preview III

2006-10-18T19:00:00.000-04:00

Friday night's Troika festival shows (schedule here) are pretty diverse, and I can't say that there's one that really stands out as clearly better than the rest. There are quite a few bands that are really great, but they're mixed in with others that I'm not at all familiar with (or, honestly, just aren't my thing). This is supposed to be structured so you can wander from one venue to another, and this looks like a good night to do just that. Here are some highlights:

305 South starts off the evening with two acts that are new to me, but impress me on a quick first listen. The Future Kings of Nowhere play a brand of acoustic punk they call "'acousticore,' music for people who are angrier than Peter, Paul or Mary, but nicer than Henry Rollins." Lots of energy here, which isn't terribly surprising given that half the band seems to be Midtown Dickens, who seem to be the living definition of "spunky". Shipwrecker is one of those bands that gives you nothing but a couple of songs on MySpace to go on, but the songs are good, so I guess that's all right. Another acoustic act, a bit more sedate and country-influenced. Something about the music reminds me of the vaguely anachronistic style of the Decemberists, though they are really not that much like them overall. Can I say "C&W sea chantys"?

The Future Kings of Nowhere: "Never"
(from EP 2006? Buy a recording here.)
Shipwrecker: "Dark Edge of the Da..."
(2006 demo. The last word of the title is a mystery -- tag your MP3s, people!)

The next two acts at 305 South are more than worthy -- I'm a long standing fan of the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, and the Mountain Goats are superb (plus we get to claim them as local talent). Man Man hasn't done much for me, though, and I'd be awfully tempted to head off to the Marvell Event Center to see the twisted country of Spider Bags and the lo-fi pop genius of Schooner.

Prayers and Tears: "Raining In Darling"
(from Redux EP 2006. Download that free here; buy other PTADS stuff here.)
The Mountain Goats: "The Coroner's Gambit (Original Take)"
(courtesy this fan site. Buy Mountain Goats stuff here.)
Spider Bags: "Waking Up Drunk"
(from A Celebration of Hunger 2006. Unreleased, apparently)
Schooner: "Make Me Mad"
(from Tour EP. Buy Schooner stuff here.)

But then I look at the lengthy list of bands at Ringside that night, and I don't know many of them that well, but the reliably beautiful North Elementary and the ass-kicking old school metal of Colossus make me wonder if I'm missing something over there as well. There's quite a lot of ground to cover between the two, so while some of the other shows are stylistically consistent, this one seems like a total grab bag. It's a moot point, since I won't be attending any of these shows (damn work), but it's a pleasant dilemma to consider...

North Elementary: "Ships as Friends"
(from Lose Your Favorite Things 2004. Buy it here.)
Colossus: "Bubba Zanetti"
(from 2006 demo. Maybe you can get it at the show?)

Previous Troika Posts:
Troika Preview: Okkervil, Elvis, and DKD
Troika Preview: Portapleasant O'Collar

Troika Preview: Portapleasant O'Collar

2006-10-17T19:00:00.000-04:00

Back to the insanely great lineup of the Troika Music Festival, which kicks off in Durham tomorrow night. Clearly, the notion of actually writing about each of the fourteen shows was utterly unrealistic. So let's try this: focus on one show each day of the festival, with maybe some other commentary thrown in.

Wednesday's already covered, but I'll note that the other show that night is the one I'm excited about and planning to attend. I've written about each of the bands on the bill previously (Bull City/the Balance here, Maple Stave here, A Rooster for the Masses here, and the Honored Guests here), and had at least some online communication with all of them. So I'm looking forward to seeing their shows, and saying hello as well.

So Thursday night, then. Many worthy candidates, but I'm going to focus on the lineup of Red Collar, Pleasant, Jennifer O'Connor, and Portastatic at the Duke Coffeehouse. Like the Okkervil River show on Wednesday, this is the "big-name" show, but I have been absorbing Portastatic's latest release, Be Still Please, over the past few days, and am generally in awe of the consistent quality of Mac McCaughan's output over such a long period of time. Either Merge Records or Superchunk by themselves would be a pretty impressive achievement, but Portastatic has really flourished as an outlet for his songwriting in a remarkable range of styles. Perhaps I'll come back to a full-blown review of Be Still Please, but in brief: striking a musical middle ground between the fairly rocking Bright Ideas and the string-laden soundtrack album Who Loves the Son, what really strikes me is the compelling package Mac makes by sinking sorrow and regret (and sometimes bitterness) amidst such pleasant music. "Song for a Clock" concludes the album with a welcome bit of everyday grace.
"Sour Shores"
"Song for a Clock"
(from Be Still Please 2006. Buy/download)

I've already written my magnum opus about Red Collar, so not a lot of new commentary now. It's great to see them on this bill -- go early to check them out. (They seem to be waffling over releasing a great EP or a good full-length. I say, "Let's hear some of these new songs already!)
"Used Guitars"
"Why You Knocking (live on WXDU)"

Pleasant is one of the longer-standing entries on my ever-growing list of "I really need to give them listen" bands. Launched in 2000, they are old-timers by most local standards. They strike me as very much a "Chapel Hill band," with a lot of the casual quirkiness that marked the big names of the 90s. In order to give them the fuller consideration they probably deserve, I'll have to actually pick up their album (rather than listen to samples on the website), but they're a nice addition to this bill.
"Welcome Come In"
"You There"
(from Awkward as a Beehive 2005. Buy it here.)

Jennifer O'Connor is new to me. I don't know if the acoustic singer-songwriter "Today" or the more aggressive electric "Exeter, Rhode Island" is more typical of her material. I favor the latter.
"Today"
"Exeter, Rhode Island"
(from Over the Mountain... 2006. Buy/download)

Annuals CD release show and contest

2006-10-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Photo by OldKing

Annuals:
"Brother"
"Dry Clothes"
(from He Be Me 2006. Buy it here.)

Way back in March, I was pretty excited about Raleigh's Annuals when they played at SxSW. Little did I know that they were on the cusp of a whole lot of attention. They signed to New York label Ace Fu, got a whole lot of love from bloggers (and Pitchfork), and -- after a CD release show tomorrow night (10/17) in Raleigh-- head out on the road with the likes of the equally blog-beloved Tapes 'N' Tapes, the up-and-coming Evangelicals, and the flat-out spectacular Calexico.

They garner lots of comparisons to the Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, which seems accurate in terms of the ambition of their music -- the songs have an epically expansive sonic palette, coupled with a yearning sincerity to the lyrics. I've only just gotten hold of He Be Me, their Ace Fu debut, so I can't say for sure what I think of Grayson Currin's suggestion here that its complexity and scope run a little wild at times. I suppose this sort of Romantic passion runs the risk of self-indulgence in some cases, but I admire Annuals for going all-out. In the doses I've heard so far, the results are compelling.

You can hear a few samples of what I'm talking about above. But suppose you'd like to hear the whole thing for yourself? You can buy it or download it, but (thanks to the kindness of the folks at Ace Fu), I actually have a signed copy of the CD to give away. Send me an e-mail (oakroom @ gmail.com) and mention the Annuals contest -- I'll pick the winner by the end of the week.

The CD release show is tomorrow night (10/17) at the Brewery in Raleigh. Also on the bill are the Never (previously), who may well be Annuals' equals in terms of drama and amibition (they made a concept album, for cryin' out loud!), and Tom Yoder, who's not from around here and I know nothing about. As the picture at the top of this post suggests, Annuals seem to pack as much dramatic stimulation into their stage show as they do their recorded music, so it should be a good time.

Troika Preview: Okkervil, Elvis, and DKD

2006-10-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

OK, after considerable throat-clearing, it's time for me to actually write something about next week's Troika Music Festival, held at various Durham sites on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. (Full schedule here.) But, boy, is it daunting. So much good music in such a short time -- lots of bands that I know and am fond of, quite a few that I've been meaning to pay more attention to, some that are brand new to me. If I had nothing to do for the next week, maybe I'd try to pull off a See You In The Pit-like look at every damn band...but that's not happening. Let's try a little show-by-show breakdown and see how far I can get.

I guess the Wednesday (10/18) show at the Duke Coffeehouse is the "headline" show of the night. (Though I'll be going to the other one...) It has the out-of-town guests of the night, anyway: Okkervil River and Elvis Perkins are joined by David Karsten Daniels, a member of the local Bu Hanan collective.

Daniels and his compatriots in the Physics of Meaning and the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers have made some fascinating music over the last couple of years (as well as the late Go Machine), so hopefully the release of his new album, Sharp Teeth, on Fat Cat Records next year doesn't result in any distance from that group. According to Daniels, the record features "a lot of singers, a lot of drummers, a lot of horn players, and a deep love of dynamics and repetition," though the two samples streaming at his MySpace don't sound quite that expansive. They seem to be a continuation the sparse, acoustic sound of his earlier work. In my previous post about Daniels, I made a vague Iron & Wine comparison, and although I admit it may have partly been the beard, the hushed vocals of a song like "Jesus and the Devil" had something to do with it as well. Since those aren't downloads, here's an older song that isn't all that far removed from them.
"Siamese Hearts"
(from Angles 2004. Buy it here.)

Although the three artists on the bill make a nicely complementary group, the evening does get louder as it goes on. Elvis Perkins is perhaps a more conventional singer-songwriter than DKD, his sonic world a little more forgiving and a little less harsh, but there is a certain bleakness that they share, for instance on Perkins' "Ash Wednesday", the standout track of the ones I've listened to in preparing this post.
"Ash Wednesday"
(I guess no album to buy? Download more here)

And then the much-blogged Okkervil River, who can be acoustic and folky at times, but also can rock out a little bit (albeit in a rootsy, folky way). Again, though, there's a thread of sadness (approaching desolation) that runs through the songs (at least on Black Sheep Boy, the only album of theirs that I've spent much time with). I just came across a new single while pulling links for this post, so let's point to that as well: "The President's Dead" is actually kind of peppy (hmm), starting as a folk song and bursting into a few seconds of pop towards the end. I like the way the verses just keep coming and coming, riding the rise and fall of the melody without pause.
"For Real"
(from Black Sheep Boy 2005. Buy/download)
"The President's Dead"
(from The President's Dead single 2006. Buy)

So, this all starts at 9:30 on Thursday. Good music, if not exactly uplifting. Bring your own beer to cry into.

Shakori Hills

2006-10-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it really is festival season around here, no? I was all set to (finally) get around to talking about next week's Troika Music Festival, when I was prompted with the reminder that this week features the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, four days of assorted rootsy/folky/country/jammy music. It's worth a look.

There's a lot of good stuff here, and it would take a few days to really sort through everything. Instead, you'll get what you got for Sparklefest last week -- a fairly random sampling of some things that look and sound good at first glance, and a strong encouragment to go check it out for yourself. (Oct 5-8. See here for more info.)

Saludos Compay: I really enjoy Latin stuff like this in a Buena Vista Social Club vein. (A comparison I imagine they get sick of, but what are you gonna do? That's what it sounds like!)
"Pintate Los Labios"

The Biscuit Burners: a more-or-less bluegrass sound, but with a variety of contemporary influences. I love the silvery banjo tone on this song -- nothing like Bill Monroe!
"Cow and Sake"

DivineMAGgies: dunno about the typographical hijinx in their name, but they sound great. Two strong female vocalists, making music that ranges from the rockish end of the Indigo Girls spectrum to this, a lovely Celtic-inflected folk song.
"North Carolina"

Jennie Stearns: there's a good bit of singer-songwriter stuff on the bill here. This strikes me as a pretty good example of the form.
"Season of Dreams"

Luminecent Orchestrii: They've obviously put some work into this description, so it would be a shame not to quote it: "Romanian gypsy melodies, punk frenzy, salty tangos, hard-rocking klezmer, haunting Balkan harmony, hip-hop beats and Appalachian fiddle, all eaten and spit out by two violins, resophonic guitar, bullhorn harmonica and bass." This is cool stuff.
"Taraf Hijacked"

Quetzal: They don't even have anything available to download, but this is too good to leave out. Go to their MySpace and listen to this eclectic rock en Espanol. Such a party!

Finally, a selection of local folks I've written about before:

Bombadil (previously): Nice to see that my description of them as "a slightly less-redneck version of the Gourds" has gotten cleaned up a bit and put in their press material -- it was in an Independent article, and is on the Shakori Hill site!
"Jellybean Wine"

The Never (previously): Annuals, who might be blowing up, are taking the Never on tour, which can only be good. In addition the Shakori Hills performance, look out for a multimedia presentation of their ambitious concept album, Antarctica, on October 14 in Chapel Hill.
"Cavity"

The Old Ceremony (previously): their "pop noir" seems to have a bit more of the former and a bit less of the latter on their new release, Our One Mistake.
"Papers In Order"

The Two Dollar Pistols (previously): one of the bands I was excited about way back when, and I still love their honky-tonk sound.
"Runnin With The Fools"

Sparklefest Part Two

2006-09-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

Just a quick spin through some of the other bands at this week's Sparklefest. I don't know much about them, so this'll mainly be links and songs that sound OK at first listen.

The Upper Crust: baroque-themed AC/DC, if that's your thing. Kind of ridiculous-looking, but I assume that's the point.
"Let Them Eat Rock"

Daniel Resko/Yellow Pod: no download for this one, but the songs on his MySpace sound pretty good. Less power, more pop.

The Cogburns: Self-described as "post millennium Garage Surf Punk".
"Southern Daisy"

The Shazam: I think they are Sparklefest mainstays, and no wonder. This is more-or-less what I'm looking for in the power pop sound.
"Squeeze the Day"

No offense to the other bands, but I'm out of time for this week. Cheers!

Sparklefest Preview: power pop and more

2006-09-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

The last time I wrote about the annual local festival Sparklefest, it seemed to be showcasing a fairly coherent style of music, which (depite some protests) might as well be called power pop, in particular melodic garage rock kind of stuff. A quick glance at this year's lineup seems far less cohesive, at least among the groups that I'm familiar with. I think the best way to sum up the theme this year might be "GUITARS!" Three nights of guitars kick off Thursday night at the Pour House in Raleigh.

Here's a quick look at a few of the featured bands.

SNMNMNM: a quirky group whose sound owes more than a little to They Might Be Giants, especially in the nasally, slightly nerdy vocals, whimsical lyrical topics, and subsitution of a tuba for a bass guitar. Also, the accordian.
"Danielle" (from Exploderama 2005. Buy/download SNMNMNM stuff.)

