Websites:
www.thebloodytears.com
Myspace

The Music Hall doors open at 5:00pm and tickets are only $10, with proceeds and an auction going to help cover the debt left by the Texicalli. Joe Nick Patoski, author of the recent Willie bio, An Epic Life, will host, and performers include Marcia Ball, James McMurtry, Ray Benson, the Texana Dames, Ponty Bone, the Cornell Hurd Band and The Antone’s House Band featuring Derek O’Brien, Riley Osbourn, Frosty and Ronnie James. The Statesman reports that Roky Erickson is also scheduled to make an appearance on stage.

In many ways, the singer-songwriter has become a cliché. Maybe it’s too easy - pick up an acoustic guitar, pen a few flowery lines about heartbreak, add some recycled melodies, and voila! Thankfully, Sarah Jaffe breaks that mold. At 6 songs and 21 minutes, Even Born Again, Jaffe’s proper debut and produced by the Paper Chase’s John Congleton, is a mini-masterpiece. The Denton artist’s mournful melodies are wholly original yet comfortably familiar and every element of the EP, from the unique vocal delivery to the haunting strings, is emotionally gripping in all the right ways.

The down-strummed chords of the album’s opening title track immediately call to mind Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea — another brilliant band that, like Jaffe, transcended their folky aesthetic to create something more artistic and meaningful. The song’s spiritual undertones come out with Jaffe’s powerful delivery of lines like: “Be easy with your words and truth / If I’m lost with God I’m lost with you.” Even Born Again is a love story told under a cataclysmic religious backdrop. “Black Hoax Lie” is a bouncier folk-pop song in which Jaffe’s voice takes on a Karen O. quality as she belts out, “I’m living a black hoax lie / wherever you left me that’s where my heart still lies.”

“Adeline”, “Backwards / Forwards”, and “Two Intangibles Can’t Be Had” have a similar stripped down, intimate-acoustic aesthetic, reminiscent of New York songwriter Nina Nastasia - arpeggiated guitars and vocals that go from whispers to stabbing howls. “Under” is a dark, fuzzed-out, blues song with a bare Velvet Underground rhythm. It is the weakest track on the EP, but one that demonstrates Jaffe’s stylistic range.

With Even Born Again, Sarah Jaffe illustrates that she can reconcile her artistic vision with her catchy stick-in-your-head melodies, without compromising either. At times, her songwriting borders on brilliance. However, there is a feeling that she can and, in the future, will go farther. Perhaps that is the sign of a great record - it leaves the listener wanting to hear where the artist will go next.

Website:
Myspace

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.

In spite of the title, the rhythm section of Spirit of Space mostly drives the album. On the rare occasions that there is any lead playing, it’s usually minimal and brief (except for the fuzz-addled rock number “Velvet Jam”). The bright guitars, full of treble and presence, call to mind Loaded-era Velvet Underground and are complimented by the spoken delivery of Wilson. That is not to say there aren’t moments when the distortion kicks in, and the music pushes with more pace and intensity. The contrast between the bright pop and the raw rock n’ roll keeps the album dynamic, and the blending of the two is where Spirit of Space find their own style.

As far as the lyrics are concerned, think Jonathan Richman and Jens Lekman. The songs are often oversimplified, linear narratives with elementary rhymes that are full of genuine emotion. The true success of the lyrics is that they communicate these complex human emotions with endearing, child-like diction. Aside from “Body Meal” (the aforementioned Swiftian first track), the songs tend to favor declarations of desires and needs over analysis or understanding. “Dream Girl” sees the speaker settling for someone who isn’t his ideal woman, most likely because alcohol is involved. Wobbly organ introduces “Oh Babe,” the album centerpiece that describes the hopes of a man to coerce his unavailable squeeze into a night of dancing, music, and infidelity, asking “oh babe, what do you think about it?”

All things considered, This Machine Kills Rhythm is a successful album. In its brief, 27-minute running time, it manages to be fun, rowdy, and honest. But in spite of its successes, The Spirit of Space seem like a band that is limited by the studio setting. I’ve never seen them live, but I imagine the rawness that seems to be tamed in the recording is set free on the stage. I imagine they are loud, and loose, and urgent; everything you could want from a respectful proto-punk protégé.

