Austin Sound

Here in Austin we’ve had well over a month of temps over 90 degrees. And we just bought a car with no air conditioning. It’s a 1966 Mustang and we decided the suffering is worth it…because it’s just so damn cool. We also try to do only “cool” things with the car: we drive to free night swims at Barton Springs, get custard from Sandy’s drive-thru…get the picture? We’re pretty much a band of greasers rumbling down the streets of Austin. It’s a car that matches half of our CD collection (Jim’s half is Decemberists-ish and Jillian’s half is Byrds-y), and in the unbearable heat of the Texas summer, its heavy frame and vinyl interior are our relief from that oppressive feeling that everything is dull or uninteresting.

Funny, then, that the same summer we find ourselves immersed in a vintage paradise coincides with the Bellfuries’ new release, Palmyra. The Bellfuries’ new 60’s sound is not news (Austin Sound has previously compared the band to The Zombies), but the band - comprised of Joey Simeone (guitar/vocals), Shecky Seaver (bass), and Bobby Trimble (drums/vocals) - continues to work this sound in a way that is both nostalgic and innovative. While the pop tracks like “Give it, Get it,” “Sung by someone lonely,” and “Cheerleader,” remind us of more innocent, pre-1968 times, the lyrics often hint at something else (”When I said that I liked your band / I just wanted to get in your pants”) and Joey’s sharp vocals distinguish the band’s sound from more general mid-century pop.

This Bocce-themed CD case (by winter, the band hopes to have a vinyl pressing “which will include lyrics/chords on inner sleeve”) contains a small oasis that will remind you of simpler times when lawn darts were still legal and beer cans had pull tabs. But if you’re more of an indie rocker than a throwback, Palmyra offers some other flavors as well. While “Into the Arms of my Baby” seems like a fun Beatles mashup, with a bit of “Get Back” and a little of “Back in the U.S.S.R,” other tracks like “The Only Ghost There is Me” have hints of the more modern sound of The Shins or Rocky Votolato. Often the line between 60s pop and indie-rock is not always so stark, as with tracks like “Big Surprise” where the two sounds mix and mingle.

The ancient city of Palmyra, Syria provided those crossing the desert with a stop-off point, a place to duck out of stifling heat and recharge. Given the recent string of ridiculous fucking hot weather in Austin, The Bellfuries’ Palmyra provides a similar service. But beyond offering a desert oasis, Palmyra’s a convenient bridge between contemporary indie-rock and 1960s pop, the modern experience of something old, an experience of nostalgia that can’t help being touched by what is new and different.

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