Picking amongst the eight zillion happenings upcoming for SXSW, this one stands out right away: The Octopus Project will debut their "immersion experience" Hexadecagon for FREE on the Whole Foods rooftop, Friday, March 19th, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. Three of the best SXSW words apply here: No wristband necessary. What in the sweet beyond is Hexadecagon? In their own words: "The eight speakers will be set up in a circle surrounding the audience, who will in turn be surrounding us (the band), set up in the middle of the whole shebang with eight images projected overhead. With this setup in mind, we can send all or part of the music spinning around in a circle or jumping from point to point across the space, or put completely different elements in each speaker, putting you and us in the middle of a crazy array of sounds." There you have it; all I can say is I plan to be there.  

With lights low and stage bursting at the seams, T-Bird and the Breaks delivered a night full of deep funk and heavy soul, lighting up Antone’s dark stage and letting the old walls breathe a breath from its younger days. It’s hard not to think of the glory days of the “big band” when T-Bird and The Breaks hit the stage, T-Bird himself a talented, magnetic and charismatic song leader with a nine-person, symmetrically mirrored scale of soul machine occupying those forty square feet of plywood around him. T-Bird himself isn’t the only talented one, however, as the entire band was a cohesive group – horn section challenging the backup singers who are firing back like sexy, black-dressed sirens, horribly well choreographed in their dancing; drums and bass creating a smooth groove line while T-Bird and guitar hit a funky back-and-forth rapport. T-Bird and the Breaks are a fast, high energy engine that got the crowd moving around and got them there fast. The sound was contemporary rock and roll’s answer to the glory days of jazz and funk and soul —  a revamped, remodelled classic car that takes the best of yesterday and today to make something brilliant and beautiful. The set was strong, the band was tight and in synch, and it was evident early on that the night wasn’t about an opening band and a closing band, but about talented musicians coming together and putting on a great show.

 

After T-Bird and the Breaks knocked the crowd down, the rock-tejano-conjunto hybridization of a jam band, Brownout, took the stage to pick everyone back up. Trumping T-Bird’s band in numbers by one, Brownout, with their menagerie of horns and various drums and guitars mixing up across the stage took the strong-silent approach in their set, rarely busting out the lyrical guns, and when voices were heard they were rarely in english. Not that I’m complaining. The best thing about Brownout, I think, is that I can’t place them. By that I mean I’ve never heard anything like the tight, talented, towering, trembling sound quaking out of their amplifiers. The band left me torn on whether to call is Psychedelic Conjunto, or Funk-Rock Tejano or some other juxtaposed genre I can’t even think of. What was certain, however, is that the crowd was moving from the very first guitar licks and didn’t stop for a moment. 

Both T-Bird and the Breaks and Brownout have that sweet taste of Austin in their music, that kind of thing that doesn’t necessarily make sense on paper but sounds great in your heart.  Strong sets from a couple of genre-bending big bands. Couldn’t ask for a better night out in Austin.

–Mitchell Mazurek

 

 

The White White Lights’ upcoming debut EP Medium Head Boy suggests the experimental indie rockers have what it takes to outshine their contemporaries. From eerie vocals to danceable rhythms, the band has deservingly catapulted into the spotlight already, receiving attention from sources such as SPIN and The Onion’s A.V. Club.

According to guitarist Deluxe Peroux, who at first said the band’s sound is like “Tom Waits sodomizing Blondie with a fuzz pedal,” Sonic Youth has had a major influence on the band. “Dirty was one of the first CDs I had. In starting this band, I wanted to get back to what I loved in my childhood. I wanted to feel like 12-year-old me could be proud of the music I’m making,” he said.

 

With a sound similar to the likes of not only Sonic Youth but also The Pixies and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, lead singer Jenny Gacy drives the band’s tendency to make you crave more and more of the catchy yet haunting aura TWWL has to offer in their 6 track debut, which covers topics including seduction, loneliness and aliens. Album highlight (and TWWL’s favorite to play) “Space Invaders” has the sort of synthesizing energy that is bound to spread like wildfire, while “It’s Cold Here in Japan” is a slow and vulnerable ballad held together by a xylophonic backbone.

 

Together since 2008, the band has had the chance to play live many times in their home city, although this Saturday’s show at Emo’s will be their first with a release in hand. 