Website:
Myspace

Friday

La Snacks, Transmography, Follow That Bird, DJ John Gross

Not to be left out of all the new release shenanigans we saw last weekend, La Snacks will be joining the pack with their own E.P. release tonight at the ‘Hawk. The new E.P.’s called Newfangled, and it’s got all the raw, classic Pavement-y licks and snarky lyrics we’ve come to expect from La Snacks.  You can hear a couple of new tracks at the band’s myspace, but we should remind you that a ticket to the show gets you a free copy of the new E.P.

The bill only gets better with Transmography , who will be releasing a cassette at the show, and Follow That Bird, who took a shot at answering our Sound Off questions earlier this week. The good people at Party Ends are sponsoring this show, so be sure to extend them a hearty “Thank You.” They also have a new track up from La Snacks. Get it here. Your trips to the bar won’t go without great tunes either: DJ Gross will be spinning between sets.

Elsewheres:

• The Walkmen at The Parish
• Zookeeper at Progress Coffee (local)
  
• The Strange Boys at Beerland (local)

Saturday

Shawn Jones (Lovely Sparrows), Dark Water Hymnal, The Wisdom Teeth

We’ve been raining quite a bit of love on The Lovely Sparrows lately, but it’s probably because we love their new album Bury The Cynics so much. Saturday night at the Scoot the band will be stripped down to it’s creative core: Shawn Jones. As helmsman of the Sparrows (or captain, depending upon the size and organizational structure of our metaphorical boat-band), Jones is responsible for the crafty songwriting and apparently too-smart-for-Pitchfork lyrics that have gained the band attention since the release of the Pulling Up Floors, Pouring On (New) Paint EP two years ago. Those fine qualities will be in full display tonight as Jones cuts the backup band to play solo.

We’re still waiting on more official info for Dark Water Hymnal’s new release, As Above, So Below, but our gut feeling (i.e. the new songs posted on their myspace) says when it’s finally released, it’s going to wedge its way into our “Heavy Rotation” pile here at Austin Sound. With any luck, being able to catch some of the new songs live will quell our anticipation. Wisdom Teeth open the show with a solo set.

Elsewheres:

• Cat Power at Stubbs
• Austin Asian American Film Festival with Giant Hornets, Black Panda, Many Birthdays, et al. at Club Deville (local)

Sunday

Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, David Vandervelde, Judgement Day

Sunday gets a little-low key with Indianapolis’ Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, who are touring behind the release of their new albums Animal and Not Animal. With nearly a dozen members, Margot and company achieve a depth of melancholy only possible with arrangements this lush and complex. On tour with the band is David Vandervelde, who just released Waiting For The Sunrise, the follow-up to his 2007 indie hit The Moonstation House Band.

If that doesn’t hold you over until next week, we don’t know what will! But if you want more, you can always check out Do512 or Showlist Austin for more comprehensive listings.

You can catch Many Birthdays rockin’ it at the Mohawk on Oct. 23 with the Crushes and kicking off the beginning of November at the Beauty Bar.

In other Black Angels news, the group has been added to the upcoming Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup going down November 8 and 9 in Waterloo Park. Among the other additions to the fest are locals the Octopus Project (who lit it up at ACL!) and Golden Arm Trio, as well as the Black Heart Procession, Municipal Waste, Neil Hamburger, Black Joe Lewis, Spot & Albert, Grampall Jookabox, Ume, Camp X-ray, J Davey, Terp2it, Zeal & Phranchyze, Dragonboy Suede, and a solo set from White Demin’s James Petralli. Awesome!

Darktown Strutters: One of the more unexpected acts I’ve stumbled across so far this year, Darktown Strutters consists of two roommates that met appropriately enough on Friday The 13th, a fitting date to match the delightful gloom cast over the duo’s music. Their overall image and sound smartly teeters on a thin line between camp and an undeniable dark confidence over masterfully fucked grooves, and it must be taken seriously.

Organist and vocalist Kara Jean spends most of her time in the lower reaches of a voice that is both melodramatic and monotone, but can shriek her way into a nasty falsetto when necessary. A sparse yet catchy little organ riff with plenty of negative space will open a song, allowing for Wes Darrin (also of Faux Fox) to lay down very inventive and varied beats on an electronic drum kit that’s doused with delay. The array of presets and sounds on Kera’s Electone MR-500 mixed with disco beats and lyrics referencing Kenneth Angermake for a live experience that’s hard to shake. The group cited very few influences, early Christian Deathbeing one of them, though Malaria! is one of the first groups that come to mind when I hear them.

