Austin Sound

Some Say Leland played a show last night at the Cactus Cafe, showcasing new tunes from a couple of upcoming albums the local sextet has planned for release. Given the dreary dirgey-ness of the Mp3 below, perhaps the Cactus was an appropriate setting. People are rushing to the club to say their goodbyes to the place like visiting a patient slowly dying while holding out hope for an organ donor! Some Say Leland have a strong connection to the fated club, though, with frontman Dan Grissom having hosted the open mics there for the past year or so. Guess open mics just don’t draw the crowds that they used to. Despite the Cactus’ imminent doom, however, Some Say Leland are very much moving forward, offering up their first new recordings since last year’s Fifty Miles Into the Main. Two albums are in the works - one coming any day now that, we’re told, is seven tunes recorded in an abandoned mental institution “at night by candle light, with no electricity, with a small field recorder.” What? It’s like Fear Factor: Band Edition or something. Also, aren’t Roky Erickson and Okkervil River already doing this? Great, recording in mental institutions is the new recording in churches of 2010. That’s a secret show we’re not so bummed about missing. The other album, which is also pretty much done, is actually a studio affair (we assume with electricity) and will be coming out on 10″ vinyl probably this summer. You can download the tune “Overflow” below, which comes from the creepy insane asylum record.

Some Say Leland’s sophomore album surprises with its subtlety, full of gorgeous tunes and wistful narratives that flow with an easy but unsettled beauty. Despite the release of 2005’s Kings, Bishops, and Pawns, the self-released Fifty Miles Into the Main feels much more like their proper introduction. Since relocating to Austin from Nacogdoches, ssL foundation Dan Grissom has integrated himself into the new local lo-fi roots scene that has sprung up around the Secret Shows, not only with Some Say Leland, but also solo and with the McMercy Family Band. What separates Some Say Leland from those other groups, however, is the quality of the album and intricacy of Grissom’s songwriting, which forgoes the ribald and wild enthusiasm of his contemporaries for more contemplative and controlled ballads. Likewise, Grissom’s solo album from last year, What Was, was promising, but also rushed and somewhat haphazard, so Fifty Miles feels like a true representation of his talent given the tools and time to have it properly developed.