Parklife: draws on a variety of tropes from classic, 80s, and 90s rock, including the expected-from-the name Blur. "San Jacinto" has some of the breadth of sound and amibition of mid-80s U2, which I mean as a compliment.This is a band that I keep meaning to dig into, but somehow keeps getting put on my back burner. I need to fix that. (Their main site has apparently been Haxx0r3d!)
"San Jacinto"

Tiger Thief: another band that's been on my radar lately -- they've been playing out a lot and in pretty good company. I haven't given them the attentive listen they deserve, but "Jet Set Girls" is an entertaing blast of unpolished energy.
"Jet Set Girls"

Bull City: yep, these guys again. Their EP is available to download in full, and it's good stuff that builds on the promise of the Balance.
"Hurricane Eleanor"

Stratocruiser: I've noted their crunchy, Cheap-Trick influenced rock before. They have a new album, Revolutions, which is more of the same -- in this case, that's good. No downloads from that, but you can hear a few tracks here.
"Copyshop Girl"

Shalini: Shalini Chatterji is the wife of famed producer/Let's Active founder Mitch Easter (who's also on the Sparklefest bill). The music has more of a hard-rock edge than that might lead you to expect, but it hits a nice Blake Babies kind of note. The bass player here is Velvet's Jane Francis, by the way.
"Synthesize"

That covers most of the bands that I have at least a nodding acquaintance with. Time permitting, I'll come back tomorrow and at least link some music from some of the others. (Though I must say, quite a few of these bands are not down with the MP3 sharing -- get with the program, people!)

A Rooster for the Choir: couple of new songs

2006-09-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

A Rooster for the Masses:
"Damn Homie"
(new song. Buy/download the Gallo Rojo EP.)

Erie Choir:
"Picture Equals Proof"
(from Slighter Awake, forthcoming on Sit-N-Spin.)

This week has not been conducive to listening to/thinking about music, so in lieu of anything thoughtful (I know, but that's usually what I'm aiming for), here are a couple of new songs from bands that I've written about before that have floated out into the MySpace in the last week or two.

"Damn Homie" lowers the synth level and ups the guitars from the songs on A Rooster for the Masses Gallo Rojo CD. It's a fine addition to their small-but-solid canon, though I might prefer a bit more clarity in the vocal mix. "Picture Equals Proof" is likewise a slight departure from Erie Choir's general MO in that it's a little peppier than I tend to think of them.

Neither of these bands have shows this weekend, but they'll both be playing next month as part of the stellar lineup of Durham's Troika Festival. I'll come back to this soon. First, though (if I can manage it), I'll post early next week (rather than my usual late-week schedule) about some of the bands playing at Sparklefest.

Previously on the Oak Room:
A Rooster for the Masses
Erie Choir
Sparklefest

Velvet: Vintage Southern Power Pop

2006-09-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

Velvet:
"No One Here"
"Cracker"
(from The Juggernaut 2006. Buy it here.)

Here's the chicken-vs-egg puzzle of Velvet's new recording, Juggernaut: do they have such a great throwback power-pop sound because Mitch Easter produced the album, or was he just the logical choice to bring out their existing style? (I know, the answer is probably both and neither, but indulge my introductory conceit, OK?) One reason I wonder is that their bio claims that they started out as "a Wilmington-based art-rock outfit", and they sure don't sound like that anymore. I like guitarist Jay Manley's description in this article: "We sound like Chapel Hill in 1983" -- they are definitely working a sound that has at least some roots in the dB's/Let's Active sound of that era. The one objection I have to this is that the drums in particular sound like that as well, rather than something a bit more contemporary.

Juggernaut is a fine collection of hooks and harmonies , but it also gets a lot of mileage out of bassist Jane Francis' exuberant vocals. On "No One Here" she shares the vocals with Manley (who is also her husband), but "Cracker" is a ripping rocker that's all hers. Evidently it's been a struggle to get the album out -- the article linked above is three years old and refers to it as "forthcoming". Whatever the reason for the delay, it's a welcome arrival.

Jane Francis:
"18 Letters"
(from Skeletons for Tea, 2005. Buy/download)

A bonus track from Francis' solo album, since I'm so fond of her voice. This is the only track I have heard from Skeletons for Tea, but if the whole thing follows suit, its much more of a rootsy/folky affair than Velvet.

Pin Projekt and Troika Music Festival Preview

2006-09-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

Midtown Dickens:
"Eggs and Toast"
Audubon Park:
"Oh Register Why Are You Crying"

Well, I had hoped to do this sooner, but that's how it goes...

TONIGHT (9/9) at 305 South in Durham, there's a fundraiser for next month's homegrown Troika Music Festival. They are auctioning off bowling pins that have been turned into works of art by a host of local artists and musicians, including Mac McCaughan and poster artist/Nein bassist Casey Burns. (Not to mention my e-mail pals John Harrison and Jason Kutchma.)

They look really cool, but the site is all Flash-ed up and I can't link to them. Take a look on line, and certainly go tonight if you are in the area. Musical performances by anti-folk duo Midtown Dickens and mysterious (to me) rockers Audubon Park, plus the unpredictable collective of the Pox Family Singers.

Much more could be said about this, and I'll definitely be coming back to Troika -- it looks amazing this year -- but time is short. Enjoy the music and the pins!

Ward Williams (Jump, Little Children) @ Local 506

2006-09-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jump, Little Children:
"I Can Feel You"
(from Buzz, 1996. Buy or download JLC stuff.)
Ward Williams:
"Forever's Not Thirteen"
"Maybe Someday"
(from Ward Williams 2006. Buy here.)

It's been great fun for me to watch the developing career of Jump, Little Children. Most of those guys are from my hometown, and I knew them in various ways when I was young -- I took acting classes from the Bivins boys' mother, and (if I remember right) trained Evan as a Safety Patrol(!). But I was closest with cellist Ward Williams. We were good pals through third grade, when we went to different schools and lost touch for a while. We reconnected a bit through mutual friends in high school, and after that I've mostly watched from afar as JLC developed a pretty rabid cult following.

Jump, Little Children started out as a pretty folky band -- they spent time in Ireland, and that was definitely an influence early on -- though they occasionally threw a rap over top of that. ("Hey man, I love you but you know how it is/Even Mr. Cracker never counted on Cheez Whiz" remains a favorite lyric.) Over time, they moved away from that to a more conventional rock format, though Ward's cello kept something interesting in the mix. I really liked Buzz, a live album that kind of bridged the gap between the two sounds -- "I Can Feel You" is a track from that that features Ward to good effect. I mostly preferred the early stuff, and have to admit that I haven't even heard the band's last two albums. They are (at best) on hiatus right now as the members pursue various solo projects. Their last pass through the Triangle was billed as a "farewell tour". Whether that's for real or in the vein of the Who's farewell tours remains to be seen...

In any case, Ward has a solo album out, and is playing at Local 506 tomorrow night (9/6). From the samples on his web site and MySpace, it's a pretty pop album with some unexpected (to me) country influences. "Forever's Not Thirteen" also highlights Ward's strings, while "Maybe Someday" moves a little more in the country direction. (For the real thing, complete with weepy steel guitars, listen to "When You're Gone" on Ward's web site.) I remember Ward as very warm and funny, so I expect that he'll put on an engaging show. And this sounds cool: "Ward's live shows feature cello, guitar and recorded loops combining the two instruments." I'm looking forward to saying "hi" -- you should go check him out too!

Red Collar, "post-punk", and the longest Oak Room post ever

2006-09-01T13:00:00.000-04:00

Red Collar:
"Used Guitars"
"Why You Knocking"
(no album or merchandise yet, though they are on the 307 Knox compliation that's kicking around)

A reader took issue with my tagging A Rooster for the Masses with the "post-punk" label. See the brief exchange here -- I'm hoping he/she will come back and comment further. And I certainly invite input from others! My thoughts for this post were circling around the idea anyway, so it's a good tie-in.

In writing this blog, I constantly wrestle with my sporadic knowledge of music trends and history. I was pursuing some unorthodox and specific interests in high school and college and I'm still slowly filling in the gaps. Want to talk about obscure 80s heavy metal? The varied lineups of Yes? I'm your guy. More main stream stuff, or the general flow of "indie" rock in the last 10 years? At least as much hit as miss for me.

I was recently reading Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again, about the musical reactions to punk in the late 70s and early 80s. It was pretty enlightening, but as Reynolds uses the term, "post-punk" turns out not to be very helpful as a description of musical sound -- covering as it does many different kinds of reactions to punk, and at least one wave of counter-reactions. Very little (if any?) contemporary music could be said to fall under the more-or-less ideological movement that Reynolds terms "post-punk" (at least not mediated by another "post-" or two), but the sonic markers of these styles have obviously seen a revival in recent years. I tend to use the term for the rock-guitars-plus-disco-rhythm kind of music that seems to stem from Gang of Four and recently illustrated by (e.g.) Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand. That's my basis for classifying A Rooster for the Masses as post-punk, but I realize that may be an overly idiosyncratic definition.

Reading Reynolds' book, I was also intrigued by what I guess can be called art-punk -- punk energy and attitude merged with a bit more musical facility and some book-learning. Which brings us (finally!) to today's band, Durham's own Red Collar. I had an interesting exchange with guitarist Jason Kutchma, and learned that even the band's name fits with this notion:

I was working a desk jockey job for a while....At the time, I started really thinking about my job quite a bit, maybe obsessing about it a little too much. I'm not white collar even though I have a white collar degree and white collar air conditioning. Then again, I'm not blue collar even though I've got the blue collar pay and the blue collar vacation time. I kind of dress like a combination of both. It's a necessary job but it just kind of exists. It's this new brand of worker that seems to be popping up and I called it "Red Collar", filling in the obvious Red White and Blue....

The music kind of sounds like a blue collar work ethic done by people with college degrees. It doesn't quite fit punk rock or indie rock or bar rock but there are elements of that in the music.

The lyrics really seem to come from this perspective as well: "Used Guitars" is the broken-dreams narrative of a pawn-shop owner, while "Why You Knocking" illustrates the disillusionment of a door-to-door salesman. "Used Guitars" has knocked me out since I first heard it, and their other songs are quite strong as well.

The band is taking their time recording -- for now, what you see on their MySpace is what you get. I am impressed with the thoughtful perspective that Jason provided on their aims, and look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future. For the time being, you can see them next Friday (9/8) at Jo & Joe's in Durham.

A Rooster for the Masses: dancy, policital post-punk

2006-08-25T15:15:00.000-04:00

A Rooster for the Masses:
"Left Coast"
"National"
(from Gallo Rojo 2006. Buy it/download it)

I've really been enjoying Rojo Gallo, the debut EP from Raleigh's A Rooster for the Masses. I don't know a whole lot about them except that they like MySpace, and that their name derives from former Raleigh resident David Sedaris' brother, nicknamed the Rooster. (Though why, exactly, they were inspired by him, I do not know...)

In any case, they make dancy post-punk insipired music with keyboards, tight drumming, ringing guitars, and political lyrics. The last of these kind of snuck up on me -- I was enjoying the music and didn't really pay much attention to the words until recently. I guess the Donald Rumsfeld sound bite in "National" should have been a clue... But when you listen, "Left Coast" turns out to be a song of sympathy for illegal immigrants ("It's modern slavery/you do the dirty work") and "Code Red" is a pretty direct commentary on the Bush administration's Middle East policies:

Hey o Hey look over here
Real problem wasn’t there
Spreading their false fear
To keep us under control

When the Cities record came out a while ago, lots of commenters found something "British" about their sound, but there's something about A Rooster for the Masses that, to me, brings that to mind even more. I don't even really know what I mean by that, but there you go. Mainly the musicial influences they are drawing on, I suppose (Joy Division, Gang of Four, etc.) and perhaps something slightly reserved about the music, lyrics not withstanding.

Your next chance to see them is on Sept. 1 at Kings in Raleigh. Listen now, then go see them!

New music from the Rosebuds

2006-08-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Rosebuds:
"Hold On To This Coat"
(2006 demo. Buy previous albums here.)

Sneaky sneaky Rosebuds, hiding a link to a new demo in their MySpace blog! Per a blurb in today's Independent, they are beginning work with Brian Paulson (who produced Wilco's A.M.) on their new album. Although it's hard to tell much from one song, especially a demo, this seems to continue a move in a somewhat more moody direction from their more exuberant early tracks. They've always had both, it just seems to me that the balance has shifted from Make Out to Birds Make Good Neighbors. The drum machine gives a different flavor as well, though that could be just a demo thing. The album won't be out for a while, so it's nice to have something to tide us over (and a hint that there may be more previews later on).

Gerty's last hurrah

2006-08-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

Gerty!:
"Go Out Tonight"
(from 307 Knox Records Compliation 2006)

Short on time and energy these days, but here's an update for you. Local label 307 Knox (with a great new website design, by the way) recently put out a 2-CD compliation that I've been enjoying quite a bit. (Though it is, as these things often are, a bit hit-and-miss.) As I detailed previously, new-wave revivalists Gerty! morphed into a band called the Ex-Members and are waiting for drummer Melissa York (ex-Butchies) to get neck surgery. One highlight of the 307 Knox comp is what seems to be one of the last Gerty recordings, featuring (I'm assuming) a cameo from electro-rappers Robosapien.

I'll probably try to highlight some more stuff from these discs soon, but go pick one up for yourself at local shops -- I got mine at Chaz's.

Schooner demos: moody, lo-fi rock

2006-08-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Schooner:
"Ominous Bird"
"Carrboro"
(demos from forthcoming album)

Well, I started working on an elaborate post about something else, but that's not going to get done for a while, so here's something to tide you over. Schooner's moody, lo-fi rock is another one of my long-term favorites, so I was excited to see that ringleader Reid Johnson had put a couple of their demos up on the band's MySpace. (Though a little anxious, since he seems to be suggesting that the followup to You Forget About Your Heart is running into snags -- hope they're ones that can be overcome!) "Ominous Bird" is a somber, introspective waltz , while "Carrboro" (another song about Carrboro!) is a more upbeat number that seems to show a certain Rosebuds influence. They were tagged as "album teaser", and they're working for me -- looking forward to the real thing, guys!

Brent Gorton: twisted pop at the Cave on Saturday

2006-08-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

Brent Gorton:
"Hit the Station"
"That Photograph"
(from Brent Gorton 2006. Buy it here.)