 

“We’ve had the fortune of playing at most major Austin rock venues like The Parish, Mohawk, Stubb’s, Emo’s (inside and outside), Beauty Bar, and even non-traditional spaces like Blanton Museum,” Gacy said. “We played our first shows at Beauty Bar and we still love the feeling of playing in smaller spaces as close to the audience as possible. Emo’s is great in that sense; you feel very connected to the audience.”

 

On the brink of releasing Medium Head Boy this Saturday, February 27, TWWL have a number of shows lined up, including a few spots during SXSW. The four-piece are also set to roll out a full-length album in April, so it’s safe to say that TWWL will definitely be a band to watch this year.

 

With the level of passion and self-described honesty that speaks through the new record, TWWL could just be the next big thing out of Austin, according to Gacy. 

 

“We’re honest. We keep our recordings as live as possible; we don’t mask our imperfections. We glorify them.” 

 

Check out The White White Lights this Saturday, February 27 at Emo’s and see what all the hype is about. 

–Melanie Wolfson

 

(Photo: Daniel Perlaky) 

 

Overdue congrats to the Distant Seconds, who put the lie to their name by finishing a runaway first in our early February poll. And so their image rests atop our page. And we’ve been on to the new one for about a week already, shaping up now as a showdown between Beautiful Supermachines & The Pons – though there’s still a week for comeback kids (Slow Down Lady pictured above). Get your vote in…

T-Bird and the Breaks can fully be described in the word ‘classic.’ Soul music with mastery of all the familiar and effective hooks and blues bass lines that defined early rock & roll. T-Bird & The Breaks seem to be ripped right from that era, back when parents were squares, music was the devil’s work, and kids couldn’t get enough of it — which is fitting enough, because T-Bird is just like that, makes you feel young, makes you want to get up and move around, and you just can’t get enough of it. The 10-piece band ranges everything from funk to soul to blues to funk to rockabilly; listening to T-Bird & the Breaks is like experiencing the history of Texas Music, like listening to the soul of the state. 

 

Since November, T-Bird and the Breaks have been releasing a single the first Tuesday every month that will keep going on ’til April – that’s right, two new songs, every month.  Following in their yesteryear style – though the new music attempts to stray away from this sensibility, making style their playground – the singles are available on 7" vinyl as well as digitial download.  Giving them a chance to flex a more experimental muscle, the most recent single, “The Piano Joint” showcases two different songs toying with a more hand-churned, hip-hop-meets-big-band-meets-funk feel.  Not to say that’s not what T-Bird & the Breaks had going on before, but this hits you in a different way.

Playing next Friday, Feb. 19 at Antones, end your President’s-Day-Week right with some jazzy-bluesy, bluesy-jazzy, sweet funky soul music that’ll warm you off from the cold and get you moving, dancing and sweating.

–Mitchell Mazurek

 

 

For 35 minutes, Motel Aviv turned back the clock on the fickle Parish hipsters to a time when bands like the Smiths, New Order and the Clash ruled the airwaves. Effusing a polished, mid-80s pop radio sound sans keyboards, Aviv delivered a sweaty, danceable set. A subtly shifting blend of bright guitar chords, simple, energetic drum parts, a deep, clean and hollow JJ Brunner-sounding bass, and Morrissey/Bono-esque vocals kept the show from veering into a saccharine monotony. 

The fans who managed to overcome their scenester posturing and dance had a smashing good time. It’s a shame Aviv hasn’t acquired a wider following here in Austin. They’re absolutely professional in sound and showmanship. These kids are stylish pop song writers, vivacious live performers and sartorially consistent with their music without seeming pretentious. If Motel Aviv can find their audience, they have the potential to be the next Killers.

–London Ferguson

[Ed.: Motel Aviv have a new 10-song LP in the works & expected out sometime this spring…]

 

Follow That Bird! opens their set with the feel of a road trip, the sense of freedom that comes from existing between a past and a future and a burning desire to stick your head out the window. But somehow this road trip takes place in another time, and images of drive‐ins, drag races and route 66 flood my mind. What is it about these guys that has the same energy as the wonderful car culture of the 50s and 60s? It’s not in their musical stylings but perhaps it’s in the unconscious motivations. Maybe it’s the combination of innocence and power. When I asked the guy standing next to me what he liked about the band he replied, “I like that the girls seem like strong women but also very approachable.”

 

Make no mistake, Follow That Bird can rock, and they can rock hard. They cite their influences as Erase Errata, Sonic Youth and Siouxsie and the Banshees. They’re not afraid of a little cacophony, but there’s always a wholesomeness that bleeds through the rust. That’s not a bad thing; in fact I think it’s what makes them special. Lauren Green’s voice is a soap bubble dripping with motor oil, and it gives you the pleasure of getting your angst out and experiencing hopefulness at the same time.

