Austin Sound

If it takes more than a decade to release your debut album, calling it a greatest hits collection isn’t necessarily a misnomer, right? In the case of Gleeson’s debut, The Very Very Best of Gleeson, the wait was more like fifteen years and, thankfully, it wasn’t for naught. Fifteen years ago, power-pop wasn’t exactly topping the charts and it still isn’t, but that’s really of no concern for Ty Chandler’s brainchild. While Chandler may have been sitting on Gleeson’s tunes for years, his other labor of love – Almost There Records – was putting out a steady stream of some of Austin’s best power-pop in the interim. After all, this is a guy (and label) that has gone so far as to host Big Star, Cheap Trick, Mott The Hoople, the Who, and the Kinks Hoot Nights. What did you expect his band’s album to sound like? Something other than mostly ridiculously catchy power-pop with an Austin-fried edge? Get real.

We love Almost There Records’ annual hoot nights. They always offer an amazing range of music from some of Austin’s best bands, both new and established. This year’s hoot promises to be twice as nice with a two night extravaganza of Paul McCartney and John Lennon tunes. We hear they had a few hits back in the day. The hooting begins this Friday, December 12 at the Parish with McCartney songs (extra points for anyone covering Fireman tunes), and continues on Saturday again at the Parish with a tribute to Lennon. Jump below for a list of bands performing each night.

From the opening notes of Osaka Cocka Rocka, The Rockland Eagle’s modus operandi brings to mind the rock giants of yesteryear - think AC/DC meets Motorhead, with all the catchiness of Cheap Trick. It is a record of fist-full-of-beer-in-the-air arena rock, of shredding solos, of tight rock hooks, of high-energy riffage, of huge choruses. If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then every song on this record is both a parody of, and a tribute to, rock and roll. But I must confess: in the beginning I missed the joke.

At first listen, it can seem like unoriginal, derivative, immature and formulaic schlock rock. Sometimes, however, first listens can be deceiving. The problem, for those unfamiliar with the Rockland Eagles over-the-top live shows, is that the band plays the cock rock card so well, that it is sometimes hard to tell when they are joking and when they are not.

It’s difficult to decipher exactly what the Wailing Walls are attempting to impart on their bizarrely brilliant sophomore LP, but Bryan Crowell’s San Marcos collective delivers such an explosive and infectious collection of power-pop pillared tunes that whatever “concept” supposedly threads the two-act rock opera together is pushed to the background anyway. Long Live the Infidel sets itself in a nursing home, and as such, its characters and songs seem the dementiaed projections of a cast harshly ruminating on impending mortality through the elusive hindsight of memories, regrets, and dreams. At turns poignantly wrought, hilariously effusive, and brutally abrasive, the songs largely lift themselves beyond the plot, the underpinning universality of their themes and the powerful thrust of their arrangements pulling in all directions and ultimately seeming to culminate in a fervent, life-affirming celebration.

Every year, Almost There Records puts out what is far and away the best local compilation (and we say that in regard even to own Sound Advice comps!). This Saturday, they will release Turn 4, another 22 tracks from local artists ranging from Ugly Beats and Lions to the Archibalds and Mike Nicolai, many exclusive to the comp. We had trouble choosing only two to offer up for download below, but decided to feature tracks from artists we haven’t covered here on Austin Sound before and that will be playing Saturday: Nic Armstrong’s excellent new garage rock project Ripe with the song “Holiday” and the raucous Good Times Crisis Band with the appropriately titled “Cyber Freee.” See the full track listing for the comp and Saturday’s lineup after the jump.

Almost There Records has done it again. The local imprint has combined two of the things they do best - amazing local comps and incomparable hoot nights - to create Thank You Friends: An Almost There Records Salute to Big Star. The album features 13 Austin artists laying taking a swing at some of the seminal power poppers best tunes. You can view the full tracklist and download three tracks from the album courtesy of Almost There below.

To celebrate the release of the album, 10 bands will be taking over the Continental Club stage Saturday night for a hoot night not only of Big Star tunes, but also Mott the Hoople and Cheap Trick. The lineup includes Honeypot, Ron Flynt (of 20/20 fame), The Archibalds, Beaty Wilson, Matt Devine, The Service Industry, The Wailing Walls, The Midgetmen, Ripe (Jake from The Ugly Beats), and Gleeson (various members of many bands including Grand Champeen, Those Peabodys, The Hackberries and more).

Although boasting only two bands in its stable, Almost There Records has emerged as a pillar of the local music scene through its annual compilations that gather some of Austin’s best acts onto a single disc. This month, the label celebrates its third year with the release of Almost There Turns 3, which features 21 artists from across the board. The label’s biggest key to success, however, is their dedication to straight-ahead indie rock and pop, championing a classic sound that is as reliably successful as it is continually impressive. Behind the efforts of Ty Chandler and Lance Davis, Almost There continues to grow and hopefully has a number of new comps waiting in the future. You can find out more information about the label and purchase the compilations at www.almostthererecords.com.