Austin Sound

Things get dark and heavy on the Gary’s second EP, El Camino. With these six songs, recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in mid 2010, it sounds like the weight of the world is pressing down on the band. Coming hot on the heals of their criminally overlooked debut full length, Logan, El Camino burns slowly with most songs feeling more like “Hurricane Sunrise” than “QSB” (both Logan standouts). And make no mistake; sounding like the product of a long haul Austin-to-Chicago roadtrip is not a bad thing. The Gary have consistently excelled at making songs for the darkest hour of the night, when the last drops of beer have run dry and it’s time to go home and face our realities. El Camino is no exception.

Is it too late to pick an album of the year for 2009? Or maybe is it too early to pick an album of the year for 2010? Logan, The Gary’s followup to their amazing debut EP Chub, was released digitally in late 2009, but on CD this month. Fortunately, the album is so good and so relentlessly compelling, it’ll be impossible to forget come well into next year.

Another stunning work of Minutemen-esque brevity and wit, Logan clocks in at just under a half an hour. The perfect mixture of Dave Norwood’s guttural yelps and Trey Pool’s metallic guitar twists, Logan sees the world of Chub and raises - perhaps all in.

The Gary, The Gary, The Gary. Where to start with this Austin trio and their tremendous debut EP Chub?

Well, first of all, there isn’t a single band member named Gary in The Gary. Allegedly named after a neighbor of sorts, Gary Doyle O’Banien, The Gary is the brainchild of Dave Norwood, Trey Pool, and Paul Warner. So that right there is a little bit of misdirection thrown out there by this trio.

Second, the band wants listeners to not take them seriously. In interviews and other press, they come across as comically light hearted. But, upon first listen to Chub, it is beyond obvious that The Gary is a serious band, with serious aspirations, and serious concerns. And they seriously engage themselves in the art of rock and roll.

The Gary is a band that takes you by surprise - from the odd band name to their equally dubiously titled debut EP, Chub, the band seems to be provoking listeners to not take them too seriously. That may be the case, but their music demands attention. With a melodic assault of Trey Pool’s jagged guitar and Dave Norwood’s ominously monotone, deep vocals, the Gary fillets Nineties college rock into a brooding drawl that quakes and shivers with furious, if understated and tightly wound, intensity. Already working on their debut LP, the trio has shared one of their new recordings with us below, and you can experience them live this Friday, June 26 at the Scoot Inn with the eclectic lineup of local popsters Hollywood Gossip and the caustic garage folk of David Israel.