Austin Sound

The Dark Water Hymnal have returned, following the surprise of their excellent 2007 8-song self-titled EP, with As Above, So Below. The band’s first proper full length that mixes bedroom folk with William Faulkner, and even with an additional two members joining the ranks, Dark Water Hymnal continues to keep the arrangements sparse, the humble setting for the image-laden lyrical offerings of songwriter Jeremy Ballard. Although they have increased to a quintet, the band hasn’t made any effort to incorporate grand or expansive arrangements, thankfully sticking instead with what works. The songs typically begin with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar that slowly feed in accompaniment from any combination of violin, drums, and glockenspiel.

Months before Fight Bight’s debut album Emerald Eyes was finished, indie music know-it-all’s Stereogum chose the Denton synth-pop duo as a “Band to Watch.” While the title is surely coveted among unsigned bands such as Fight Bite, it undoubtedly placed unwanted pressure on the creation of the rest of the album. In spite of the expectations, Fight Bite have come through, delivering a lulling pop album that just might spill out from the sides of your headphones if you’re not careful.

When listening to Emerald Eyes, it’s easy to forget that Fight Bite is just Leanne Macomber and Jeff Louis III. Layers of synths create a wall of sound so imposing that it’s a wonder how the delicate whispers of Macomber ever make it through.

On This Machine Kills Rhythm, Austin garage-rock quartet The Spirit of Space make no effort to hide their influences. Musically, they stick around the “pop-ier” Velvet Underground realm, executing with a certain raw quality despite the seemingly calculated production. The fun and playful lyrics tend to lean more in the direction of ardent Velvet Underground enthusiast Jonathan Richman, as Spirit of Space weave tales of dream girls, loneliness, and pretty much everything that comes with being a young man. Well, except for the first track of the album that, in the spirit of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” sees Eric Wilson describing the process of eating someone. But that’s just the first song.

I’ve found that I always have a deeper attachment to the unconventional voices. The effort it takes to understand and appreciate the voice makes the relationship less one-sided, more involved. Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom, Ian Curtis, hell, even Bob Dylan and Neil Young; as much as I’d like to say I immediately fell for these singers, the truth is it took some time. Through patience and persistence, something clicks and uncertainty translates into unwavering allegiance. Chamber pop outfit Hello Lovers follows their 2006 EP Vanity Fair with their first full length Gone with the Wind, an album that has plenty more to offer than just the unconventional vocals of front man J.C. King. This second effort sees the group getting comfortable with each other, a maturation that is welcomed by the members who were more or less thrown together for the making of Vanity Fair. Gone with the Wind is bigger, more refined arrangements against the expansive, dynamic croons and caws of King.