 

Like most road trips, the monotony of the drive can set in, and there were a few songs that read as Midwestern landscape. Especially one introduced as a new song (unfortunately I didn’t catch the title), it just seemed like it hadn’t been punctuated yet…the words and the idea might be there, but without commas and exclamation points the feeling was lost. I should point out that there was at least one person who did not share this viewpoint at all, and shouted “EXCEPTIONAL!” after the song was over.

 

By the end, the initial excitement and momentum had built again. And with the tank refueled Follow That Bird! took the wheel and drove the crowd into the sunset. Well, maybe more technically sunrise, considering the show ended around 2 AM.

 

‐-Bella Glasel

 

[Ed.: Follow That Bird! has another show upcoming at Club 1808 Feb. 24th with Snake Handler]

Manikin is one of several current bands emerging in the nascent Austin post-punk/new wave revivalist scene. Their rhythm section gravitates toward classic punk 130 bpm grooves. However, Manikin’s overall sound evokes a sense of nostalgia for late 70’s British music scene when punk had evolved to embrace a more experimental style, complex arrangements and primitive melodic elements. It’s no wonder then that frontman Alfie sites as a major influence the seminal Siouxsie & the Banshees.

After three previous albums almost entirely in a classic punk vein, Manikin’s incipient post-punk charm is displayed on their latest 2009 LP Stop the Sirens. Alfie’s effective but not affected use of telephone distortion voice effects as well as the introduction of trumpeter Bill Jeffery’s frantic brass melodies splashed like cold water across the irreverent face of songs such as "Leaders" and "Perfect Pictures" widen the style gap between 2005’s Still and last year’s Sirens. The post-punk aesthetic is rounded out by Alfie’s occasionally melodic, occasionally discordant guitar. The synthy, stuttering guitar riff on "Fumes" would sit well in any song from the Stranglers’ 1979 classic "Raven." Drummer Alyse periodically moves away from the stiff rhythmic confines of punk purity. "Perfect Pictures" serves up a fast rolling tom-snare call-and-response reminiscent of Killing Joke that props up the hollow vocal harmony between Alyse and Alfie. Manikin throw down a tight and invigorating live performance of past and current songs that fans of classic punk and early post-punk/new wave alike will enjoy.

–London Ferguson

[Ed.: You can catch Mankin this Saturday night at The Parlor, and again during SXSW at Beerland, March 17th…] 

A trio of local acts is descending upon the most fancified BBQ joint in town: Ideal Soul Mart, Wiretree, and The Pons play at Lambert’s (401 W. 2nd St.) this Friday (2/12). (That’s Ruby Painter of The Pons pictured above, looking glam and contemplative all at once.) Fearless pop for the postmodern world, to steal a line from The Pons themselves. 

Born in San Francisco but destined for Austin, The Rumble, a monthly indie-rock party-happening taking place in many cities nationwide, is finally here. TV Torso will headline the show this coming Thursday at Beerland. But TV Torso gets plenty of attention here so right now let’s turn our minds to Dirty Dancing.

A challenge to google but a pleasure to hear, Dirty Dancing are a magical duo (Eric Schoen & Lauren Mikus) with the splendidly titled recent album Mediocrity is the Strongest Inevitability. They also lay claim to birthing the phrase "blood is the new black"; so they have that going for them. Which is nice. 

First of all, we never get to use the word ‘dossier’ enough, and in this case, it’s actually news-related: in addition to dropping The Golden Archipelago on 2/23 (out digitally one week earlier), the boys and girls of Shearwater are also unveiling "a limited edition, full-color, 75-page, 8 x 10.5” "Dossier" companion piece to The Golden Archipelago" called, of course, The Golden Dossier. You can check it out at Kickstarter.com. Seventy-five pages! Get comfy. You can also grab the "Black Eyes" track right now from Matador here. There’s a conspicuous SXSW-shaped hole in their touring schedule, but Jonathan Meiburg (member) is slated for Red 7 on March 13th, in support of Xiu Xiu. Now peruse your dossier. 

 

 

 

Midlake, the pyschedelic-pastoral-dreamy-seventies-lo-fi Next Great Austin Band, releases The Courage of Others (their third) today. You can hear this one whilst enjoying free pizza in the company of others, courageous or otherwise, at the Waterloo Records listening party today at 5pm. Get out. You need socialization.