Austin Sound

Ah, Woven Bones. Likely to get another nice little local boost when they open for Pavement in September on the big stage at Stubb’s, the trio is also dropping a new single on Hardly Art next month. These guys have more labels than a kindergarten classroom! We think this is label #4, following this spring’s full length LP on HoZac, In and Out and Back Again. The new single will be “I’ve Gotta Get” b/w “Hey Kid”, and you can get a taste of the A-side below. The initial pressing will be 1000, with 500 on translucent red vinyl. Ooh, purty! The band is also planning their sophomore album for release next year, which means another opportunity for a new label! Woven Bones will be heading out to the west coast for a little tourage next month, but they’ll hit up the United States Art Authority here in town first with a gig on August 6th. Check out “I’ve Gotta Get” below.

And, here it is - your weekly Fun Fun Fun Fest band announcements. We think that this came courtesy of Wikileaks, who have obtained the documents and, against the threat of national security, have released the latest round up. Also, Fun Fun Fun Fest apparently wants to have a press conference when they announce the full list, which we find kind of hilarious. Why not? This is clearly press conference worthy. Someone notify Reuters! Will there be an open bar? What’s a press conference without an open bar, we always say. Reporters will also be able to ask their hard hitting questions, if called upon, which means there will be a mad scramble to see who will fill Helen Thomas’ seat in the front. We really feel this press conference needs to happen, because the public needs to know what Transmission Entertainment is doing about shoring up these continued leaks.

Anyway, today we have announced The Hold Steady, with Craig Finn bringing his breathless “oh, kids these days!” ranting to Waterloo Park. Is it just us, or does Finn and the Hold Steady’s songs kinda remind you of that teacher you had in high school who was down with what all the kids were into - you know, the one that wanted to be your buddy, and yeah, knew all about the crazy rave last weekend? It’s ok, we thought he was the coolest back then, too. We’re just waiting for Finn to one day whip out this line. Also on this week’s FFFFest roundup, though: RJD2, Dwarves, and High on Fire. And now you know.

We’re not sure what it means when the top “suggestion” on youtube when we go to this video is Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas.” Maybe that’s just a personal suggestion for Austin Sound, because the Google overlords are clearly onto us. Or maybe there is actually more of affinity between Amy Cook and Katy Perry than we realized? We actually didn’t even know Katy Perry actually sang - we thought she was on a reality show or something. Amy Cook, on the other hand, has proven quite worthy of the attention she’s gotten - topless Chronicle cover and all. That will sell some papers! Oh wait, they’re free. “Hotel Lights” is hands down the best tune on her recent album, Let the Light In, and the video matches the tune in quality. Directed by Daniel Gibbs, the video was shot at the Hotel San Jose and Hotel Saint Cecilia (duh) and down at the Pearl Brewery (why not?). The video release also corresponds with today’s vinyl release of Let the Light In, and Cook’s show tonight at the Cactus Cafe. Cook will also be playing Blues on the Green on August 4th. Check out the video below:

Sunset is gearing for the release of their next album, called Loveshines But The Moon Is Shining Too. Set for digital release on September 7 and as a 2LP/CD on October 12th via Autobus Records, the bits that we’ve been hearing are pretty fantastic. Case in point is the beautiful “Late Night Dawning”, which features vocal contributions from Crystal Fulbright and Red Hunter. “Excuse me while I go insane, or whatever they call it now.” We call it being Bill Baird! Zing! Also contributed for your consideration is “Loveshines II”, with mp3 below and the video available here. This was released as 7-inch last year (TWSS). Baird and Co. are currently out on the road, having mis-adventures and raiding open mics alongside sister project Sleep Good. Tracklist and cover art Loveshines But The Moon Is Shining Too is available here, should you be so inclined to take a gander.

The first words from Danny Malone’s mouth are strangely obvious as I can hear the hiss of inclement weather on the line, but he manages to give it a name, a definition as a sort of enigmatic, chance poet. It’s the kind of dry lyricism coloring the earthy tones of last year’s release, Cuddlebug, that also pervade his conversation. Not much is certain about Danny Malone — even he can attest to that. He has curious bios online, claiming he’s a number of fantastical things, but these all seem fabrications of Malone’s overactive imagination, and almost diversions from the heartfelt songwriter that listeners find in his music. What we do know is that July 29th has been officially declared Danny Malone Day here in Austin, and Malone himself remains humble and politely reticent of his local fame. Austin Sound sat down with the twenty-something songsmith to chat about his commemoration, his seemingly endless ambition as a musician, his forthcoming album, and the Parkside vs. Best Wurst controversy, about which he cares so deeply.

