If you haven’t tuned in to the sounds of Austin’s Monahans, you might be missing out on one of Austin’s currently undiscovered great secrets. While the band’s popularity quietly begins to bubble under the surface, they are introducing us to their newest recording, simply titled 2010 Recordings, one track at a time. The band began releasing a track a month in March and today finds us with track number 5 titled “We Tremble” with a short statement about the track from the band:

“Building on last month’s theme, the title “We Tremble” echoes the refrain of a classic eerie-yet-powerful hymn. Please pardon our progress as we plunge into darkness. (As if this Texas summer heat wasn’t oppressing enough!) We recommend revisiting Track 1 or watching Double Rainbow after you’ve heard this one.”

Maybe I enjoy the darkness unknowingly, because I really dig this track.

MP3> Monahans ‘We Tremble’

Upcoming Austin shows for the band:

FRIDAY JULY 30 at Club DeVille
with Telegraph Canyon and Aaron Sinclair (of Frank Smith)

FRIDAY AUGUST 13 at ND/501 Studios
Milton Mapes (duo set) opening for AA Bondy and JBM

While I would like everyone to believe that I take the time to listen to every band that sends me music whether it be a physical copy or via the digital, I really don’t. I try to give each one a fair opportunity to grab a moment of my short attention span, but most fall short of doing so, and quite frankly, I’m sure I miss out on some good music at times.

Why this band managed a feat that most cannot, I cannot answer.

Grand Lake’s music has been haunting me since I received the package in the mail just days ago.  I continually find myself revisiting the band’s work, seeking some sort of grasp of what it is they are to trying to convey with their music, and while doing so, all I can really manage is a sense of enjoying something that feels honest and fresh.

Grand Lake is the current result of a long ongoing relationship between Caleb Nichols and Jameson Swanagon, who have continually crossed paths since they met as young boys in California. The two brought on John Pomeroy for drums  and even more recently Danae Swanagon for the keyboards.  The upcoming release from the band Blood Sea reflects the duo’s musical kinship shared over the past 10 years covering plenty of ground musically without straining to be something that it isn’t. A delicate, subtle darkness weaves it’s way through the album while the music forges ahead on with the journey being the priority. The album finds itself turn after turn alternating between fuzzed out art-rock, gentle string accompanied slow dance moments, and slow rolling mood rockers.

Blood Sea is currently available on iTunes and will see “official” release on 8.10.10.

Now we just wait for the tour bus to find it’s way to us.

MP3> Grand Lake ‘Carpoforo’

Grand Lake – Spark from Ryan Pierce on Vimeo.

The moniker Ola Podrida which local musician David Wingo masks himself behind, dropped one of my favorite recordings of the past year, late in 2009 on the Austin based Western Vinyl label, titled Belly Of The Lion. The acoustic based recording brings into fold simple instrumentation that stretches between sublime sonic guitars, subtle drum beats, banjo, tambourine, and Wingo’s own lyrics. Lyrics that soundtrack the simple stories of naive human relationships while exposing the genuine and honest treasures lying within.

Wingo has assembled a band for a U.S. tour launching tomorrow night @ Mohawk. Get there early, as the tiny inside Mohawk stage will surely be a bad bet for showcasing one of Austin’s most promising talents.

“I’ll skinny dip with girls in lakes of wine……….”

MP3> Ola Podrida ‘Lakes Of Wine’

In a curious move by someone, Tiny Vipers were booked to play one of my personal favorite venues in town, The Parish. Curious because Tiny Vipers, as much as I feel they should be, aren’t a big drawn in this town, if in many. Tiny Vipers are the work of one talented creative voice named Jesy Fortino, and as incredibly enticing and rewarding as her music can be with a patient listen, it’s not a huge draw for many. It’s one woman with one guitar, engaging time, sound and space in a way that most artists would struggle to even attempt.

Being the 4th time that I have witnessed Fortino work, it was as magical as previous.  Somewhat recluse, Fortino weaves her catalog of work seamlessly with an intensity and restraint that compliments her craft. No need or seeking audience appreciation, just a dedication to the art.