“Jovan White Musk” is the only posted track on their page, but its nine minute plus running time is a good, long intro to the unclassifiable creep of the Darktown Strutters’ music. You had to be lucky to have scored one of their limited edition cassettes on local label Asex Tapes, and I’m hoping there’s more where that came from. (DL)

Bad Sports: There was a time in Denton music where it was impossible to miss stoner sludge act Chief Death Rage. They played at every DIY spot, week-in and week-out, sometimes performing multiple sets at multiple venues in a single night. As much as their ubiquity and volume proved the group hard to ignore, what made it even harder was their remarkably tall bass player, Orville Bateman Neeley III, quietly towering over his considerably smaller band-mates like a Stoner-rock Dolph Lundgren. He anchored the group with his excellent basslines, as well as an intimidating visual element that emphasized the tankwheels-crushing-a-skull brutality of the Chief Death Rage sound.

So it was understandably surprising to see that Orville’s next project was to front an upbeat, quick-tempo power pop-tinged punk group called Bad Sports. There was even a brightly colored green-screen music video, where Orville bobs his head along to his singing very much like a, well, like a lead singer. Forming late last year, the trio is comprised of Orville on guitar and vocals, TV’s Daniel on bass and vocals, and Gregory Rutherford on drums and the occasional backing vocal. The songwriting is split between Orville and Daniel.

Material came quickly for Bad Sports, spurred on by a collective enthusiasm for the catchier sides of punk, hardcore, and post-punk such as Black Flag’s earlier records, The Ramones, The Damned and Wire, along with a healthy dose of power pop like Slade, Sweet,70’s Sparks, and a hint of mod jangle pop. These various rock disciplines are then intertwined and reprocessed, resulting in brief, distorted little songs where the reverb decays just long enough to be dramatically effective, like the concrete echo of a band playing too loud in a greasy garage.

The band has already trekked out on a hastily planned tour, playing to weirdos across the Midwest, drinking Old Style Beer and eating pizza. In keeping with the Midwest theme, Bad Sports released a couple of seven inches on two notable labels respectively out of Saint Paul, Minnesota (Big Action Records) and Lincoln, Nebraska (Boom Chick Records), the kind of towns where this style of music seems to thrive. Neeley hints the group should have enough material for an album at some point, and Bad Sports seems to be as smart and prolific as fellow punks The Wax Museums in regard to conduct and philosophy.

At this point, Neeley has an impenetrable track record, with two wildly different outings under his belt. Though I’m a huge Chief Death Rage fan, I’m glad he stepped out of the shadow to turn in one of the few surprises in local music over the last twelve months. (DL)

Sunnybrook: When I first stumbled across Sunnybrook’s Myspace page as I was getting ready to complete a brief write up for a Weekender, I was immediately struck by how mature and thoughtful this seemingly young artist sounded at what I believed to be a very early stage of his project. It turns out that I was right about his age, but wrong about his experience– Paul North, the lone member of Sunnybrook (and younger brother of Mom’s Joel North), is only 20 years old, but he’s actually been recording songs under the same moniker for five years. Initially inspired by the music of Elliot Smith, North began writing songs at age 15 while learning to play and sing on his own through the kind of open minded trial and error that is often as useful for revealing what an artist doesn’t like as it is for setting any kind of true foundation for a particular musical direction.

As he grew older and slightly more adventurous musically, North began making regular trips up to Denton to visit his brother and fellow Mom member Bruce Blay, and it was those visits that changed the direction of his vision. Aside from introducing North to artists such as Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Steve Reich and Spiritualized, the members of Mom also included him in the recording sessions for their debut EP Little Brite, allowing the younger North to assist in backing vocals and noise making as he soaked up the ideas and techniques that the band brought to their production.

Many of these more adventurous influences have made their way to the foreground of Sunnybrook’s music, and it is all the more compelling for it. Sure, many will probably hear similarities between Sunnybrook and newer indie folk acts like Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear and Phosphorescent, and truthfully, those are probably the most relevant and accurate comparisons to make (along with references to groups like The Books and Boards of Canada). But beyond the obvious is where this music truly stands out in sea of comparable local acts– whereas “ambient” is often used as a substitute for “boring,” particularly when the word is used to describe acoustic acts who have just discovered that electronic music isn’t evil, North truly utilizes the concept to his advantage, creating interesting textures and atmospheres that are initially compelling but also rewarding as a slow revelation. The song that caught the ears of WSJR and a handful of other blogs a couple weeks ago is “Waving Hands,” a bittersweet and introspective acoustic piece with sugary, reverby layered vocal tracks that play off one another to create a compelling wall of distant harmonies that never stray too far from a traditional melodic core. All of Sunnybrook’s tracks, whether it be the instrumental toy piano atmosphere of “Walking” or the more sing songy “Strangers,” contain hints of the kind of artistic sophistication that you might not expect from such a young artist, especially one who has barely played a gig.(SR)

