Austin Sound

We love this idea and can not wait for the Singularity, when we will all have replaceable parts. In fact, with the way that we’ve been treating our livers, it’s really our only hope for living out the rest of the decade. And when we do finally replace our dilapidated and crumbling husks of bodies with new pieces to make us faster better stronger whatever, we really hope that the Black and White Years’ sophomore album, Patterns, will provide the OR room/assembly line soundtrack. The new video featuring the always awesome animation of Eric Power, makes us really happy and really sad all at once, kind of like thunderstorms, animal shelters, and twitter. In other words, conflicted! Check out the video for “Cold” below, though, and you’ll have a chance to catch the Black and White Years again here in town when they play a HAAM benefit at Antone’s on April 28.

“There’s too many artists, too much hype and not enough genius.”

Those lines are taken from the bridge of the opening track on The Black and White Years’ latest release Patterns, and it seems to quantify every notion that contemporary skeptics have about today’s musical climate. Bands get hyped and they fizzle out after a descent debut only to end up swallowing Soco-lime shots at the end of the bar in the Brooklyn Bowl like Neon Indian is probably doing right now. (Just kidding NI, I love you.) The odds of success in today’s indie monsoon are bleak (is anyone really expecting a second great album out of Surfer Blood?) which is why this reviewer finds it strange that Scott Butler, lead “Year”, writer and vocalist, preludes Patterns with such a disclaimer. A jittery confidence can only get you so far in the world of 80’s inspired indie rock, and if Patterns‘ obtuse and deep synth-laden exterior didn’t gleam with such a shiny, well-produced veneer, I doubt Butler would have sounded so bold only a couple of minutes into the band’s second LP.

Wow B&W Years, this sounds awesome. After popping and grooving around on their debut album and last year’s Nursery Myths EP, The Black and White Years seems to be coming out hard for their sophomore LP, Patterns. The first single, “Up!”, which you can download below, jumps right into Yeasayer territory with some swirling beatastic rhythms. The 13 song offering from the quartet will be released officially November 16, and if this track is any indication, we’re in for a real treat here. Two more songs are up on their myspace and they are equally full of electro-noodling, though with Butler’s swooning croon easing the pulse a bit. Given the success they had off of their debut, it’s refreshing to hear them keep pushing themselves into some new sounds with the follow-up, and we’re excited to see how this comes together live. The Black and White Years’ next show is lined up to be their CD release at the ND on November 12.

One day, archeologists (read Space Aliens) are going to dig up life on Earth in the early 21st century and wonder why love affairs seem to only happen in grainy Super 8 vision. Seriously, can our nostalgic and whimsical relationships be presented in HD for once? The ‘naughts are almost over people - let’s find a new way to visualize this thing called love. And yeah, we’re looking at you, too, Bill Baird! Also, whistling. We thought there was an international ban on whistling after all those young folks ruined it for everyone (according to the Geneva Convention treaty clause #983.7, section F, Andrew Bird is the only artist that gets clemency here). Plus it makes you look like this during shows. But here we have Austin’s beloved Black and White Years, with the help of director Matthew Hoffman, throwing caution to the wind with their new video “Two Reservoirs.” We’ll see if Kanye likes this one enough to post on his blog as well. The song is off of their latest EP, Nursery Myths. Check it out below:

The Black and White Years’ excellent eponymous 2008 debut garnered them well-deserved praise, but could hardly be reviewed on its own musical merits as nearly every blurb about the band necessarily mentioned its production under the hands and influence of the Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison. With their new EP, however, the local quartet attempts to set out their sound on their own terms, producing and releasing the album themselves. The good news is that Nusery Myths makes clear that the Black and White Years are well capable of holding their own on their own, and that their infectious grooves weren’t simply the product of production. That being said, however, the new EP is generally a hit or miss affair. Those who balked at Scott Butler’s hesitating yelps on the debut will likely never find footing with the band, as it has become clear that his jittery vocals and jumpy falsetto shifts are now hallmark for the band’s sound. Yet even those who did surrender to the fevered neo-wave ballads will be put to the test as Butler throws his voice in full effect here, and sometimes to the detriment of good songs.

The Black and White Years really want your email address, but they’re at least willing to offer up something sweet in return! Not only are they offering up three new songs for you to download, but they have a little remix widget for the tunes that you play with as well. The three tunes, which the local trio is still considering “works in progress,” are planned to eventually appear on the group’s highly anticipated sophomore album, which is tentatively called A Toast to Modern Science. The new songs are pretty great and worth downloading, especially “To Modern Science,” which has a been a staple of the band’s live shows. Aside from the short instrumental intro, “I Propose a Toast,” the other song on the EP is “Two Reservoirs,” a jumpy little whistling ditty! You can sign up and download the EP from at their website here. Also, if you go to the band’s myspace page, they have a widget where you can remix the songs, so there’s that, too. Maybe you can create something like this!

What to do when your band is named the Black and White Years and you’re trying to stand out in the bright and shiny world of indie rock? Go neon! But not just any neon, crazy day-glo neon! Local production crew Birds-on-Fire films have done the Black and White Years the courtesy of electrifying their image to match the jittery dance rock yelps on their song “Zeroes and Ones.” The tune is off of their killer eponymous debut, which we’ve been digging throughout the past year, and the video was directed by Carlos LaRotta.

Last month, DJ Manny, DJ BigFace, and DJ Claude 9 began remixing the Black and White Years’ debut album, and they’ll be presenting the results from start to finish live this Saturday, November 15, at The Compound, located at 1300 E. 4th Street. We loved the Black and White Years’ album, and can’t wait to hear how the djs dust it up on what their calling The Eastside Remix. It’s part of a stellar night that includes live performances from Built By Snow and the Black and White Years, followed by Manny spinning his final product. The show kicks off at 9:00pm.

The Black and White Years have their share of much deserved attention for their excellent debut album, even if it is the same damn story repeated in every publication. (Hey, did you hear that Jerry Harrison from the Talking Heads produced the album? And that it kinda sounds like the Talking Heads). If there is one thing that the press loves, it’s a built-in story line. (And yeah, we’re guilty too). Luckily, however, the B&W Years are hardly resting on their laurels, and realize that album is but the beginning of much goodness to come. Case in point, this new tune the quartet has kindly shared for download below.

We really love the website/blog/label RCRD LBL, which seems to be one of the few innovative approaches to sharing and distributing music in the digital age that actually works and doesn’t screw the artists. Fans get free downloads, the label licenses songs, and artists get paid. We’ve already seen White Denim get some good exposure from the RCRD LBL, and now the site has cut a deal with locals The Black and White Years.