And for the 4 folks that continued to chat during the set until I asked you to shut up…I really don’t know what to say other than..stay at home if you don’t want to watch the music and experience the experience. Either that or Shut The F*** Up!!

Photos by Mary Rehak

Taking an approach to releasing their music that most bands would shrug off, the Austin based Monahans are releasing a track a month from their most recent recording titled simply 2010 Recordings. And I should mention, that the tracks are free for download.

The latest to surface from the Monahans camp is track #4 titled “A Memory Of God”.

In addition to the free tracks being released, the band is also dropping video footage and various reference material as well. If you want to get in on this action, you might want to visit the band’s website and sign up for the email list. Or you could just keep tuning in here, as I’ll likely pass along this stuff to you as well, as I kinda dig these guys.

In related news: The previous incarnation of Monahans, Milton Mapes have received a little attention by some guy named Robert Plant? This guy is recording a version of their track “The Only Sound That Matters”. Nice.

Austin’s Black Angels have a new recording looming in the near future titled Phosphene Dream, recorded with producer Dave Sardy (new for the band), and on the recently revived label Blue Horizon (new for the band). What does all of this change mean for the local artisans of psychedelic drone? For those in attendance of this year’s Austin Psych Fest, you were treated to what Phosphene Dream has wrapped up inside, when The Black Angels performed the recording in it’s entirety live on Saturday night of the 3 day fest. And first impression suggests that change is good.

MP3> Black Angels ‘Bad Vibrations’

The band has several European festival dates lined up before they head back to the states for an appearance @ The Jim Jarmusch curated stage during ATP New York.

It had been awhile since we’ve heard any rumblings from the Blonde Redhead camp, until this most recent single has emerged titled “Here Sometimes”. One would be lead to believe that this would signal a new album on the horizon, but nothing official on the release. Word is there is more info heading our way soon though, so stay tuned.

Until then, enjoy this sleepy haze introduction to new music from 4AD’s Blonde Redhead..

MP3> Blonde Redhead ‘Here Sometimes’

The reunited Pavement have been making the rounds this year, much to the delight of many an indie-rock fan, and as a good majority of their appearances have been at some of the prestigious festivals, the band will make a stop here in Austin, at a much smaller venue called Stubbs. I have to say that I was a bit surprised that the band didn’t make the ACL Fest lineup, but am much happier with this news. Who wants to wade through a sea of lawn chairs, Phish heads, Eagles fans, and misguided weekend music warriors to enjoy the Gold Sounds of Pavement? Not this guy! Two thumbs up C3!!

Pavement @ Stubbs 9.28!!

Tickets on sale June 18th HERE

MP3> Pavement ‘Fight This Generation’

I was just listening to some Built To Spill the other day thinking about what a solid career these guys have had with some great recordings under their belt, and then POOF! they are coming to town. As if I almost willed it to happen.

Built to Spill, who usually find themselves playing the larger Stubb’s venue as of lately, take it down a notch and get real @ Emo’s for not just 1 night, but 2. Expecting them to traverse their illustrious catalog of jams.

Built to Spill @ Emos 10.22 Tickets

Built to Spill @ Emos 10.23 Tickets

MP3> Built To Spill ‘Untrustable Part 2 (About Someone Else)’

“The place where good music goes to die” was the statement made about The Austin Music Hall by one of the major music magazines a few years ago in an article about My Morning Jacket during the time they were playing SXSW. And this is where The Pixies are going to land when they stop here in Austin on their most recent string tour dates. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever seen the Pixies live, the music is about all they have during their live performances. Don’t get me wrong, I hold the band near and dear to my heart, but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……snooze fest live. I really do La La Love You!

Now, where’s that Austin Pavement date?

And now to stay with the “Death” theme, a track from Death To The Pixies. See how it all comes together.