Febrifuge: It’s tough to figure out what to make of Febrifuge the first time you hear them. On some levels, much of what they do is similar to more widely known, popular “indie” groups that you’ve certainly heard before– you know what I mean, right? The kind of pop that consists of sprawling atmospherics and sonic experiments surrounding quiet, relaxed songs steeped in traditional folk, chamber pop, blues structures and indie pop. Stylistically, much of this is nothing new. In fact, there are a lot of bands doing very similar things all over the country these days, resulting in quite an overload of this kind of ethereal, vaguely experimental folk based indie pop that seems all too easy to produce in the Myspace era. But before you go conjuring up an image of Febrifuge as a group of twenty year old twits twiddling knobs and singing their hearts out between bong rips, you might want to dig a little deeper into what the group does, because the project reaches quite a bit farther than most comparable artists, and the audible talents of its central figure make it a whole different proposition all together.

Febrifuge is the moniker of a formerly one man project lead by Denton resident Chris Day. Day handed us his debut record, A Short Instance of Separation, several months ago, and the sheer impressiveness of his songwriting and vocal talents stood out immediately amongst a pile of highly forgettable local releases. From the onset, the most distinguished element of Febrifuge’s sound is Day’s studied and compelling vocals, soaring with a nervous, understated yet emotive croon a la Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith, with a range nearly as impressive as the former and a quiet wistfulness similar to the latter. His lead is front and center throughout the debut, and considering that he possesses the kind of polished vocal talent that could probably make an indie/major A&R guy swoon, this was certainly a wise move.

Nearly as interesting as the vocals are the arrangements and recording, both of which were done almost entirely by Day himself, aside from some help with backing vocals and a mastering assist from Alan Douches, who has worked with Animal Collective and Olivia Tremor Control, among others. Every track on Febrifuge’s debut is packed with tons of sounds– piano, keyboard, strings, guitar, etc., but none of it ever feels like overload, and all of it is quite impressive. Some songs, such as opener “A Wounded Bird Still Dreams of Wings,” soar with touches of doo-wop and ghostly atmospherics that are nearly overwhelming, while “Our Hermitage” keeps things highly minimal, with pounding, disjointed percussion and a simple chime serving as the major melodic device behind interweaving vocal harmonies that are nothing short of gorgeous.

At the end of the day, Febrifuge is reflective, emotional pop music for people who don’t typically listen to anything that can be described in that way, and the care, thoughtfulness and attention to detail behind Day’s wonderful debut will have many of you asking why you’ve never heard of this guy before. (SR)

Be sure to check out We Shot JR regularly to keep up on the best of the D/FW and Denton scene.

The Boxing Lesson’s next gig is a big one, when they’ll be opening for the Bravery at the Backyard on Oct. 25. Then the trio will be driving their melodic psych-rock out west for quick tour.

Website:
Myspace

Profile: Follow That Bird!

Year Formed:

April ‘05 as two piece Follow that Bird! / January ‘06 including Rachel B!

Members/Instruments played:

Lauren Green - Guitar/Vocals
Tiffanie Lanmon - Drums
Rachel Badger - Bass

Former Bands/Side Projects:

Lauren and Tiffanie’s first band together was called Shadow of a Bucle. Lauren started a solo side project over the summer called Rainboltz. In high school, she rocked a couple Cranberries cover bands and was in this awesome band called Stalemate. Tiffanie loves to show people their old record when Lauren’s not around, shhh! Rachel is holed away in Houston with a four-track recorder and a lot of half-written songs tentatively named Little Cave Recordings. Tiffanie plays in Mermaid Blonde, played bass in Meryll for a while, and has a new project with members from Ume, Belaire, and the amazing and fearless leader of Girls’ Rock Camp, EMILY MARKS, called Sophisticated Boom Boom.