Although I tend to focus on musicians based in the Triangle, every now and then it's worth highlighting some of the folks who are passing through on tour. There's probably no need to point out the relatively big names at the Cat's Cradle and so forth, but here's one that might be overlooked: Albany, NY-based indie-pop songwriter Brent Gorton at the Cave on Saturday (8/12).

Gorton's self-titled CD was recorded in his home studio using second-hand gear, but damn if he didn't get a lot out of it. The songs are extremely catchy, and the production has all sorts of interesting touches. Listen to the percussion and electric piano on "That Photograph" or the radio transmissions in the background of "Hit the Station" for a sense of what I mean. This is probably not a comparison that will mean much to anyone but me, but Gorton's music seems like Justin Roberts without the kiddie topics. Maybe a slightly more folky Matthew Sweet? (By they way, if you have kids, Justin Roberts is a must-have in their music collection. He will keep you sane.)

His touring band consists of his girlfriend and her best friend (collectively given the unfortunate title "the Tender Breasts"), so I don't know how the tunes will come across live. It seems to me that the songwriting is strong enough that the bare bones of the songs will support less-elaborate arrangments, but I really love the way the recorded versions sound. We'll see.

For the record, I learned about Gorton in an e-mail from his PR guy, but the songs hooked me right away. Memo to promoters: I pay a lot more attention when you've figured out that I'm primarily going to be interested in bands that are a) from around here, b) playing around here, or c) both. Still e-mails and free stuff are welcome, so bring it on...

Hearts & Daggers: punked up outlaw country

2006-08-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hearts & Daggers:
"Desperados Lullabye"
(from A Home for My Lonely Tears 2006. Buy it here.)
"High Noon"
(from 2004 demos)

I have come across some great music simply by keeping track of who's playing with bands that I already know and like, and that's pretty much the case with Hearts & Daggers. It was exciting enough to note that the Two Dollar Pistols were playing at the Pour House tonight (8/4) -- after their site got taken over by a porn site, and a number of John Howie solo performances, I was beginning to wonder if they were still a going concern. (Though they did have that excellent Superchunk cover on Songs for Sixty-five Roses, which was a good sign.) When I saw that Hearts & Daggers was playing as well, I vaguely remembered coming across them sometime before and filing them away under "look more closely later". I don't know why it took me so long to get back to them, but I'm really glad I did.

If the Two Dollar Pistols are mostly crying into their beers, Hearts & Daggers have had a few too many and are out to kick somebody's ass. My sense of country music history is way too vague to know if there's a more traditional precedent for their aggressive twang, but they fit right in with a lot of the Bloodshot Records crew (and their site picks up a lot of the visual aesthetic from Bloodshot, too.) Paired with the Two Dollar Pistols honky tonk, this should be a fine show for folks who like some heartfelt, unpolished country.

UPDATE 8/7:
Karen went to the show and has some pictures and video -- check it out!

North Elementary: shimmery lo-fi goodness

2006-08-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

North Elementary:
"Super Girl"
(live at the Cat's Cradle, 17 March 2006)
"Golden Tigers"
(from Jane Magazine February 2006 CD[!])
Buy North Elementary stuff here.

North Elementary has undergone quite a few changes since I first wrote about them way back when. Pretty much the only constant is John Harrison, who founded the band after leaving the Comas. Since John and other members of North Elementary are also making music in various other places, you might wonder about the future of North Elementary proper. But, per John, they have been making demos and working towards a new N. Elem. recording, so that's something to look forward to.

He actually shared a few demos with me, and -- though it's hard to know what the final product will be like -- they don't seem like a tremendous departure from the North Elementary of old. If anything, they may show a bit more energy than the old material, much of which was hazily languid (and pretty gorgeous too). That's actually suggested by this recording of "Golden Tigers", which was the final recording with the old lineup -- it's no "Walking on Sunshine" but by N. Elem. lights, it's a pretty peppy song.

Back in March, John opened for Matt Pond PA and Youth Group, accompanied by North Elementary guitarist Ryan Lee Dunlap and compatriot Betty Rupp. A recording of the show is on the band's web site. It's a wonderful, intimate performance -- I think "shimmering" may be the best word to describe it. I always enjoy live performances that involve significant recasting of the songs to shows that mostly recreate the recorded versions. In that light, I am especially crazy about this version of "Super Girl", from 2004's Lose Your Favorite Things. It's absolutely lovely.

(If anyone's interested, I'll chop up the rest of the show into individual song files -- just let me know!)

Harrison plays tonight at the Cave ~~with Rob from Spider Bags, who I've mentioned before~~. They open for the Lesser Birds of Paradise. [Edit: Apparently Rob's out, due to a busted slide guitar. A shame -- that duo sounded really appealing! But John solo should still be good.]

The Sky Drops (fuzzed-up guitar/drums) at the Cave

2006-07-28T10:30:00.000-04:00

The Sky Drops:
"Now Would Be"
"Green to Red"
(from Clouds of People 2006. Buy it here.)

This is mostly a local heads-up -- if you read a decent range of music blogs, you've probably already come across the Sky Drops, the guitar and drums duo of Monika Bullette and Rob Montejo. Bullette also made a splash (in relative terms) with The Secrets, an album that she self-released and made available (free!) on line last year. That one didn't really appeal to me, but her collaboration with Montejo sounds pretty good.

The name of the band and the title of the album seem well-chosen, since their music churns along in a big thundercloud of fuzzed-out guitars. "Now Would Be" actually starts off like it wants to be a Black Sabbath song, but lightens up (a bit) on the verses. The music is often foreboding, but the lyrics manage to poke some sunlight though the clouds ("Now would be a good time/to be awake"; "Hang on/We're not on this Earth too long"). As a musical descriptor, "shoegaze" doesn't actually signify that much to me, but if it does to you, then the Sky Drops are supposed to be like that.

The Sky Drops play the Cave in Chapel Hill tonight (7/28) -- go make them feel welcome. (Or, if you are house-bound, I believe the Cave streams live video of their shows, so if that doesn't crash your browser, you could try that.)

The Never (again): an ambitious pop-rock concept album

2006-07-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

The Never:
"The Sharpest Place"
"Cavity"
(from Antarctica 2006. Buy it here.)

When I wrote about the Never's ambitious concept album/picture book Antarctica back in March, I was under the impression that it had already been released. (Their recent performance was billed as a CD release show, so not an entirely unwarranted assumption...) Turns out, no -- Trekky Recordsjust put it out this week. It's worth revisiting now, because I'm still impressed by the scope of the project, and the mature, theatrical pop/rock that it produced. They recently made "The Sharpest Place" available for download -- it starts off as a pensive piano ballad, then builds into something much more dramatic. "Cavity" is a repeat from the earlier post -- a crunchy pop song.

As this review in the Independent notes (scroll to the bottom), the story may be a bit opaque, and the some of the lyrics push the limits of sincerity, but the music here is compelling. I have lately been thinking about how my enjoyment of music is mainly sonic -- unless the lyrics are insanely awful, they don't register too much, and sometimes not even then. The Never have outstanding melodies, complex arrangements, and an extremely appealing sound, which is more than enough in my book.

The Never are scheduled to be on WUNC's State of Things tomorrow (7/28) tomorrow at noon (that show often has great musical guests but horrible interviewers -- often worth it for the in-studio performances, though) and at Shakori Hills tomorrow night.

Two from Hotel Lights (including TMBG cover!)

2006-07-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hotel Lights:
"Let Me Be the One"
(from Goodnightgoodmorning 2005. Sample other songs and buy it here)
"The End of the Tour"
(from Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants 2006. Buy/download.)

I got a copy of Hotel Lights' EP Goodnightgoodmorning from the kind folks at Sit-n-Spin over in Carrboro (Carrboro!) and, man, is it great. It's nothing flashy, but a very well-crafted collection of songs in a low-key pop vein that's not too far removed from the Pernice Brothers. The part of me that likes Colossus finds this dreadfully wimpy, but the part of me that's moved past middle school can appreciate something as lovely as this. Goodnightgoodmorning is at least as good as, if not better than, Hotel Lights' debut album, which I wrote about back here. (Apparently some find that one too mellow.)

The band is spearheaded by Darren Jessee, who used to be the drummer for Ben Folds Five, though the Hotel Lights drum seat is filled by Mark Price. Price was a member of the Archers of Loaf, and if Hotel Lights sounds little like Jessee's work with Ben Folds Five, it sounds nothing at all like the Archers of Loaf... Here's an interesting interview with Jessee, including a few ambivalent comments about music blogs.

Hotel Lights also contributed a song to the just-released Hello Radio, a tribute to They Might Be Giants. It also features Frank Black, the Long Winters, and the Wrens, among other indie lumniaries. (Stream some other songs here.) I have to confess that my knowledge of TMBG is mainly confined to Flood, so I can't really comment on the quality of this song as a cover, though it's a nicely pensive performance in its own right, that sits nicely besides the rest of Hotel Lights' songs. (It is interesting to me to notice what a distinctive way with a melody TMBG have. I could probably guess that this was one of their songs even if I didn't already know it -- I don't really have the music theory vocabulary to define it, but it's something about the length of the melody lines, and they way they rise and fall...)

Hotel Lights plays at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on Saturday (7/22) with Jennifer O'Connor, who's been touring with Hotel Lights for a while, and Chapel Hill's wonderful North Elementary. Six bucks -- go see this show!

Bombadil

2006-07-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

Bombadil:
"Jellybean Wine"
"Johnny"
(from Bombadil 2006)

It somehow seems odd to me that a bunch of guys who are barely out of college would dress like they're joining Huck Finn for an adventure on the Big Muddy and play music that sounds like this, but that's Bombadil for you. God bless 'em.

I have a hard time finding good reference points for their acoustic, rootsy music. The fact that Stuart Robinson's piano leads the way for the most part -- there's very little guitar at all on their debut EP -- gives them a kind of roadhouse feel. Splashes of xylophone, smears of trombone (I think), and so on add some interesting textures. There's a lot of trading vocals going on, so that adds to an everyone-join-in vibe that I like. Most of all, it sounds happy -- you can tell that these guys are really enjoying making this music. (This is true even for "Johnny", which I'm willing to bet is the peppiest song about a cutter you'll ever hear.)

One thing that I've kept coming back to is the thought that Bombadil is in some ways a less-redneck Gourds -- they both mix together a broad range of musical styles into an organic whole with a lighthearted touch that borders on whimsy. So in that sense, even they don't make any nods to the origin of the band's name, it does seem to be well-chosen.

Between here and here you can basically listen to the whole EP. Much of it is similar to the songs I've linked here. "Tall Grass" is the place to start if you really need some guitar in the mix. I also highly recommend "La Paz", a more reflective song that shows another side of Bombadil.

Their next show is Thursday night (7/20) at the Pour House in Raleigh, with Maxwell/Mosher (ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers), so the quirk level should be pretty high for that one.

Two songs about Carrboro

2006-07-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

...and they couldn't be more different.

Eric Bachmann: "Carrboro Woman"
(from To The Races 2006. Release date 8/22/06. Preorder here.)

Bachmann's work with/as Crooked Fingers bears little trace of his previous work with Archers of Loaf. This, too, is warm and folky. Recorded in Buxton on the Outer Banks, apparently.

Billy Sugarfix: "It's Carrboro"
(see the It's Carrboro website for more info)

Billy Sugarfix, aka Evil Wiener, busts out an old-school rap about Carrboro. (He'll also write you a song.)

Raleigh and Durham and Fayetteville
If it ain’t in Carrboro it aint worth my skill
I won’t even go to Chapel Hill
My momma cools her pies on the window-sill

The Brown Mountain Lights

2006-07-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Brown Mountain Lights:
"Blacktop Tar"
(from Late Show at the Cave 2004. Buy it.)
"Time Travelling"
(from Ghosts of the Old North State, 2006 [forthcoming])

Back to the rootsy Americana stuff now, here's the Brown Mountain Lights, a versatile group whose twangy songs blend blues, honky tonk, blues, pop, and bluegrass influences. They feature strong vocal harmonies and plenty of fiddle and steel guitar. I guess you could call it electrified back-porch music. "Blacktop Tar" is a great country-swing number from the band's 2004 live CD, which made No Depression's "Best of 2004" list. "Time Travelling" is a driving song (i.e., about driving, though it's got a stong beat, too...), a preview of their new album, which should be out sometime in the near future. There's plenty more to download here here and here, so if you're liking this (and you should), go crazy.

Fun facts: The band formed in 2001 to open for Buddy and Julie Miller, so there' s an auspicious beginning. Guitarist Jeff Hart used to play in Chris Stamey's band, and Brown Mountain Lights covers the dB's"Nothing is Wrong". Two of their songs were featured on Veronica Mars earlier this year.

Their next performance is Saturday (7/15), at the Saxapahaw Farmer's Market. It sounds like a really nice time -- buy some fruit and veg, have a picnic, listen to the band out in the country down by the Haw River. Music starts at 6:00.

Blag'ard

2006-07-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Blag'ard: "Losty", "Peaches in Cream" (from Blank Faced Clocks 2006)

This kind of follows on my post from Friday about Black Taj, in that it's new music with roots that stretch back to another era of Triangle music*. Blag'ard is more or less Joe Taylor, who used to play in a band called Capsize 7. They put out a couple of records in the mid-90s and seem to be lumped in with Archers of Loaf and Polvo more often than not. I dunno, I haven't heard them myself (yet again I kick myself for not actually paying attention to local music back when I was in college...), these songs do have a mid-90s indie feel about them. They're pretty stripped down, just Taylor and drummer Bill Buckley, but they have a nice raw, twitchy energy. They are (I think) from the forthcoming Blank Faced Clocks EP -- e-mail the band for info.

Blag'ard plays on Friday (7/14) at the Wetlands in Chapel Hill with Cannons and Manamid.

Nothing to download, but in searching around for information on Capsize 7 (hard to find!), I came across Tommygun, a band that includes Geoff Abell, another former member of that band. They make a similarly pleasing sound that shows traces of that history -- listen here. If you're in Winston-Salem, they play on Saturday (7/15) at Rubber Soul.

*Of course, that post just about killed my traffic dead, so who knows why I'm continuing down this road....

Black Taj: guitar rock from members of Polvo, Idyll Swords

2006-07-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Black Taj: "Clover" (from Black Taj 2005. Buy it here.)