MP3> Pixies ‘Gouge Away’ Live

Tour Dates:

06/03 – London, UK @ The Troxy
06/04 – London, UK @ The Troxy
06/06 – Ferrara, IT @ Piazza Castello
06/09 – Tel Aviv, IR @ Expo Grounds
07/30 – Queensland, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
08/03 – Christchurch, NZ @ Westpac Arena
08/07 – Tokyo, JP @ Summer Sonic
08/08 – Osaka, JP @ Summer Sonic
09/07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theatre *
09/10 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
09/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre *
09/17 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre *
09/18 – Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre *
09/19 – Dallas, TX @ Verizon Theatre *
09/20 – Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theatre *
09/22 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall *
09/24 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre *
09/25 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint *
09/26 – San Diego, AZ @ RIMAC *

* = w/ Fuck Buttons

Athen’s Futurebirds have their debut full length Hampton’s Lullaby breaking legal July 13th July 27th on Autumn Tone Records, and the second single from the release has just surfaced. “Battle For Rome” arrives shortly after “Johnny Utah” officially introduced the band to the public.

My experience with Hampton’s Lullaby so far leads me to believe that we’re going to be hearing a lot more from these guys over the next year. It’s pretty damn good. If you are curious about the live show, they should be swinging your way soon with a stop here in Austin @ Emo’s on July 18th.

MP3> Futurebirds ‘Battle For Rome’

Austin is littered with bands that have come and gone, while reaching a level of success that lay on the brink of something most bands only dare to dream about. Seven Percent Solution is one of those bands. Following closely to the success that the newly reformed Sixteen Deluxe saw in the 90’s, Seven Percent Solution experienced a healthy following outside of the comforts of the Live Music Capitol, while managing to catch national media attention even by the likes of Rolling Stone magazine on several occasions. A band that managed to scrape the ceiling while reaching for the stars, and a band whose music stays relevant even today, seemingly unaffected by the constantly churning and changing music industry.

There’s no telling if Seven Percent Solution is peering skyward once again, feeling the need to revisit the dream, or if this show will be another of a last hurrah.

Saturday night @ The Highball, and it’s FREE! Seven Percent Solution starts the dance @ 11 pm.

MP3> Seven Percent Solution ‘Bruise’
MP3> Seven Percent Solution ‘The Innocentes’

One of Austin’s great dirty little secrets of a band, Monahans, have been patiently releasing newly recorded material on their website, and just recently set loose track # 3 titled “Quell”.

The band will be releasing a track a month for the remainder of the year, so if you “dig” you might want to sign up for the band’s email list.

MP3> Monahans ‘Quell’

photo: victoria jacob

Is the music industry tapping Brooklyn for the newest, next to be hot indie-rock band around, a bit too much these days? Are we going to have another Seattle on our hands?

I don’t know much about Suckers, but I hear good things, and we’ll soon have more to hear from these guys soon enough. The band sets loose Wild Smile on June 8th and the second track to be released from the recording is available now, and is titled “A Mind I Knew”.

Pre-order Wild Smile and get a bunch of extra goodies from the band.

MP3> Suckers ‘A Mind I Knew’

Tour dates

05-21 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge – 8:00pm #

05-22 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court – 8:00pm #

05-25 Spokane, WA – Empyrean Coffee House – 7:00pm #

05-26 Boise, ID – Neurolux – 7:30pm #

05-27 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios – 8:00pm #

05-28 Vancouver, BC – Media Club – 8:00pm #

05-31 Seattle, WA – The Comet Tavern

06-02 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop # SOLD OUT

06-03 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill – 8:30pm # SOLD OUT

06-04 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour # SOLD OUT

06-05 Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland (w/Screaming Females)

06-17 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church (w/Mates of State)

06-18 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (WILD SMILE RECORD RELEASE)

06-29 Brooklyn, NY – Prospect Park Bandshell &

06-30 New York, NY – Governor’s Island &

07-15 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall

07-16 Montreal, Quebec – Le Divan Orange

07-18 Allston, MA – Great Scott

# With Local Natives

& With Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club

Click over to Covert Curiosity for the skinny on the artists

A nice little tune from Brazos

MP3> Brazos ‘Mrs Virginia’

Doors are actually at 9:00 from what I understand as well. Not 9:30 as listed on poster, which follows after the jump

Portland’s Menomena, a band that hasn’t delivered any newly recorded material to us in almost 3 years, is prepping the release of their fourth full-length titled Mines July 27th on Barsuk Records. Expect the cover art to follow with the band’s interest in the interesting. Stereographic photos on the cover will be visible as three-dimensional images if you manage to look at them just right.