Albums:

Our first album was a home recording we threw together so we’d have something to sell at our first show at the Pagehouse in Georgetown, TX. That was done sometime in the Spring of 2005. We just released our new EP last Saturday at the Parlor. Two of our favorite Austin bands, Ume and Bear Claw, helped kick it off! Fun show! As far as the future - we will be releasing a song for a compilation on Matador Records in the Spring of 2009. We are all pretty thrilled about that. Shout out to our man, Gerard. Keep your peepers peeled!

Oh yeah, a cover of Toni Braxton’s “You’re Making Me High”. We’re going to do it. Just wait. Maybe. We say we are going to do covers a lot. But I bet we reallllly do it this time. It’s T. Brax!

Influences:

Lauren: As far as guitar style goes, The Rapture’s older albums, Drive Like Jehu, Led Zeppelin, Erase Errata

Tiffanie: I think my drumming style has been influenced a lot by Led Zeppelin, Hella, and even bands like Knife in the Water. Drums are so organic. It’s easy to subtract them from the rest of the sound and make them your own. The best beats and drumming styles can come from a really vast array of sources.

Rachel: As far as FTB is concerned I’m influenced by bands like The Cramps, Hella, B-52s, Melt Banana, Deerhoof, etc.

Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:

If we hear the name Sleater-Kinney one more time…

Favorite local bands:

Yellow Fever, Red X Red M, Teeners, UME, Diagonals, The Strange Boys, Alex Dupree & The Trapdoor Band, School Police, Pataphysics, Reverse X-Rays, Mermaid Blonde, Chainbow

Favorite local venue:

Mohawk and house parties!

Upcoming shows scheduled:

La Snack’s CD Relase @ Mohawk 10/10
Beerland w/ The Stolen Minks (Canada) 10/14
Beauty Bar w/ Dans La Lune 11/14

Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:

Lauren: Goodnight Loving, Teeners, Harlem @ Emo’s 10/13
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Cave, Megazilla, Magic Jewels @ Beerland 10/17

Tiff: blanket + bottle of wine + sitting on the hill outside of Stubb’s for Cat Power Oct. 11th

Some of your favorite albums from the past year:

Beach House [Devotion], Fleet Foxes [s/t], Mirah [Old Days Feeling], Crystal Antlers [s/t], MGMT [Oracular Spectacular], and all the demos from Ume’s upcoming album sound great. VAMPIRE WEEKEND! Haha, ok just kidding. The Marnie Stern record looks like it’s going to be killer too.

Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:

LED ZEP

Austin Sound questions:

We’re assuming y’all take your name from the Sesame Street movie, so what would be y’all’s favorite Sesame Street song?

I imagine this is going to disappoint quite a few people but we did not get our name from the Sesame Street movie! Common misconception! I don’t think any of us have even seen the movie. We actually took the name from a Dora the Explorer book that we saw at Lowe’s once. So, on that note, we’d have to say our favorite DORA THE EXPLORER song is “Chocolate”.

Also - if someone spots a copy of that book please mail it to us. Have not seen it anywhere since. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be. She appeared like a dream with a name and then vanished. Mystery! Intrigue! I think our band has a new edge to it now. A new story. I think people are going to want to come out and see what we’re about now. “The band that Dora named.”

Top three all-female rock bands of all time?
Seriously?

Song Introduction:

We chose “Run With Knives” because we find that most of the time it’s difficult to respond with a clear genre when asked about what our music sounds like. We feel “Run With Knives” captures a lot of what we have to offer.

Sound Off:

So proud to die! We definitely listened (and still knew all the words) to some Matchbox 20 and Fuel songs the other night. We are also aspiring jingle writers. Rachel love love loves kittens. We have all been friends since 8th/9th grade so if you are ever looking for embarrassing photos for like, Behind the Music, you know where to look. Why is this turning into a late night cab confession?

We’d like to end with a song that means so very much to us. It’s bold. It’s vulnerable. It’s emotive. It tells a story. Probably the best thing done musically since, well maybe ever.

Tim McGraw - Indian Outlaw

I’m an indian outlaw
Half cherokee and choctaw
My baby shes a chippewa
Shes one of a kind

You can find me in my wigwam
Ill be beatin on my tom-tom
Pull out the pipe and smoke you some
Hey and pass it around

They all gather round my teepee
Late at night tryin to catch a peek at me
In nothin but my buffalo briefs
I got em standin in line

Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live

Mp3 from Follow That Bird!:
Run With Knives

Website:
Myspace