This isn't a new song (though it's not too old, either), but I just came across it recently and found it really appealing. Black Taj brings together the shards of a number of storied local groups, including half of Polvo (guitarist Dave Brylawski and bass player Steve Popson) and 2/3 of Idyll Swords (Brylawski again and guitarist Grant Tennille). I've written about Polvo's fractured genius before (here and here). I wasn't familiar with Idyll Swords until I started researching Black Taj -- they were an entirely different beast, combining a variety of world influences, many Middle Eastern, into a swirly sound that anticipated some of the freak folk of more recent years.

Black Taj is a lot more like Polvo than Idyll Swords, though not nearly so twisted. The vocal parts of "Clover" aren't really anything special but I love the way the chimy, fuzzy guitars fit together in the slower parts, and how they navigate the tempo changes. I have only heard samples of most of the other songs on the album, but as far as I can tell, this track is the real standout.

Here's an article from last year that talks about the band's somewhat erratic history. I don't think they've broken up, but it sounds like it's only so often that they mange to get together. This may explain why they have no real web presence that I can see. There's a review of the album here (scroll down).

Bonus Music!
Black Taj: "Woke Up Tired" (from Black Taj 2005, and also the WXYC Bandwidth compliation)
Idyll Swords: "Tantz" (from II 2000. Buy/download)

Cat's Cradle benefit for Melissa York

2006-06-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

History: Gerty! was a great, fun band that added more and more new wave influence to their indie rock, culminating in 2002's Sweets from the Minibar, which was sort of like Blondie crossed with the Cars. The Butchies were a candy-coated pop punk trio who broke up after several albums, including 2004's Make Yr Life. Butchies drummer Melissa York joined up with Gerty's David Koslowski and Shirle Hale, and they decided to call themselves the Ex-Members. Before they had the chance to do much of anything in their new incarnation, York had to have neck surgery (too much head-banging!).

Like many musicians, York's part-time non-music work didn't cover the health care costs. Tomorrow night (7/1) at the Cat's Cradle, a bunch of her friends are giving a concert to raise funds to help her out. Here's the lineup, and a sample from each band:

The Moaners: bluesy/swampy guitar/drums duo, including Melissa Swingle, who used to be in Trailer Bride.
"Heart Attack" (from Dark Snack 2005. Buy/download)

Dirty Little Heaters: another guitar/drums duo, this one a little more punkish.
"Who's Got the Blow?" (from Got It? 2005. Buy/download.)

Midtown Dickens: yet another female duo on the bill, but Midtown Dickens are more acoustic and folky. Quirky Americana harmonies.
"AM Dial"

Robosapien: old school hip hop house party meets indie rock. The riotgrrl Beastie Boys?
"Dance" (from Where the Beat End Up 2005. Buy/download)

Finally, I wrote previously about Gerty and the Butchies. Here's a track from each, and an Ex-Members demo (sounds a lot like Gerty...)

Gerty: "Short Drive Home" (from Sweets from the Minibar 2002. Buy/download)
The Butchies: "Trouble" (from Make Yr Life 2004. Buy/download)
The Ex-Members: "Hit By Hit"

So go check out the show -- good bands and a worthwhile cause. Or go here to make a donation to Melissa York.

Oh, and Melissa York has one other loose connection to the Oak Room. That's her drum set in the banner at the top of the page!

Lovely acoustic pop from Ryan Pound

2006-06-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

Hey, posting more than once worked out all right last week, so let's see if I can keep it going. I'll try to post a single track early in the week, and then continue my more lengthy posts on Fridays.

"Into the Night" is a lovely pop song featuring acoustic guitar, cello, and a little flute. Ryan Pound released a single on Pidgeon English a while back, and it sounds like there's a full-length release on tap sometime in the near future. He plays on Thursday (6/29) at the Bickett Gallery in Raleigh with the wonderful Regina Hexaphone (previously 1, 2) and New York folk-pop duo Kaiser Cartel (listen here).

The Sammies: solid rock from Charlotte

2006-06-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Sammies: "For John"
"Falling Out"
(from The Sammies 2006.)

In a little bit of a departure from standard Oak Room procedure (but not too much), here's a band from down the road in Charlotte. I got a copy of the Sammies self-titled debut album -- in stores next week -- and I quite like it. (Thanks to the folks at MoRisen for sending it my way -- check out this nice profile of the label in this week's Independent.) The Sammies blend various flavors of rock -- indie, classic, garage, a bit of hard -- without blatantly aping any one of them. They describe their sound as "a hybrid of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pavement, and MC5," which isn't too far off.

There's some great guitar playing here, not in the form of ~~wanky~~ flashy solos, but in the churning, shifting foundation that Murphy Upshaw and Frank Backgammon establish for the band's songs. I'm partial to the songs with a little more indie quirk to them -- the all-out rockers are fun but less distinctive, and Backgammon's vocals are more effective when they're reined in a bit. "For John" may be the best of these. Upshaw unspools a long guitar line that makes me think of some of the more cinematic elements of the Edge's style circa Joshua Tree. "Falling Out" is another good one, charging along on those ringing guitars. You can check out other songs at the band's web site and MySpace.

The Sammies play on Saturday (6/24) at Local 506, with label-mates Elevator Action and Raleigh's Nathan Asher & the Infantry. (So there's the local hook...) Elevator Action have kind of a trash/glam thing going on. Nathan Asher is the most traditional rock-n-roll of the set, verbose and earnest. The ever-pithy Ross Grady says "like Bruce Springsteen & Patti Smith on a blind date, doing lots of amphetamines."

(I often find Ross's thumbnail descriptions spot-on, or at least I can usually see what he's getting at. But his take on the Sammies baffles me: "a bunch of rednecks who spent a lot of time listening to The Cure." Do I just not know what the Cure sounds like?)

Roman Candle: finally!

2006-06-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's been about a year and a half since I first wrote about Roman Candle. Back then, it sounded like their album -- a re-recorded version of their 2002 debut Says Pop -- would be coming out any day now. As detailed in this week's Independent , there was a lot of record label foolishness that delayed the release of The Wee Hours Revue beyond all reason. [BTW, Grayson Currin has written some great pieces for the Indy lately!] Finally, though, V2 released it this week, and it sounds like a winner. It's a heart-felt collection of soulful, melodic songs that should have a broad appeal.

The core of the band, brothers Skip and Logan Matheny, are from Wilkesboro, and they definitely show a country/roots influence. This is particularly evident in the lovely "New York This Morning," a shuffling acoustic number. But other songs, like "Winterlight", show a broader pop palette. Both the drum production and Logan's style often suggest an electronic/dance beat without ever really reaching that point. With mild surprise, I find that (contrary to my earlier prediction), Chris Stamey's production hasn't really changed the band's sound that much, at least on the couple of head-to-head comparisons I can make right now. But it has made a difference -- I think you can hear how much richer the sound is if you listen to the two versions of "Something Left To Say" back-to-back.

"New York This Morning"
"Winterlight"
"Something Left To Say" (The Wee Hours Revue 2006. Buy it here.)
"Something Left To Say" (Says Pop 2002 -- or maybe a demo?)

You can hear a few other songs on the band's MySpace page, including "Why Modern Radio is A-OK With Me" -- I mentioned this in my previous post, and its snarky jabs at the radio still make me laugh. The CD release show is tonight (6/22) at the Cat's Cradle with the Old Ceremony. They'll perform the whole album, and are promising "surprise guest performances", which will probably include collaborators Thad Cockrell and Keegan DeWitt. They play again at the Pour House with Patty Hurst Shifter on Saturday (6/24).

CANES!

2006-06-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Portastatic: "Hurricane Warning (Ignored)" (from The Nature of Sap 1997. Buy/download)
Paul Simon: "Hurricane Eye" (live in Hamburg 2002)

Well, it's total bandwagon-jumping, but what the hell. I never watched a full hockey game until the last month, but it's been fun watching the Hurricanes run to the Stanley Cup. It'll never replace college hoops for me, but I'll pay some attention to the hockey next year -- it is awfully exciting. And I may actually be starting to understand what's happening on the ice...

A week or two ago, I found out that Mac McCaughan of Superchunk/Portastatic/Merge Records has a Portastatic blog. I don't know what Mac's background is, but it turns out he's a hockey fan -- there are more posts about the 'Canes than about his band! So, partly in his honor, I'm posting Portastatic's "Hurricane Warning (Ignored)", as well as a live version of Paul Simon's "Hurricane Eye." Oh, and what the heck, here's the obvious song...

The Scorpions: "Rock You Like A Hurricane" (from Love at First Sting 1984. Buy)

Meet Bull City

2006-06-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

Bull City: "Bum Leg" and "Game" (demos)
The Balance: "On A Wheel" and "Proof" (from The Balance 2004)

Last month, I noted that the Balance was laying low and recording new songs. Turns out, they were really breaking up -- Matt McCaughan being busy with Portastatic and other projects and multi-instrumentalist Wes Phillips returning to Iowa. (Wes contributed to a number of fine Triangle bands, so perhaps he'll make his way back here sometime.) But Jim Brantley is carrying on under a new name, Bull City, which sees him teaming up with drummer Scott Carle (who used to play with Dillon Fence, among others), Boss Bowers on bass, and "hot young ‘un guitar slinger" John Kurtz.

When I first came across the Bull City MySpace page, it only had one song: "Bum Leg", an odd little electronic composition. That turns out to be more of a goof than anything that Bull City will actually sound like, according to Jim. Given that he's still the primary songwriter, I have to think that it will sound similar to the Balance -- and he's added "Game" to the MySpace site, which I previously posted as a Balance demo. I really enjoyed the Balance's indie/power pop blend ("On A Wheel" is a good example), so I'd be happy to see a continuation of that. On the other hand, Jim promises both more of a classic rock/big guitars sound and more country in Bull City. I don't know if that means a split personality album or a Drive-By Truckers southern rock sound or what -- the demos that Jim shared with me were one apiece of each style. Revisiting the Balance's CD, it occurs to me that "Proof" manages to combine elements of both, with dobro nipping around the edges of the verses leading into some crashing guitar crescendos. The full band is slated to record demos early next month, and I'll be looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Bull City has a pretty full slate of shows in the next few weeks to tune up for their session, and they're playing on Saturday at Kings in Raleigh. Also on the bill are Electric Sunshine, a new band led by Eddie Taylor of the Loaners -- neither of whichI know anything about -- and Big City Reverie, a Raleigh trio with a big guitar sound (the Indy says, "heart-on-the-line, wheels-on-fire Raleigh rock trio, sporting an androgenic education via Cheap Trick and Guns N' Roses like an old T-shirt") that ought to sit well alongside Bull City. They have a number of songs to listen to here and here. (The downloads are low bitrate, so just listen on line. I recommend "Under Control" and "Nightmares for You").

Bonus Song!
Dillon Fence: "Daylight" (from Rosemary 1992) Ahh, college...

Roots/Country smorgasbord at Local 506: New Town Drunks, Spider Bags, Shannon O'Connor

2006-06-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

New Town Drunks: "Down With the Poor"
(from Trust Us With Your Car 2005. Buy)
Spider Bags: "Waking Up Drunk"
(from A Celebration of Hunger 2006. Unreleased, apparently)
Shannon O'Connor: "Ride"
(from Low In Paradise 2005. Buy)

This is the lineup for a great-looking show at Local 506 on Saturday (6/10 at 10:00 p.m., $6): a trio of bands that start from a general country/folk foundation and rough it up in various ways. I've got one song from each here, and you can hear more at their respective Myspace sites.

Shannon O'Connor is probably the smoothest of the three, and the most straight-ahead country, though tempered with a bit of book-learnin' in the lyrics. "Ride" is a sprightly song with some nice fiddling and a cool baritone guitar part. Most of her songs strike me as well-done but fairly conventional, so it's interesting to hear her do something a little darker and slinkier on "Cowboy Robot". (Listen to it here.)

I'm not sure what to make of New Town Drunks. The live videos on their web site rock pretty hard, in a Bloodshot Records sort of way. Most of the music you can hear on their Myspace site is either a sort of rootsy cabaret thing (like "Down With The Poor") or slightly kitchy singalong stuff (like "Autumn's Truck"). However it turns out, they have plenty of energy and look like they'll be loads of fun.

Spider Bags are pretty inscrutable, too, given that their hard-to-read and cryptic Myspace page seems to be their only web presence. But their music may be may favorite of the lot. The songs they have on line range from simple old-timey acoustic songs ("Devil When I Go") to rockers that make me think of Drive-By Truckers without so much Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Blood For You"). "Waking Up Drunk" splits the difference -- a country-inspired, rock-tinged drinking song.

Here's the Indy's blurb for the show (from here):

The New Town Drunks write country songs with a Latin predilection, an intoxicating swill for their friends, the commiserating drunkards. These theater-of-the-absurdly intoxicated teasers stipulate that sobriety is cheaper (but not safer) than sanity and losing your keys is safer than losing your cool. The band is having a baby (Surgeon General's warning, anyone?) and taking a break until a New Year's Eve return to fall-over form. Shannon O'Connor and Spider Bags share the bill for this O.C. hullabaloo.

When I think about it, it's kind of funny that my musical tastes have developed such that this looks like a really good show. I wouldn't have given it the time of day in college, and I shudder to think what high-school me would have said about the prospect of attending. I think one of the things that probably put me on the path to appreciating roots-derived American music was my interest in folk music traditions from elsewhere, especially Africa. Kind of a roundabout way to get there, I guess, but opening your ears is a good thing no matter how you do it.

Crazy electronic music at Kings: Pit Er Pat et al.

2006-05-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

Alphas Wear Grey: "No Emotions"
"Say Something"
Pit Er Pat: "Underwater Wave Game"
(from Shakey 2005. Buy or download)

Well, it's really saying something when loopy Chicago trio Pit Er Pat is the most normal-sounding act in the lineup, but that's the case tonight at King's Barcade in Raleigh. Pit Er Pat layers angular electric piano and a mannered female vocalist over a busy bass and drums foundation. They grabbed my attention when I first heard "Underwater Wave Game" -- its really not like any other music I know of. I guess it's possible that this is more due to my listening habits than Pit Er Pat's uniqueness, but in any case, I always like a band that does their own thing.