The North vs. South Fest has always had a way of bringing back bygone Austin bands to play alongside the next generation thanks to the work of Mike McCoy, but the fest usually takes place up in Kansas, meeting point for the lineups that are packed with bands from Texas and Minneapolis. So we were pretty excited when we heard that this year’s North vs. South Fest would actually take place here in Austin, and at the Hole in the Wall, no less. The three night lineup from Thursday, August 12 - Saturday, August 14 is packed with good stuff, but the kicker is the chance to see Eighties Austin luminaries Doctors’ Mob reunite for the gig! Doctors’ Mob were often lumped into the New Sincerity scene back in the day, but more because no one knew exactly what the hell to do with their brand of melodic, post-punked-up rock. The lineup for the reunion will consist of the members from the band’s second album, 1987’s Sophomore Slump, which is Don Lamb, Glenn Benavides, Tim Swingle and Steve Collier. And although Doctors’ Mob isn’t planning anything more in the future right now, Lamb related that they will unleash a few new songs for the show, as well as “a couple we have not done at any of the last few reunions, so it won’t be the same old stuff.” You can check out the full lineup on the Fest’s myspace page, which includes new notables like Leatherbag, Salesman, and Til We’re Blue or Destroy, but also a host of other older heavy hitters like Hickoids, Wannabes, Stickpony, and the new Reivers/Zeitgeist incarnation Right or Happy. Check out the video of Doctors’ Mob that appeared as part of MTV’s infamous The Cutting Edge back in the day below.

Oh hey, look: more bands leaked out for Fun Fun Fun Fest! And we’re slowly getting more and more excited! The Gories! Now that’s the kinda Fun Fun Fun we like to read about. Good job guys. Also, Cap’n Jazz reunion (to be followed by a dual with Li’l Cap’n Travis, because this town ain’t big enough for two Cap’ns). Also announced this week are Snapcase, Dirty Projectors, Airwolfe, and Yelle. The full lineup will be coming in a couple short weeks, so then we can stop all this leaky mess, but we suppose we’ll play along till then. Anyway, that’s all you get. Now stop whining.

Not to be outdone by his former outfit Okkervil River’s recent foray into doing an album and tour with Roky Erickson, Jonathan Meiburg decided he needed another band, too! Bands for everybody! The Shearwater frontman will be teaming with Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewert for a band called Blue Water White Death. We suppose having milked the skies for all its worth, Meiburg will now turn his attention to the ocean. We hope the project is even just half as crazy as its namesake! Their debut album will be coming out October 12 on Graveface Records, and with John Congleton having produced it. We have no idea what it’s going to sound like, though, as their website doesn’t offer much of a clue. According to the official press release:

“On first listen Blue Water White Death may sound like a pair of reclusive eccentrics making music in a derelict mansion, perilously balancing beauty and horror with the absurd. Soon, it becomes apparent that there are three distinct modes at play – clean, even tones and the nonchalant picking of acoustic guitars that recall life on the open sea, notes and words paced like breaststrokes on the journey to the depths and finally, jarring mysterious noises meshed with vocals that echo the isolated, garbled quantities of the inside of a diver’s mask.”

Well, ok then. Guess we’ll just take your word on that.

Um, what? No, seriously - what the hell is this? The last thing that really pops into our mind when listening to Neon Indian is a giant spider. But then, guess that’s why we’re not artists and Joao Machado is. His stop motion animated video for Neon Indian’s “6669″ is kinda creepers. Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo just finished playing the Pitchfork Festival last weekend and is getting ready to head out on tour with Phoenix in September. All that is good and well, but we’ve also noticed that Neon Indian now seems to be calling Brooklyn home? On their myspace, they list Brooklyn and Austin, and on their twitter, just Brooklyn. But what makes this super weird is that Palomo’s other project, VEGA, is still listed as based in Austin! It’s all so very confusing. Perhaps Palomo has actually transcended time and space, or officially split himself in two. Either way, check out the video below.

As if Austinites don’t have enough music to keep themselves occupied, AustinSound writer Marc Perlman spent Sunday July 18th at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Set in Union Park with the Chicago skyline in the near distance, P4k Fest is somewhere between Austin’s own Fun Fun Fun Fest and ACL Fest– an eclectic mix of hipsters, young and old folks, punks, and hip hop fans all jockeying
for position in a field. And, just like Austin everyone complains about the heat, the dust, and the camp chairs. Shockingly, there was no Old Style to be found on the festival grounds– can you imagine not
being able to find a Lonestar at Fun Fun Fun Fest?!

Thanks to the kind folks at Pitchfork, Marc was able to shoot some pictures of Pavement, Big Boi, St. Vincent, Lightning Bolt, Surfer Blood, and Girls while downing overpriced Heineken.