New Band of Horses Song - Laredo

Band of Horses were nice enough to send out another new track named "Laredo."A little more energetic than "Compliments" but with a similar optimistic outlook as that track. I like it! Its still that same sort of folksy Northwest indie rock.

Band of Horses - MS|OS

Band of Horses New Music Video

Band of Horses released their first song off their upcoming album Infinite Arms in music video form. The song is called "Compliments" and is an upbeat, anthemic jaunt for the Northwest indie rockers. A bit of a departure from the much darker Cease to Begin, but a nice song nevertheless.

Band of Horses - MS|OS

Snapshots: The Big Pink @ Neumos

I had the chance to see The Big Pink play Neumos last friday!! Here's a couple quick shots of the band I took during the show. They really cooked it up. I, personally, loved last year's A Brief History of Love. Some people don't agree... but they can suck it. In my top ten for emerging bands of 2009 and definitely one of the best shows of 2010, so far! Then again, I was ultimately cross-faded, so take heed. <3

Spillway

Local shows/bands are always hit or miss; most of these shows fall into the latter category. I've seen my fair share of local acts playing mediocre to fairly incompetent shows at a variety of locales (mostly Oly). I've also had my mind blown to pieces by a couple of these acts.

Last night, I'm happy to say, I had my mind ravaged by the sound of Spillway. The band, originally from Dallas, TX, has recently taken up post in Seattle with three of the original members and two locals. I sat through the [mediocre] openers and threw back a couple beers to take in the venue: Cafe Racer, a hipster bar (by all means) characterized by its 'home-like' feel: multiple rooms over a split level, inhabited by a wide range of cliques doing their own thing in each area. The 'stage' was just one of these rooms, but it felt 'garage like.' [It's certainly worth visiting]

I was expecting next to nothing and I received quite the opposite. It took all of ten seconds for me to fall in love with the band and they continued to impress throughout, driving my desire for more. Like a drug, enjoyment only brought more desire and it wasn't long until my subtle sway to the sound gave way to full-on dancing/head-banging action.

This is the best local act I've seen since Starfucker.

Their sound can only be characterized as a landscape: guitars climbing mountaintops; rolling bass and a thumping synth ripping canyons from rock; monstrous drumming pulling the song through swinging tempos; lo-fi vocals pulling a layer of fog to the ground, if only for their twangy peaks to emerge victorious on top. Seriously. I heard tints of bands like Built to Spill, Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Okkervil River... Self described as a rock/folk/punk group, Spillway merges a number of influences, obvious or not, into something cohesive that I can honestly call the most unique sound I've heard in a while. Each song has movement to it: varying velocities carry you to the top of a peak and toss you off, effortlessly, seamlessly, to a hole in the ground, pitch black and frightening. With few slip-ups, the band could be called impressive if only for the near-perfect execution of their ideas.

The recordings on the myspace page are a tad dated and I'd say that the sound has changed considerably since their Dallas days. I'm not sure if the lo-fi vocals was intended last night, but you won't hear it in these tracks. The band will be recording in the coming weeks and they've said they'll send me a track or two, so DO look forward to that. I'll be keeping close tabs on this band as they develop.

Also check out their official site and download their first album 'Any Old Place' (It's VERY good). They have their upcoming release listed as 'Stop Dreaming/The Northernmost Fisherman.'

Next show is April 4th at The Comet Tavern w/ Motopony. Who wants to come with?

Spillway (MS) | (OS) - Hair n Bone | UPDATE: *Rise and Rise and Fall* | Fader Parader

Minus the Bear

Y'all,

I'll come out and be the first to say that I'm not a big Minus the Bear fan. Seattle's darling band has released a few very averagely good records over the years and created a fan base that spans oceans. They are, to me, the remnants of Seattle's grunge - among other NW favorites like Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. They are the natural, direct evolution of that dead genre and, likewise, embody a sound that 'sounds NW.' Seattle's grunge movement captured the contrast between the raw energy of a newly bustling city, surrounded on all sides by some of the best nature has to offer in this country, with the general feeling of what it's like to live here. As Seattle died in the late 90's, so did grunge. From the ashes emerged a new kind of post-rock that embodies [imo] the mundanity, general dreariness, and out-of-touch feeling that graces our land for a majority of the year (it rains here a lot, btw!). Minus the Bear, as well as the other bands mentioned, have built mountains of sound: tall, twisty, complex, guitar-driven masterpieces.

So what is Minus the Bear up to on their upcoming LP release Omni (May 4; Dangerbird Records)? New record label + new toy = new sound. The album, named after the Omnichord synthesizer, will not be that complex guitar mountain masterpiece fans are expecting. And I expect that the scene will take notice. "My Time" is the synth-driven lead single from their upcoming release. The track marries the MTB vocals and general MTB caveats with a retro-future synth sound that could make Michael Angelakos' head turn. It's everything you would expect from MTB, except not. I'm wondering how hard it will be on the fans to swallow the new sound. I've listened to plenty of MTB in my time - Planet of Ice is one of my favs in my record collection - but I've never been able to get over the severe bland taste that develops in my mouth after back-to-back replays. It's like drinking soda; the first can is just as quenching as you'd expect it to be, but the second just tastes like corn syrup. MTB builds albums - not iPod filler; they're like books - you don't reread them back to back and you don't skip through to your favorite parts.

If MTB can build an album off of this sound, it has the potential to bring forth something new in Seattle's music scene. Not that the ideas presented in this song are anything special, just different. A new decade; a new sound. Let's just see what happens. Please, listen for yourself (you've been warned).

Minus the Bear (Wiki) | (OS) | (MS) - My Time (mp3 via Box)



UPDATE: Just listened to a couple new tracks off the forthcoming release. Can't wait to see how they bring it all together!!