So I was curious about the other acts on the bill for tonights show, two of which turn out to be local. They are further along the electronic/ambient/experimental spectrum than Pit Er Pat, which should make for an interesting evening. Alphas Wear Grey is made up of two folks who have studied computers and/or music at NC State and The Problem Child, "a sampling probability drum sequencer." They blend electronics and acoustic instruments in an appealing way that reminds me a bit of the Books without all the field recordings. Phon is more strictly computer based, and more ambient -- less to my taste, but still interesting. You can stream some of his works here. Finally, Lichens is Robert Lowe making slow-moving droney sounds. I've only listened to the excerpts here, but it sounds like it could be pretty involving if you relax and let yourself float along with him.

So: a collection of artists making music that's rather different from what I ususually listen to. I'll need to spend some more time with it, but I can certainly see the appeal, at least for certain moods. Dunno how it will translate to a live show -- Pit Er Pat seems like Motorhead compared to the rest of this crew -- but it's worth checking out.

Photo of Phon by Robert Shanks

Shakermaker

2006-05-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Shakermaker: "What Can We Do"
"Refugee"
"Junkie"
(from Music Room 2006. Buy it from the band or at CD Alley in Chapel Hill.)

I don't know a whole lot about Shakermaker except that they're based in Chapel Hill, released their first album, Music Room, a couple of months ago, and have played in some pretty good company lately. I mentioned them recently on a bill with the stellar Can Joann and the catchy Hotel Lights; they opened for Dios (Malos) last year, and earlier this week, they played with Say Hi To Your Mom and the quirky (to the point where it's almost too much but then not quite) SNMNMNM (gotta give them a post of their own one of these days...).

Music Room is a nicely varied collection of catchy songs -- sometimes rock, sometimes folkish, occasionally a little twangy. You might find some similarity to the Shins (as the Indy blurb here suggests). Sometimes I get a mellowed-out Spoon vibe ("Junkie" is reminiscent of "I Summon You"). "What Can We Do" and "Refugee" illustrate Shakermaker's breadth; the former a loping rocker, the latter a delicate acoustic number (the horn intro and celeste [?] in the background are a nice touch). If you like those, you can find some other songs from Music Room at the band's site or myspace page.

I suppose if I were smarter, I'd hold this post until they have a show coming up, but evidently I'm not so smart. I have no idea when or where they will strike next. Keep your eyes open for these guys, though -- they're good.

"Like the air/like a song": Farewell to the Sames

2006-05-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

The Sames, as I've mentioned before, were just about the first local band I profiled back when I started the Oak Room. Last year's full-length release, You are the Sames, wrapped up some tremendous hooks in a mass of fuzzy guitar -- one of my favorites. They also contributed three sharp songs to the collaborative 3X4 compilation released earlier this year. But now they're hanging it up, for reasons that aren't entirely clear. The Independent made the Sames their band of the month for May, and here's an interview and appreciation.

At least they're going out with a bang: a farewell extravaganza at the Cat's Cradle tonight featuring a host of other like-minded bands (most of whom have recorded on Pox World, the label run by Sames guitarist Zeno Gill). I'd pay good money to see this lineup, but it's all free (and apparently they're providing food as well!). In tribute, here's a mix of songs from the Sames and their pals. I'll miss them.

The Sames: "Like a Song (Really)"; "In Liberty Lights" (from You are the Sames 2005 buy)
"~~Coney Island of the South~~" (from 3X4 2006 buy)
The Rosebuds: "Governor's Daughter" (from Compulation Volume One 2003 buy)
"Leaves Do Fall" (from Birds Make Good Neighbors 2005 buy/download)
Schooner: "Stunts and Showmanship and Codes" (from You Forget About Your Heart 2004 buy)
North Elementary: "Heartbreakin' in Machine" (from Lose Your Favorite Things 2004 buy)
Audubon Park: "Sunbathers" (from The Bunny is Not as Popular as Julius 2005)
Pleasant: "Fight Song" (from Awkward as a Beehive 2005[?] buy)
Torch Marauder: "Where No One Is" (from Boxers, Painters, and Snappers 2004 buy)

Like the air
Like a song
Now we're here
Now we're gone...

It's Called BAIA

2006-05-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

A great lineup of bands, several of whom are new to me, is performing a benefit concert at Shakori Hills on Saturday. The organizers are a group called Battling AIDS in Africa (see here for more info) -- several of them are local high school kids.

A while back, I wrote about the compelling music coming out of the Bu Hanan collective, and several of those guys are playing here. The hyper-verbose chamber pop of Perry Wright's Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers [prev.] grabbed me from the first time I heard it, and it actually has grown on me. Perry was kind enough to make the out-of-print Psalterie available for free download here. It's a little more austere than the follow up Mother of Love..., but full of lovely moments like "Aeterna (Concerning the End of the World) (Ps. 30:9)". David Karsten Daniels [prev.]writes complex folkish songs, and his recent work (like "Minnows") seems to be influenced by minimalist composers as well. Kapow! Music's John Ribo [prev.] ranges from folkish rock with mild electronica touches (like "Just There") to crazy all-electronic bleep bloop songs (like "Five Finger Discount").

A number of the other bands are either old favorites (Schooner, North Elementary) or recent discoveries (The Never). But there are several that I haven't heard before that are pleasant surprises. I haven't had a chance to really dig deep, and I'm not feeling real analytical, but here are a few tracks that stand out at first glance.

Seamus: "Turn Light Nurse"
Pretty polished pop rock, especially considering that most of these guys are in high school. Scott Satterwhite is one of the organizers of this benefit. Hear more songs here.
The Low Life: "Thixotropic"
Their web site says very little about the band (maybe you have to join the street team? but why would you without knowing more?) but they have plenty of songs here. It's got some of that jam band/Dave Matthews vibe -- maybe it's the percussion. As any regular reader knows, I'm a sucker for bands that have more than a drum set.
Asphalt: "Lost in Tremors"
They claim to be "a new form of rock" and though I'm not really feeling that, it's solid enough prog-inflected hard rock. More here.
Zindangi: "Dum Maro Dum"
Cool! An interesting world beat blend of Latin, Middle Eastern and African influences. (Cf. Project Mastana.) It'll make you dance. More sounds here.

Checking in with old friends

2006-05-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Can Joann: "After the Seizure's Gone"
"Indecision's Way"
(from Hurt People Hurt People 2006. Out soon -- check here for purchase info.)

The Balance: "Runnin"
"Game"
(demos for forthcoming EP)

I'm a bit short on time today, so here's an update on some folks that I've written about before. Can Joann [previously] has a touch of the Rosebuds about their energetic pop-inflected rock songs, but with more of an indie edge (and so less of the slightly retro Rosebuds feel). Joel Peck's soaring vocals lead the band through some really catchy songs. These are two songs from the band's new album, due out any time now. They're playing a CD release show next Friday (5/12) at King's in Raleigh with Hotel Lights [previously] and Shakermaker.

The Balance [previously] is working on a new EP and evidently not playing out much. "Game" is in the same indie rock vein as their previous work, but "Runnin" suggests a new, folk/country direction as well.

The Honored Guests: New Record, New Sound

2006-04-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Honored Guests: "Say You Will"
"Sharpened Tooth"
(from Tastes Change 2006. Buy it here.)
Schooner: "Indian Sunburn"
(from 3X4 2006. Buy it here.)
Joe Romeo: "~~Cat Glasses~~" (grab it here)
(don't think he has anything to sell just yet...)

The Honored Guests play a show at Local 506 on Saturday for the release of their second album, Tastes Change. Whatever else the title signifies, it hints at a change in sound on the new release. I really enjoyed their previous effort, the enigmatically titled Iawokeinacityasleep, so the change in direction threw me for a loop at first. Where Iawoke... had a thick, fuzzy sound, on Tastes Change, everything is more distinct -- clearer and higher. There are a lot of interesting things going on in the mix, and in some ways the eclectic production reminds me of Wilco's sonic experiments on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

In part, this shifting sound is due to the addition of Patrick O'Neill on keyboards and guitar, but also flows from a conscious effort on the part of the band to make a record that was "a little more powerful and a little more weird," according to guitarist Russ Baggett. Deliberately, then, they are moving away from some of the more overtly pop moments on Iawoke... I have to confess that I miss that a bit, but now that I've had the chance to mull over Tastes Change and appreciate it in its own right, I find quite a lot to like. The band draws influences from all across the rock spectrum and timeline, from the energetic blast of "Say You Will" to the drugged-out langour of "Grown Up Clothes." "Sharpened Tooth" is a favorite for the build of chiming guitars, and for the unorthdox drumming and percussion. There's a thoughtful review of Tastes Change in this week's Independent ~~that doesn't seem to be online yet, but I'll come back and link it later~~ here. It ends up about where I do: "A solid second."

Unlike the Cities release show that I mentioned last week, I think the lineup for Saturday makes a lot of sense as a group. Raleigh's Schooner [previous post] has plenty of low-fi quirks but is keeping the pop core that the Honored Guests are moving away from. "Indian Sunburn/Summer" is a track from a great local collaboration that also includes music from the lovely Erie Choir [previously], the soon-to-be defunct (no!) Sames [previous 1 2], and Wilmington's Summer Set. Joe Romeo used to be in a band called Fake Swedish, which I never got around to mentioning before they broke up. Apparently he's got several new songs in the can, and "Cat Glasses" is a sweet, piano-driven pop song.

Cities: dark post-punk

2006-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Cities: "A Theme"
"Lounge Act"
"Capitol"
(from Cities 2006. Buy or download.)

I don't suppose the world really needs another post-punk revival band, but it's hard to object to Cities when they do it so well. Personally, I'm happy to adopt these local college kids over their comparable, if better-established peers in New York and London. I actually learned about Cities more than a year ago, after guitarist Robbie Mackey wrote an article in the Daily Tar Heel about music blogs, so it's exciting for me to see these guys starting to break big.

Their self-titled debut album was released on Yep Roc this week -- it's all dark, chimey guitars, churning rhythms and theatrical vocals. "A Theme" is the track they seem to be promoting, and it's the most classically post-punk (as I understand it) with the disco hi-hat running throughout. "Capitol" is similar, with a more foreboding edge. "Lounge Act" is another favorite of mine -- I love the guitar harmonics (or whatever the term is -- I'm a drummer) and the vaguely Bloc Party-ish sound.

Their album release show is next Friday at Local 506 with kind of a mixed bag of other local bands that I don't know well. Fin Fang Foom comes across at first glance as heavy post rock -- they've apparently added a cellist, which is generally a plus in my book. Idea of Beauty alternates between indie rock and something much heavier -- you know I don't mind the heavy, but the vocals are a deal-breaker here. Heads Down Thumbs Up are an instrumental quartet that aren't as heavy as the other two. All in all, not what I would have expected as support for Cities, but maybe there's a certain dark drama that ties them all together.

Live Rosebuds

2006-04-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

The Rosebuds: "My Downtown Friends"
"Boys Who Love Girls"
"I'd Feel Better"
"Everybody Disco"
(live, Kings Barcade, Raleigh NC, 11/20/2004. Buy or download Rosebuds stuff.)

I've long been a fan of the Rosebuds' retro pop. Here are a couple of tracks from a live performance in Raleigh from a few years ago. It doesn't include any songs from their stellar recent release, Birds Make Good Neighbors, but it's a solid selection from their first two albums. I made a point of including "Everybody Disco," since I don't think they've recorded that one. It's no earth-shaking addition to their repertoire, but a solid slice of Rosebud energy. Ivan Howard's voice is a little rough in spots during this set, but I've seen them live myself (yes, every now and then I get out to a show...) and he is a star -- super charismatic and a marvelous songwriter.

Five Year Plan has a selection of other live recordings from International Orange (previously) and Nathan Asher and the Infantry, who recently topped the Independent's poll for Best Triangle Rock Band. (I'll have to work up a post on them soon.) It's a great idea, and they're off to a good start. Keep it up, guys!

PS: Hey to Best Week Ever!

Colossus brings the Rock! (Wooo!)

2006-04-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

Colossus: "Kolossus"
(live in Asheville)

Well, this is too much of a concidence to pass up. Given my comment in my previous post about taking a break from the pretty, I sat up and took notice when I came across Colossus, playing tonight at King's Barcade in Raleigh.

Buried deep in my musical history is an intense high school love of heavy metal, and Colossus hits that spot hard. I have no idea if they're taking this seriously -- their myspace page has no real information -- but they do a good job with it anyhow. "Kolossus" is basically an instrumental, but you can also download some other stuff including a dead ringer for early Iron Maiden ("Ghostfucker") and a Judas Priest cover ("The Ripper").

Seriously, if we can have this big post-punk revival all over the place, why can't we have a NWOBHM revival too?

Work Clothes: hushed, atmospheric pop

2006-04-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Work Clothes: "Fort Bragg Summers"
"Over The Moon"
(from These Are The Shoes We Wear 2005. Buy it.)

"Turn The AC On High"
(from Work Clothes 2001. Buy it.)

Earlier this week, I was thinking about taking a break from the pretty music I've been posting about lately, and putting together a block of full-out rawk for the sake of variety. Then I remembered Work Clothes, and decided to stick with the pretty.

The core of Work Clothes is the husband-and-wife team of Jenny and Lee Waters and their gorgeous voices. (Lee also played drums on another married duo's album last year, the Rosebuds' Birds Make Good Neighbors.) The pair recorded an EP back in 2001 that was mostly just them and guitars. Several of the songs on that EP are listed as "demo", but it was several years before they ever got around to making the follow-up.

These Are The Shoes We Wear actually doesn't revisit any of that earlier material, but it does flesh out the sound with keyboards, drums, and other instruments judiciously added. It's a lovely, quiet record -- not as hushed as say, Iron and Wine, but with something of that feel to it. In a very impressionistic sense, it makes me think of lying on a blanket at the beach or a park on a sunny day with my eyes closed, listening to the distant sounds of the world. Here's a nice article about Jenny and Lee and the album.

Check out Craig's take onWork Clothes from Songs:Illinois here.

The Never: eclectic, dramatic pop-rock

2006-03-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Never: "Cavity"
"Summer Girl"
(from Antarctica 2006. Buy.)

"Bigger than Jared"
"I Heart U x 3"
(from The Never 2004. Buy.)

Sometimes the way a band describes its sound can be puzzling or misleading, but I actually thing that Chapel Hill's The Never have it about right when they say, "Imagine if Brian Wilson teamed up with Pink Floyd and battled Danny Elfman and Queen." Their music features strong multipart harmonies, widely varied song styles, a fine ear for a pop hook, and a well-developed sense of drama.