First few spins with this track “Five Little Rooms” bodes promising for this release…

MP3> Menomena ‘Five Little Rooms’

While I would like to believe that I have a pretty decent grasp of what’s of interest in the music scene to a certain extent, at least hearing or seeing the name of a band, the reality is, it’s a vast sea of talent that sees some slipping through many a crack.

A friend recently suggested this band Wild Beasts, and as my initial reaction wasn’t all that positive to what I heard of their release Two Dancers, there’s something here that I can’t shake. I will admit that my initial reaction was based mostly on the countertenor vocals of Hayden Thorpe that clumsily position themselves with a drunken sense of timing against the music backdrop. The music, in itself is what has managed to save our relationship, bouncing free and upbeat, reminiscent of a carefree, frivolous period of 80’s music that left only pleasure to the imagination.

Wild Beasts hail from Kendal, England and have a couple of releases out on Domino Records, the 2008 release Limbo, Panto and the most recent Two Dancers. The band will be performing @ Lollapalooza 2010 along with a few other North American dates which you’ll find…

Fri. Aug. 6 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

Sat. Aug. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

Mon. Aug. 9 – Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club

Wed. Aug. 11 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom

Fri. Aug. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater

MP3> Wild Beasts ‘The Fun Powder Plot’

MP3> Wild Beasts ‘Hooting & Howling’

Have we got a video? Yes, we’ve got a video!

One of my favorite new bands that I saw during SXSW 2010 was a little band, with some obvious country roots, based out of Athens, GA, called Futurebirds. I do have a thing for Athens bands.

There’s a very low-fi quality to this band’s music that draws from the previously mentioned country roots, while bluegrass runs thick, and guitars wander into sonic washes. The band has a previously recorded EP floating around in limited edition and available digitally on their Bandcamp page, as well as their upcoming label debut Hampton’s Lullaby to be released on July 13th on the Autumn Tone Records label.

MP3> Futurebirds ‘Johnny Utah’

The band is on the road with Jessica Lea Mayfield currently and will be making a stop here in Austin @ Emo’s on July 18th.

Futurebirds tour

May 16–TT the Bear’s w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield–Boston, MA

May 18–Thunderbird Cafe w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield–Pittsburgh, PA

May 19–Beachland Ballroom w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield–Cleveland, Ohio

May 20–Schuba’s w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield and Dexateens–Chicago, IL

May 21–Zanzabar w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield and Dexateens–Louisville, KY

May 22–Exit / In w/ Jessica Lea Mayfield and Dexateens–Nashville, TN

June 10–Schroeder’s–Rome, GA

June 11–Harvest Moon–Albany, GA

June 18–The Earl–Atlanta, GA

June 26–AthFest – Pulaski Stage–Athens, GA

July 3–Gnat’s Landing–St. Simons, GA

July 15–Bottletree w/ Roadside Graves–Birmingham, AL

July 16–One Eyed Jack’s w/ Roadside Graves–New Orleans, LA

July 17–Chelsea’s–Baton Rouge, LA

July 18–Emo’s (Inside) Austin, TX

Canada’s Besnard Lakes have been refining their style of spacious pysch inspired rock that at times builds into epic musical tales, since their incarnation in 2003. The band’s latest 2010 release The Besnard Lakes are The Roaring Night weaves vocals into the mix by both Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, into the atmospheric musical landscape where reality slides into grand fantasy.

The Besnard Lakes have been on the “must see live” list for me for awhile now, and Tue 5.18 presents us with that live opportunity at the Mohawk, which quite frankly as much as I love, hasn’t been producing the shows that are bringing me to their door much as of late.

Stardeath and White Dwarfs open with locals The Boxing Lesson

Tickets HERE

MP3> The Besnard Lakes ‘Chicago Train’

Experimental dream-pop group (not my words) School Of Seven Bells have a new album set for release in July. July 13th to be exact. Produced by band member Benjamin Curtis, who happens to have the loveliest set of band mates around, Disconnect from Desire was recorded in the band’s home studio.

Two live dates are scheduled in New York at Mercury Lounge on June 9th and 10th, and more tour dates are to be announced soon.

MP3> School Of Seven Bells ‘Babelonia’