I realized when I sat down to write this that one of my favorite terms of praise is "ambitious." There's no question that applies to the Never -- I don't think anything says "ambition" more than a concept album. The Never's latest, Antarctica, is not only a thematic song cycle about "the journey of a country boy on his way to return a nuclear bomb to the city", it also features a 50-page booklet of color paintings. I admit I haven't heard it in its entirety, so I can't comment on how it hangs together as a whole, but the individual songs I've heard are strong. "Cavity" is a crunchy pop song, while "Summer Girl" is moody and dark. You can stream a few other songs at the band's MySpace site -- "Chase Music" is an instrumental that does some interesting things with strings and electronics.

Their earlier self-titled album seems similarly eclectic, if not as thematically unified. You can download many of the songs from the Never's site, but I've picked a couple that I particularly like. Here, I find myself fonder of their poppier moments, like the peppy power pop "I Heart U x 3" and the punk-pop "Bigger than Jared" -- the slower, more acoustic songs don't really grab me as strongly, at least not at first.

The release show for Antarctica was last Sunday at the Carrboro ArtsCenter -- they did the whole album with strings, which must have been something! They'll be touring all around the East Coast in April (dates here), including a performance at the Shakori Hills Festival, so keep a look out!

Reworking the North Carolina Jukebox

2006-03-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Two Dollar Pistols: "Driveway to Driveway"
Southern Culture on the Skids: "Everybody Wants My Baby"
(from Songs for Sixty Five Roses 2006. Buy or download.)
Superchunk: "Driveway to Driveway"
(from Foolish 1994. Buy or download.)
The Moaners: "Everybody Wants My Baby"
(from Bandwidth: Celebrating 10 Years of Internet Radio on WXYC-Chapel Hill 2004. Download here; other Moaners stuff to buy or download.)

Songs for Sixty Five Roses is a stellar compliation of Triangle talent that features a host of local artists covering classic and obscure tracks by songwriters with current or former local ties. So you've got Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers (ex-Archers of Loaf) covering an old Let's Active tune, Portastatic reworking Ryan Adams' "Oh My Sweet Carolina", Nikki Meets the Hibachi covering a Des_ark song, and so on. The artists comment on their choices here. I'm certainly not the first blogger to mention this album, but there's no way to keep something like this off the Oak Room.

It's a pretty great compliation on the musical merits, but it's also a fundraiser for a very worthy cause. "Sixty five roses" is a child's pronunciation of cystic fibrosis, and the proceeds from this album go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The impetus for this project was local producer/engineer/mixer John Plymale, whose daughter Allie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 2004. He's had a hand in a lot of great local music, and the artists rushed to his support -- apparently this album was pulled together in a month or so. (An interesting background article is here.) Whether or not you buy this album (but do!), think about supporting CFF directly.

You can hear samples of the whole thing here and stream some tracks here. I decided to post a couple of tracks that have had more radical reworkings and let you hear the originals as well. Two Dollar Pistols give a great honky-tonk spin to Superchunk's classic "Driveway to Driveway", and Southern Culture on the Skids do their inimitable rockabilly thing with the Moaners' bluesy "Everybody Wants My Baby".

There's a benefit show at the Cat's Cradle next Friday (3/31), featuring at least 12 of these bands, so it'd be well worth checking that out too.

Annuals

2006-03-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Annuals: "Ida, My"
"Brother"
(from Lay Down Dry, 2005. Buy from the band.)

Just a quick post today about Annuals, a band I found poking around the SXSW listing of NC bands. (They played last night at the Velvet Spade.) Judging from these two songs, their MO seems to be a delicate, acoustic intro that makes you think they're somewhat akin to Sweater Weather (previously), exploding into a grandiose rock song, with perhaps some debt to U2. (I'm not one of those who thinks a U2 comparison is a bad thing...) I also like their willingness to explore with studio trickery -- I love the glitchy electronic percussion that kicks in about a minute and a half into "Ida, My". (The songs on the band's MySpace page suggest that they may also have some jam band tendencies.)

These guys are young, but they've been playing since they were 13/14. Annuals was actually an offshoot of a band called Sedona. Sedona still seems to be a going concern, but Annuals has taken the forefront, with an album, Lay Down Dry, released last year. It sounds like they've been working on a followup this year. I don't know when they're playing in the Triangle next, but they look like a fun show (esp if they wear the cat suit!), so I'll keep an eye open.

Well, that's embarassing...

2006-03-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

Truth is, I only have a handful of Hazeldine and Glory Fountain songs in my collection, and it turns out that one of them is by a different band! As I have been notified in comments, that song in my previous post isn't by Hazeldine -- eMusic has the artist attributions all screwed up on that Bloodshot compliation. Please be assured that my quality control staff is giving the fact-checking team a good working-over this afternoon.

So, having consulted other references and picking out what I think is the Hazeldine song on that comp, it really makes sense -- much more of a sound that's in line with Tres Chicas. By way of apology, here 'tis:
Hazeldine: "Unforgiven"
(from Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records, 2000. Buy or download. Buy other stuff here.)

And if I'm wrong about this too, let's just move on...

Since I'm revisiting this, I thought I'd comment further on the new Chicas album, having listened a bit more over the weekend. It's not that the tone of the whole album is different from Sweetwater -- there are some really nice songs on the new one, including "Man of the People" and the somewhat Celtish "Red". It's just a handful of songs that have a (to me) less-distinctive, Norah-Jonesy vibe, including "Stone Love Song" and "Sway", and even those have those marvellous harmonies that make them enjoyable. So, still perhaps not quite as much of a favorite for me as Sweetwater, but probably a bit better than my initial review on Friday.

Tres Chicas and before

2006-03-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Tres Chicas: "Drop Me Down"
"Shade Trees In Bloom"
(from Bloom, Red, and the Ordinary Girl, 2006. Buy or download.)
~~Hazeldine: "Turn the Lights Down Low"~~ Apparently that's not Hazeldine!
(from Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records, 2000. Buy or download. Buy other stuff here.)
Glory Fountain: "Faith"
(from Blame Love, 1997. Buy stuff here.)

One of the first groups I profiled (back here) was Tres Chicas, whose 2004 release, Sweetwater, is a gorgeous folk/rock/country hybrid that showcases three formidable vocal talents. This week, their follow-up, Bloom, Red, and the Ordinary Girl was released, and it moves the group in a slightly different direction. Decamping to London to record and write, and leaving Triangle uber-producer Chris Stamey behind, Caitlin Cary, Lynn Blakey, and Tonya Lamm have worked more jazz and soul into the mix. The result perhaps bears some vague resemblance to Cat Power's recent The Greatest (or, to be honest, Nora Jones -- listen to the electric piano and brushed drums on some of these songs!). Here's a great article describing the making of the album.

Most folks are saying that this is a better record than Sweetwater, and it's certainly it's equal in terms of the vocal performances. It's probably more cohesive as an album, which makes sense since it was written and recorded in a pretty short span of time. Personally, I'm still digesting the changes to the sound, and my first impression is that I miss some of the rootsier touches -- but it's still a very satisfying and beautiful record. There are certainly songs that still maintain the folky style, like the opening track, "Drop Me Down." I've selected "Shade Trees in Bloom" to reflect the more jazzy side of this album -- the harmonies and trading vocals on the chorus are something else.

All tres of the chicas have pretty impressive resumes, and I've included a couple of songs to give you a taste of where they're coming from. I figure most folks with any interest in this kind of music have already heard Caitlin Cary's old band, Whiskeytown, so nothing from them. (Although there are some unreleased tracks available at An Aquarium Drunkard.) Lynn Blakey's Glory Fountain was a solid alt-country band, and "Faith" rocks a lot harder than Tres Chicas ever have. (Which is to say, moderately.) Tonya Lamm's Hazeldine was a lot folkier. "Turn the Lights Down Low" is a back porch raveup from a great Bloodshot Records compilation.

Tres Chicas are playing at SXSW on March 16, but the have a CD release show tonight at The Pour House in Raleigh.

Sweater Weather: ambitious folk-pop

2006-03-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Sweater Weather: "Every Eye Will See"
"The Pains of Relocation"
(from 2005 demo)

This is the music that was the specific motivation for me to crank up the blog again. The excitement of coming across something as new and lovely as this is what I really enjoy about writing the Oak Room.

The very name of the band sets the tone well for Sweater Weather's music: there's something very comfortable and warm about their acoustic folk-pop. It's pastoral and gentle, but moves beyond being merely pleasant through expansive arrangments and song forms. The presence of cello, djembe, and melodica in the lineup is another unusual dimension of their music. There is something akin to Sufjan Stevens in that aspect of Sweater Weather -- folkish forms deployed in the service of something more ambitious.

"Every Eye Will See" is a real standout -- a beautiful song that takes a thrilling left turn into an unsusal coda about four and a half minutes in. "The Pains of Relocation" is a bit more straightforward, but builds its melancholy tone from a quiet beginning to a strong climax before retreating back to a meditative conclusion.

This is a young band, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from them. Their next show is March 25 at the Wetlands in Chapel Hill with a long-standing Oak Room favorite, North Elementary.

Outstanding Alt-folkish/whatever show at the Coffeehouse

2006-02-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Regina Hexaphone: "~~Ethan's Dream~~"
(from The Beautiful World, 2004. Buy or download.)
[File taken down, but "Radiate" is not a bad substitute in this mix]
The Strugglers: "The Cascade Range"
(from You Win, 2005. Buy)
The Zincs: "Bad Shepards"
(from Dimmer., 2005. Buy or download.)
Edith Frost: "Cars and Parties"
(from demos, 2004. Download the whole thing free here, buy other things here.)

Holy crap, what a great show tonight at the Duke Coffeehouse! The lineup of Regina Hexaphone, the Strugglers, the Zincs, and Edith Frost won't shake the rafters, but there will be more than enough folk(ish) rock goodness to go around. I think the lineup of songs above gives a nice sense of the common stylistic thread that connects these bands -- low-key, acoustic, with at least a touch of strings. "Ethan's Dream" features some the lovely violin of Sara Bell, and "The Cascade Range" adds Randy Bickford's wonderfully dusty voice to another fine piece of fiddling. Brit-by-way-of-Chicago Jim Elkington leads the Zincs, and his baritone on "Bad Shepards" follows comfortably after Bickfords', though he's considerably smoother. I don't really know Edith Frost, so I'm not sure how representative "Cars and Parties" is of her overall sound, but her intimate voice is a perfect capper for this set of music.

I've written about Regina Hexaphone and the Strugglers before. The Hex are working on recordings for a new album, though when it'll be completed is anyone's guess. The Strugglers relased a fine album, You Win, since the last time, and it looks like they have a pretty extensive European tour planned for later this year. Here's an interesting interview with Bickford about the, well, struggles he's faced getting his music distributed.

Don't call it a comeback...

2006-02-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

...except, you know, that I've decided to come back and try to give this blog thing a go again.

I think I can make it work on a limited basis, so look for regular Friday posts, and we'll see how that works. (I do all my blog reading through an aggregator, which is the best way to keep tabs on sporadically-updated sites like mine.)

So, to kick things off, here are several songs that have caught my ear during my time off.

MP3: "White Wave"
(Portastatic, Bright Ideas, Merge 2005. Buy here or download here.)

Mac McCaughan's Portastatic began as a Superchunk side project, but these day's Portastatic seems more like the mothership for McCaughan's music. (Superchunk performance at SXSW not withstanding.) Although the band's output has been stylistically quite eclectic, Bright Ideas is pretty 'chunky, which is more than all right with me. "White Wave" is the song that sticks in my head the most from this album. If I had a band, I'd cover this song.

MP3: "Ruins"
(The Kingsbury Manx, The Fast Rise and Fall of the South, Yep Roc 2005. Buy here or download here.)

The Kingsbury Manx's Fast Rise and Fall of the South is a beautiful folk rock kind of album. "Ruins" isn't quite representative of the whole album, but in part I like it because of the way it peps up the overall mellow feel.

MP3: "Against Pollution" (Mountain Goats cover)
(The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, live on WKNC 1/30/05)

I linked to this previously, but I appreciate it more now that I've gotten better acquainted with the original. It's kind of odd to hear someone other than John Darnielle sing this, but Perry Wright does a great job. This was recorded before PTOADS toured with the Mountain Goats (I think) -- wonder if they played it then?

See you next week!

Hiatus

2005-09-12T13:36:00.000-04:00

Well, with this post, the Oak Room has been around for a year, though with periodic lapses. This last quiet period has been caused by a number of good things -- added responsibility at work and an addition to the family -- that aren't going to leave me time for this in the immediate future. I'll try to pick things back up at some point down the line, but things will be pretty dead around here for a while. Thanks to everyone who's stopped by (at least 60% of whom were searching Google for "keytar"...)

More Polvo

2005-08-04T13:50:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to follow up on last week's post about Polvo, one of the big names of the 1990s Triangle music scene. I downloaded 1993's Today's Active Lifestyles, and like it quite a bit. It surely isn't easy listening, but a some challenging stuff in the musical diet is good, right?

I also came across a couple of songs from their later albums on Touch and Go Records, Exploded Drawing (1996) [review] and Shapes (1997) [review]. They don't sound that different to me on limited listens -- Shapes' "Enemy Insects" is slightly more mellow, but that't highly relative here -- but at least one person has recommended Exploded Drawing to me as Polvo's real high point.

MP3: "Feather of Forgiveness"
(from Exploded Drawing, Touch and Go 1996. Buy it here.)
MP3: "Enemy Insects"
(from Shapes, Touch and Go 1997. Buy it here.)

The Balance: in good company

2005-08-03T16:15:00.000-04:00

Well, The Balance is a new band to me, but since they're playing tomorrow night with two other bands that I like quite a lot -- The Sames [prevously 1, 2] and North Elementary [previously 1, 2] -- I thought I'd check them out. I'm glad I did -- it's good stuff. The first impression is of reasonably typical indie rock, but subtle things make it more interesting -- for instance, the way that "Charlatan" speeds up towards the end, or the semi-electronic breakdown in the middle of "Himeola."

I really like the drumming -- Matt McCaughan's jazz influence adds nice varation and flow. (Bass player Wes Phillips is actually a great drummer as well, in Ticonderoga and the Physics of Meaning [previously].) Guitarist Jim Bradley used to be in the Ashley Stove as well. This trio recorded a self-titled album in 2004 [review], and recently added a second guitarist, the Sames' Clay Merritt, and Dan Byrk on keyboards (etc.).

MP3: "Charlatan"
MP3: "Himeola"
MP3: "On A Wheel"
(from The Balance, 2004. Buy it from the band -- send 'em an e-mail)

There are a few other songs to stream at the band's My Space site.

Regina Hexaphone

2005-08-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

I have had notes for a post on Regina Hexaphone cued up for almost as long as the Oak Room has been in existence. This was one of the first Triangle bands that I explored, and they are still one of my favorites.

They've been around for a while (since 1997 in some form), but didn't release an album until last year's Beautiful World. It's a quiet, folk-inflected collection of songs led by Sara Bell's lovely vocals. Margaret White's violin adds quite a lot to the broad, pastoral sound, and the Hex are joined by various guests including Polvo's Ash Bowie and Chris Eubanks, with whom Bell plays in Shark Quest. White's departure for New York has left a hole in the lineups of both Regina Hexaphone and North Elementary, sadly. After a bit of regrouping, they've been playing locally fairly often lately, so I'm hoping to be able to catch them sometime soon.

MP3: "Radiate"
MP3: "Move"
MP3: "Bright Falling Stars" (aka "The Happy Waltz"?)

(from The Beautiful World, Erie Recordings 2004. Buy it here or download it here.

Jafaar: Middle Eastern Jazz Fusion"

2005-07-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

This is sort of a follow-on to last week's post about Project Mastana. Jafaar is another multicultural fusion group, this one based in mostly Middle Eastern traditions blended with jazz and funk. After extended travel in the Middle East, bassist Troy Cole returned to the Triangle in 2002 and pulled together the initial incarnation of Jaafar ("forgiveness"). The lineup fluctuates, but generally include bass, keyboards, drumset, oud, and doumbek. In addition to regular local performances, they have played at festivals in Egypt, India, and Poland.

Their web site (the design of which is a load of pants) has a ton of music to explore, but let me highlight a few things, and then you can go digging.

MP3: "Ana Melkik (percussion solo)" (this is what a doumbek sounds like!)
MP3: "Wherever You Are" (slow and quiet -- more jazz evident in this track)
MP3: "Heya Heya"

If you're liking this, buy stuff here.

Polvo: noisy 1990s art rock

2005-07-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

My musical drug dealer, eMusic, has recently been getting in a wonderful selection of the Merge Records back catalog. Based here in Durham, Merge was founded by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance back in 1989. They've come a long way from cassette and 7" vinyl releases from local bands -- recent Merge records include music-blog beloved Arcade Fire and Spoon, as well as one of my recurring favorites, the Rosebuds.

But the older stuff is exciting to me, since I now have an affordable way to explore some of the records that got Chapel Hill dubbed the "new Seattle" back in the mid-1990s. There are some that I know to a degree, but not well enough -- all that Superchunk, for one, and Portastatic for another. But I'm also looking forward to checking out Polvo, which I know mostly by name. (If only Archers of Loaf were on eMusic, they'd have the classic package of 1990s Triangle rock...)

Since I haven't heard much yet, I'll swipe the intro to Polvo's All Music profile to explain why I'm interested:

One of the most popular and accomplished bands in the arty, noisy indie rock offshoot dubbed math rock, Polvo touched on many of the style's hallmarks: dissonant, intricately layered guitars that often employed alternate tunings; odd, off-kilter rhythms; an emphasis on dense sonic texture; and unorthodox song structures that, nonetheless, were often unconventionally melodic. Additionally, their music had a pronounced Eastern feel that came not only from the Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones in their compositions, but actual Asian instruments as well; that helped set them apart from other post-Sonic Youth/Slint guitar experimentalists.

The band drifted apart after recording four albums, some members moving to New York and Boston, and split following their 1997 release, Shapes. (They moved to Touch and Go records after a while, so only their earlier albums are on eMusic.)

Here's a song from a 1994 EP, right in the middle of Polvo's run. It's a fuzzy, dissonant ball of energy that has me eager to hear more.

MP3: "Tragic Carpet Ride"
(from Celebrate the New Dark Age, Merge 1994. Buy it here or download here.)

New dB's song! (!!!)

2005-07-22T13:45:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned previously, the dB's are back together and shopping around for a deal for their recently-recorded album. Fortunately for those of us eagerly waiting to hear the new music, they've put a track up on their web site. Written by Peter Holsapple, it's pretty much what you'd expect from the dB's -- an elegant little pop song with a little jangle and just a touch of twang.

They have a few live shows lined up in Chicago and New Jersey. Hopefully it won't be long before they grace the Triangle with a performance. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on their tour schedule and album news. In the meantime, buy old stuff here.

MP3: "World to Cry"

Project Mastana: Indian/Jazz/Rock fusion

2005-07-21T14:45:00.000-04:00

Let's get multi-cultural! Project Mastana starts with a base of Indian popular music melded with western rock, and throws in a wide range of percussion (including African and Middle Eastern) plus some jazz influence for good measure. The sample below is pretty compelling, and very danceable. It's only two minutes long, but sounds like it could easily go on for ten minutes.

I'd love to hear more -- there's no evidence that the group has any recordings available, but hopefully they'll put something more up on their web site soon. If you're in New York, you can see them at the Grassroots Festival of Music tomorrow and Saturday.

MP3: "Yeh Mera Dil (This, my Heart)"

Stratocruiser: crunchy guitar-pop

2005-07-14T14:55:00.000-04:00

This is another post based off e-mail contact from a band. Somehow when I wrote about the power-pop festival Sparklefest back in April, I overlooked[1] Chapel Hill's Stratocruiser, but the guys were kind enough to point me in the direction of their new single[2], and I'm glad they did. It's crunchy guitar-pop with a 60s flavor that seems to draw a lot of comparisons to Cheap Trick. (They don't seem to mind that; see the Cheap Trick cover below.)

The main guys in Stratocruiser are Mike Nicholson (who's the organizer of Sparklefest) and Clay Howard. Howard joined the band for their second full-length release, Suburban Contemporary. Nicholson brought Howard on board to improve the vocals -- as he told the Independent, "I've sung in punk bands, but when pitch or melody is important, I'm not the guy" -- but they've formed a strong partnership. The album is rounded out by various other musicians, including an appearance by Tres Chicas' Lynn Blakey, and was produced by Robbie Rist (who in a previous life was cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch -- no joke!)

Their schedule's fairly light this summer, but they have a couple of shows in Greensboro and Winston-Salem at the end of July. See the details here.

MP3: "Smell of Success"
(from Smell of Success 7" single, SevenFoot Entertainment 2005. Buy it here.)
MP3: "Copyshop Girl"
(on Suburban Contemporary, Zip Records 2004, [though maybe not this exact version]. Buy it here.)
MP3: "Come On, Come On" (Cheap Trick cover)
(from Copyshop Girl CD single, New Atlas Records 2004. Buy it here.)

BONUS (If you like this sort of thing):
Drummer Matt Brown recently joined Stratocruiser. He also plays with Oak Room favorite Two Dollar Pistols (who have let their web site domain lapse and get claimed by a porn site -- oops!). Here's a drum solo courtesy of Saluda Cymbals, which Brown endorses.
MP3: Matt Brown drum solo

[1] Actually, I recognize the graphics, so I must have looked at them. I suspect their MP3 links weren't working, so I moved on. There's still a busted link to their "website exclusive single" -- d'oh!
[2] I see that Dodge wrote about them as well, right about the time that I heard from them, so I don't feel as special, but I'll live...

Howdy Neighbors!

2005-07-12T12:20:00.000-04:00

Through e-mail and a comment to this post, my attention has been drawn to Durham punk band Blackstrap. About as much as any band I've seen, they maximize what the Internet can do for them: their web site is in large part a blog, they have plenty of music to sample, they don't fool around with Flash or other fussy tech tricks that make it hard to find and link to stuff on their site. In true DIY style, they even have a useful section with advice for other bands about using the web.

Formed in 2002 out of a dissatisfaction with the political climate, the band recorded an EP, Media Slut, in 2004 and promptly broke up -- the release party was also their farewell gig. They're at least provisionally back together, having played just last month with Gerty.

As for the music (can't forget that), the NC Punk web site describes Blackstrap as "sexpunk oldcore". Less cryptically, their sound is described here as having "a early-80s Slash Records sort of twang to it, and gets compared to a lot of the noisier, aggressivly charged bands of that era. " Give them a listen.

MP3: "Walking Into Walls"
MP3: "Ice Age"
(from Media Slut, 307 Knox Records 2004).

MP3: "Everybody's Doin' It"
(live on WXDU, 18 May 2003)

Audiofile NC Style

2005-07-01T15:10:00.000-04:00

Salon's Audiofile music blog* has had a bit of Triangle flavor this week:

--Nice praise for the Rosebuds' latest EP/album The Rosebuds Unwind.
MP3: "You Better Get Ready"
(from The Rosebuds Unwind, Merge 2005. Buy or download.)

--Then this summer playlist features two Triangle bands (Gerty and Jett Rink) plus one from Asheville (Piedmont Charisma).

Here's another Rosebuds song from a while back:
MP3: "Governor's Daughter"
(From Compulation Volume One, Pox World Empire 2003. Buy.)

Look for the Rosebuds on tour with Teenage Fanclub this summer, and their new album Birds Make Good Neighbors out in September.

While I'm pointing elsewhere, Music For Robots has another track from the stellar Caitlin Cary/Thad Cockrell duets album Begonias.

*Oh, sit through the ad. It's not that bad.

Erie Choir

2005-06-24T12:50:00.000-04:00

A while back, I went to see a show at the Duke Coffeehouse that included a band called Erie Choir. At the time, their web site was pretty bare, but now they've added some music to listen to, and it's good stuff.

Their live show featured a full band, and although I enjoyed the music, it did start to get a little same-y sounding (lots of songs in a mid-tempo shuffle). These are mostly acoustic guitar, though one does feature a fuller lineup. I think that may serve the songs better.

Here's a review of their recent EP, Bad Tsars is a Drag: "Echoing a '70s singer/songwriter rock style, Eric Roehrig's bright acoustic strum, gentle tenor croon and spare, airy arrangements meld the confessional style with a touch of '80s new wave and jangle."

MP3: "Favorite Fotos"
MP3: "Lullaby for John Grives"
(from Bad Tsars is a Drag [EP], self-released 2004)

MP3: "Trunion Pike"
(from Erie Choir [EP], 2000)

Don't know where you could buy these -- maybe direct from the band (contact). Erie Choir plays tomorrow (6/25/05) at Ooh La Latte with Regina Hexaphone, a lovely band in their own right.

*Photo nabbed off Flickr from ninecherries. See more here.

The Comas cover Teenage Fanclub

2005-06-16T16:50:00.000-04:00

A quick visit to The Comas' website for a recent post reveals a greatly-expanded media section, including an array of unreleased/rare tracks.

I like this Teenage Fanclub cover -- I originally called it peppy, which it is in the context of the Comas' music, but having listened to the original, I don't think that's the right word. In any case, it doesn't totally reimagine the original version, but it's different enough that it might annoy people who have a lot invested in the original. Which is what a cover ought to do.

MP3: "Radio"
(From Is This Music?, Painted Sky 2002.)

Nikki Meets the Hibachi

2005-06-10T13:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks to this article in the Independent for clueing me in to the revival of Nikki Meets the Hibachi. I was only vaguely aware of them when I was in college (I think one of my friends new one of them?), and their acoustic folkish songs are much more to my taste now.

Elaine Tola and John Gillespie teamed up while they were in college at UNC in the late 1980s and played together until 1993, releasing The Bluest Sky and Better Late Than Never during that time. To me, the strongest reference point is old-style Indigo Girls -- a couple of guitars and two strong voices, though this is boy-girl harmonies. Amy Ray actually helped finance an early EP, so there's more than a sonic connection there.

Recently re-formed, Tola and Gillespie added percussionist Arturo Velasquez to the group and recorded new new material, in addition to remastering The Bluest Sky. Both of those should be available this fall.

MP3: "Not Mending"
(unreleased, 2004 recording)
MP3: "The Bluest Sky"
(from The Bluest Sky, Baited Breath 1990. Out of print, but remastered and re-released soon.)
Two more songs available on their web site here.

Portastatic piggyback

2005-06-09T14:20:00.000-04:00

First of all, if you haven't already, go take a look at the spectacular Portastatic post over at Pimps of Gore. That's what a music blog ought to be like -- my hat's off to Dylan.

My own contribution to this is a pointer to a couple of brief tracks from the soundtrack to a movie called Looking for Leonard. Mac McCaughan enlisted his brother to play drums and Margaret White (who's moved on from the Comas and North Elementary) on violin for the soundtrack, which was released in 2001. They turned out a fine instrumental pop album spanning a wide range of styles and moods.

MP3: "Stealing Romance"
MP3: "Luka's Theme (Shaker Mix)"
(from Looking for Leonard, Merge 2001. Buy it here.)

"Winston-Salem NC, you don't stop..."

2005-05-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I never thought I'd hear my hometown name-checked in a rap song, but here it is. Thanks to the Stypod for the pointer to Brother Reade, an (at least partially) NC-based hip-hop group. I'm not much of a rap expert (Public Enemy is still my standard, for what it's worth), but this suits me fine. Here's a blog concert review, and an old MP3 blog post (files gone, but you can see what someone who seems to know that they're talking about thinks...)

MP3: "Fire This Time"
MP3: "Gliders"
(from Seven Days in the Same Clothes -- don't know when it was relased or if you can buy it.)
Stream some more songs at their MySpace site or from their own web site.

Elsewhere: Fake Swedish and the dB's

2005-05-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

Various factors are keeping me from posting much at the moment, but I'll try to keep the vital signs alive. Today, don't miss a fine post over at Moistworks tracing the evolution of covers of Jacque Brel's "La Chanson de Jacky", including a version by Chapel Hill's psych-pop Fake Swedish. Their debut LP, Get Correct, was released on Demonbeach Records last month (buy it here). Here's a piece from the Independent in the aftermath.

Also, from a few days ago, catch an old dB's b-side over at Little Hits. "Darby Hall" is from the era of the first post-Stamey dB's album, 1984's Like This. The original band has reunited and recorded several tracks -- somebody please sign them and release the album!

C[ary] & C[ockrell] Music Factory

2005-05-12T11:15:00.000-04:00

I have been eagerly anticipating the forthcoming recording from Caitlin Cary (previous post) and Thad Cockrell (previous post) ever since I found out about it when I was previewing NC bands at SXSW. Cary has released two lovely albums of country/folk since Whiskeytown split up, and Cockrell has several albums of more straight-ahead country to his credit. They've written songs together and contributed to each other's albums for a while, so this recording of duets was a natural progression, as this Independent article describes.

While Triangle super-producer Chris Stamey had produced most of their previous solo output, this time around they met in Nashville with Brad Jones and a studio band that included Roman Candle's Logan Matheny. The result, called Begonias, will be released in mid-June, but Craig at Songs:Illinois has a preview track up now. Check out "Party Time" here.

Yep Roc also has a track up at their site, but the link is somewhat wonky. I haven't been able to download the song using Firefox, but it worked OK with Internet Explorer. It's worth the effort, though, if you like the twang. It's a lovely tune, somewhat slower-paced than the song Craig posted.

MP3: "Two Different Things"
(from Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell Begonias, Yep Roc 2005. Pre-order here.)

(Other welcome news from that Independent article: Tres Chicas, which includes Cary, will record a new album in London this May. And Roman Candle's Wee Hours Review -- a Chris Stamey supervised re-recording of their 2002 Say Pop -- sounds like it might finally see light of day soon. [Previous post])

Nothing but a song

2005-05-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

MP3: "Gold Guitars"
(Farblondjet [Sandra Covin], from Compulation Volume One: Songs from North Carolina, Pox World Empire 2003. Buy it here.)

...but oh what a song! A shuffling drum machine, an organ, a lovely female voice, and a melody that has stuck in my head since I heard it.

Farblondjet is Sandra Covin, who came to the Triangle from San Francisco and apparently has moved on to Florida since Compulation was released. She may have released an album called Life in the South, and/or The Butt Vicinity, but Google reveals little.

So, Ms. Covin is an mystery wrapped in a riddle smothered in secret sauce to me, but she has left behind a lovely piece of music.

The MP3 is hosted at a seemingly-defunct Triangle music zine called Nobody Gives a Shit About Music Anymore. I hope they don't mind my linking to it, and I wanted to be sure to give them credit.

Tennis and the Mennonites

2005-04-26T15:10:00.000-04:00

Tennis and the Mennonites are a fairly new band, so I haven't been able to learn much about them. They've put together an EP called Magnets, which you can download from their MySpace page. It's a bubbly bundle of peppy pop songs (hello alliteration!), and they sound like they'd be good fun live. Try this one to start, but they're all worth a listen.

MP3: "Wicked Man"
(from Tennis and the Mennonites, Magnets EP, 2005)

They play tonight at The Library in Chapel Hill with The Honored Guests, whose drummer, Andrew Kinghorn, also plays guitar for Tennis etc. I wrote about the Honored Guests a while back, and still really like their album Iawokeinacityasleep. Their web site has a snazzy new design, and although there's no new music since my previous post, the band is in the studio, so maybe we'll hear something soon. I should say that the Honored Guests have earned bonus points from me for being the first band to link back to the Oak Room -- thanks guys!

The Sames et al. at the Coffehouse

2005-04-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

After a fine show last Friday night (Prayers & Tears and Rosebuds -- review to follow), Duke's Coffehouse has another great lineup tomorrow night. It's the CD release show for Durham's The Sames, with Schooner and Erie Choir supporting.

The Sames were one of the very first bands I wrote about, back when I was still apologizing for not having the vocabulary to write about music. I know better now, but I still like their stuff -- solid, melodic indie rock. Here are two songs from the new album:

MP3: "Heart Pine"
MP3: "In Liberty Heights"
(from The Sames, You Are The Sames, Pox World Empire 2005. Buy.)

Schooner wasn't too far behind The Sames in my posting history, and they are not dissimilar. (I see that my pet phrase "melodic indie rock" was used in that posting as well...) No new tracks to highlight, but check out the ones in the old post. Schooner's recording a new album at the moment, so hopefully they'll give us a taste soon.

Erie Choir I don't know much about, and their web presence is scant. Apparently they do a fine cover of "Purple Rain." If this song is any indication (and if it's actually the same band...) I'll have to dig a little harder. It's a lovely acoustic number.
MP3: "The Ballad of Erie Choir"
(from ??? help me out someone.)

Friday, April 22; Duke Coffehouse; ~9 p.m.; $8/$5 Duke students (includes Sames CD!)

Sparklefest

2005-04-20T14:10:00.000-04:00

It's time for the annual Sparklefest shows, three nights of fine guitar pop/rock at Chapel Hill's Local 506. (Don't call it "power pop"!) Featuring NC rock legend Mitch Easter and apparently both The Nevers and The Never (web site not available), it should be a lot of fun.

There are more than twenty bands, most of whom I haven't heard (or heard of in many cases), but I'll troll through their websites and link up some samples. Here's the full schedule.

MP3: "Pearly Gates"
(from The Mockers, Living in the Holland Tunnel, One Eye Open 2001. Buy it here.)
MP3: "William Tell"
(from The Breaks, on Sparklefest 2003 comp.)
MP3: "Love"
(from The Rachel Nevadas, Love EP, Instant Haiku 2003. Buy it here.)
MP3: "Squeeze the Day"
(from The Shazam, Tomorrow the World, Not Lame 2003. Buy it here.)
MP3: "The Summer of Jocelynn May"
(from The Breakup Society, James at 35, Get Hip 200?. Buy it here.)
MP3: "The Passion of the Stars"
(from Michael Slawter, Solid State Affair, online release 2005. Buy it here.)

That's a pretty random sampling of the schedule -- no offense intended to bands that I haven't highlighted. If you like what you hear from these guys, spend some time checking out the rest of the lineup.

Eyes to Space: because everybody loves a keytar

2005-04-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

What's not to like about a band that combines a keytar (homemade, no less!) with shredding guitar solos and an oboe, and claims to be "good humored dance music for the robot intelligentsia"? That's Chapel Hill's Eyes to Space.

I get a kind of Devo-meets-Iron Maiden vibe from them, which admittedly sounds kind of ridiculous, but their good natured acceptance of that silliness somehow works for me. (They come close to taking the ironic approach too far, but just manage to pull it off.)

MP3: "In An Unfamiliar Land"
MP3: "Roadkill"
MP3: "Dear Sir"
(probably from their EP 4-Sight. Their website doesn't say, and they don't tag their MP3s. It doesn't seem to be for sale [?!?] but you can buy their album The Elephant Experiment here.)

MP3: "Moving to Iceland [Jj remix]"
This is a totally different kettle of fish from the tunes above. This is mellow and spacy, lacking the humor and cheese of the other tracks. Honestly, more people may like this one, even though it doesn't seem to fit as well with the Eyes to Space aesthetic (though I have no idea how it compares to the original).

Monsonia and North Elementary Revisited

2005-04-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some more updates from bands that I've already written about, while I try to get back around to some brand new stuff. (After a couple of months, I've got to dig a little harder to find new local stuff that I like -- suggestions always welcome!)

Complex, dark, and noisy, Monsonia (previously) have an EP available (buy it here) and put another track online to sample:
MP3: "Orca (The Killer Whale)"
(from EP, self-released 2005)

North Elementary (previously) has a few more songs from their stellar Lose Your Favorite Things up on their web site now:
MP3: "Heartbreakn' In Machine"
MP3: "Ships as Friends"
(from Lose Your Favorite Things, Sit-N-Spin 2004. Buy it here.)

Back in action with the Nein

2005-04-13T14:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't mean to be gone from the blog for more than a month, but that's just how things turn out sometimes. I'm still not really back in the swing of things, but just to get things rolling again, here's a song from the forthcoming album by the Nein, who I profiled prior to their SXSW show.

MP3: "Faint Sounds"
(from Wrath of Circuits, Sonic Unyon 2005. Released 5/17 -- Buy it here then.)

That's pretty dark and aggressive. If you're in the mood for something lighter and more cheerful, stream the new Rosebuds album, Unwind, here. I'm going to the CD release show at the Duke Coffeehouse this Friday, also featuring the marvelous Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers -- can't wait!

Listen (y'know) to what I (y'know) have to say, you know?

2005-03-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Ryan Irelan of Becoming for asking me to be a part of his podcast this weekend. Elements focuses on music in a variety of forms, from bootlegs to Roger McGuinn's online folk archive. We had a good chat about the Oak Room and my recent SXSW spotlights.

Ryan did a great job of editing my rambling into somthing fairly coherent. The one thing that he wasn't able to do was take out my incessant "y'know...y'know...y'know", but if you can get around my verbal tics, it's a fun piece. I suppose I'm not the most objective judge. Give it a listen. Thanks again Ryan!

Prayers and Tears Again

2005-03-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight's the release party for the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers album I was talking about the other week. Having heard the whole thing (thanks, Perry!), I'm actually even more impressed. The sonic palette is wider than I had realized, but it maintains the high quality that was evident from what I pointed to earlier.

The Independent had a nice review, but it doesn't seem to be up on their site just now. You can look at the press page on the band site, though, or read this Pitchfork review.

I'm starting to get into the groove of what I called Wright's "verbosity" as well -- check out the hilarious "How to Release an Album in Five Easy Steps".

The one sheet is a single stop for all of your namedropping and braggadocio needs. We made ours in color to give it that little something extra, a bit of joie de vivre. This is where you essentially get to put words in reviewers' mouths, but in a way kind of like that game Telephone from elementary school. For example, if you say, "Prayers and Tears sound like My Bloody Valentine," you will get something like "Prayers and Tears love to sing Lorenz Hart's classic tune My Funny Valentine." Try it for yourself!

Sadly, I have to miss tonight's show at Local 506. Happily, the band put up some of their rehearsals -- check them out. Also, a nice cover of a Mountain Goats song from a radio performance.

MP3: "Ontothanatological"
MP3: "Concerning Lessons Learned From the Aliens"
MP3: "Rotation of Crops"
(from CD release party rehearsals 2/15/05)
Buy The Mother of Love Emulates the Shapes of Cynthia here.

MP3: "Against Pollution" (Mountain Goats cover)
(live on WKNC 1/13/05)

The Old Ceremony: "pop noir"

2005-03-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

As I noted yesterday, Django Haskins is free to devote all of his time to a new project, International Orange having broken up. And that's probably for the best, because while Int'l Orange made solid, well-crafted pop/rock, his new project, The Old Ceremony is much more intriguing.

It's jazzy, moody, and eclectic, with a core lineup that includes vibes, organ, and piano as well as bass, drums, and guitar, plus an array of come-and-go partners who add violin, sax, trumpet, and so on. I don't always give much credence to bands' self-descriptions, but in this case, the Old Ceremony's "pop noir" fits pretty well. You can hear a bit of Tom Waits in there (though a much more traditional vocal tone), some Kurt Weill, perhaps, thrown together in a smoky jazz cabaret. I wish I could write better about this, but fortunately you can judge for yourself. Give it a listen -- it's great stuff.

MP3: "Blood and Oil"
MP3: "Ole"
MP3: "American Romeo"
MP3: "Shadows On My Trail"
(demos and roughs for forthcoming album)

International Orange: ex-band

2005-03-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

Speaking (as I was last week) of former Ben Folds Five members, I was all set to put up a post about International Orange, whose members include BFF bass player Robert Sledge and Snuzz (!), as well as guitarist Django Haskins and drummer Jason Fagg. They make a nifty pop/rock noise and were cited as one of 12 bands not to miss in the Independent last year.

All set, as I said, but when I sat down to pull together links for this post, I learned that they've just disbanded. They did manage to get out an EP, Spoon Box, which was (again, per the Independent), "mesh of rootsy, country-tinged, pop-savvy indie rock, united by fine, understated playing and thoughtful lyricism."

Here's a couple of demos from the band's web site:
MP3: "Prince Charming"
MP3: "Afraid of Love"
MP3: "The Worst in You"
(buy Spoon Box here)

Snuzz has some other music in the same vein up on his web site, of which I like this one best:
MP3: "Lemonade"

Haskins may be more interesting on his own, if his 2003 album overeasysmokemachine is any indication. Here's a sample; if you like it there's more here.
MP3: "Talk Talk"
MP3: "State Road Valentine"
(from overeasysmokemachine, 2003. Buy it here.)

Haskins also has an intriguing new project -- about which, more tomorrow.

Elsewhere

2005-03-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Great to see Howard back in action on all three (!) of his blogs. Lonesome Music has a lovelyTift Merritt song up -- I like Tambourine ~~much~~ more than he does [see comments for clarification], though I can see where the shift in style might lose some people. If I can get a little hosting experiment worked out, I'll post a new song for comparison.
Whether it was from my suggestion or not, See You In The Pit did a great Rosebuds writeup. Kind of impressionistic, but really captures the appeal of the band. I wish I could write like that. If you haven't yet, take the chance to listen to these songs.
Check out the snazzy new look of Honey, Where You Been So Long?

Can Joann

2005-03-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Only time for a brief post today, so let's go with a band that I know basically nothing about other than their music. Can Joann is a four-member rock band based in Chapel Hill. The Independent calls them "an intriguing mix of pop finesse and supple indie guitar crash", and some pretty nimble bass playing, I'd add. Within a basically conventional indie rock framework, they do manage to mix up their sounds a good bit, from garage rockers like "West Side" to more pop numbers like "Sympathetic Thrill" to the semi-funky "Cameron's Sleeping".

They have an EP (The Aiden Grace EP) and a full-length album (Meet Me on the Sly), both (I think) self-released. Their web site is undergoing renovations and their MySpace site is pretty sparse also, so I don't have much other background to relay. There are a bunch of MP3s here; I'll highlight a few favorites.

MP3: "West Side"
MP3: "Cameron's Sleeping"
(from Meet Me On The Sly, self-released 2003)

MP3: "Sympathetic Thrill"
MP3: "Lady Luck"
(from The Aiden Grace EP, self-released 2004)

I don't know how you can buy these albums, but if you e-mail the band I bet they'll tell you. Or you can ask them at tonight's show at the Library in Chapel Hill (with Randy Bickford's rootsy Strugglers -- should be fun!).