About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2011)
MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP Rest in Peace: Heartfelt sympathies are due to the family and friends of 22-year-old Richard Olaf Sabine, Jr., who was tragically killed in a fall from the South Poplar Street "Murmur trestle" on May 24. He was a classmate ot mine for a couple of semesters a few years ago and had performed as a carnival barker under the name Yo-Boy-Rich with Mr. Blank's Camivale of Black Hearts. Mux "Mr." Blank says, "He liked being the crowd pleaser; he loved singing; he loved playing music, jam ming with friends night after night... all because I think he just loved spreading joy and enlightening people's lives." Certainly, no person's life can be summed up in one sen tence (and this quote is from a longer tribute Blank has written), but where sentences are concerned that's a darn good one, and I know Richard would be pleased by it. >• Open for Business: The Georgia Theatre, which burned to a crisp June 19, 2009 and has sat as a hulk ing monument to itself ever since while slowly coming back to life, has announced it will host its grand opening celebration for a solid two weeks Aug. 1-14. The lineup of shows scheduled is really incredible, too. Opening night,' Aug. 1, will feature the long hidden-in- plain-sight Athens favorites The Glands. The rest of the two-week period will feature a whole pile of talent, including Gillian Welch, Chuck Leavell, RJD2, Blackberry Smoke, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Big Boi and a two-night stand from Drive-By Truckers. A free open- house featuring Kenosha Kid will happen Aug. 3. Please check www.georgiatheatre. com for all details and pricing information. Congratulations to Wilmot Greene and the whole team behind the rebuilding effort Y*all done good. Pure Form: New York label DFA will release a new 7-inch split single from Atlanta band Deerhunter and Calvinist (better known as former Ui member and pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones) on July 17. Why Athens cares about this more than it normally would is because the whole thing is a tribute to Pylon named Cover + Remix. True to its word, the A-side is Deerhunter covering "Cool," and the B-side features two remixes of "Yo-Yo" by Frere-Jones featuring added vocals by Alexis Krauss (Sleigh Bells). For more information, please see www.dfarecords.com. A Little Bit Louder Now: Wedge, the ongo ing project of Tommy Wedge, will release its newest album, Almost Silent, on June 7. It'll be available digitally at all the usual places as well as through www.wedge.bandcamp. com, where you can stream a few tracks and pre-order it now. Wedge seems to have turned down the mist and dreamscape-y-ness while losing none of the romantic melancholy, and turned up everything else on this record; it's a nice change. As much as I've really enjoyed all his records, it's always refreshing when people don't do the same thing over and over. Here We Are in the Street: Supercluster has a new video making the rounds for "Neat in the Street" which was originally recorded by Athens legends The Side Effects about 30 years ago. The film is a family affair with the video being done by Hannah Hay, bandmember and daughter of members Vanessa Briscoe Hay (Pylon) and Bob Hay (The Squalls). It was shot on location at Chase Street Warehouses, the Unitarian Fellowship of Athens and, liter ally, on the pavement of Elizabeth Street. The storyline of the video is "aliens visit Earth for a relaxing vacation but find it infested with zombies." It's a pretty neat thing to look at, and everyone in the film gives it his/her best. Check it out over at http://www.youtube.com/ user/Sprclstr. Antics of the New Romantics: In closing out this week's news, I want to send a hearty congratulations out to Flagpole music edi tor Michelle Gilzenrat and her new fiance, Shane Davis (Spring Tigers), who became engaged at Spain's Primavera Sound Festival on May 27. The pair were overseas to catch the much-heralded reunion of England's Pulp, and Davis, after sweating last-minute delivery of the engagement ring, found Pulp's singer Jarvis Cocker in the festival crowd and explained that it would mean the world to propose during Pulp's set. Cocker agreed, and thus the wheels were set in motion for an adventure worthy of a movie script. There were hassles with security, a major language barrier between Davis and backstage person nel, and an intervention courtesy of Belle & Sebastian's crew. It all led up to the pair . being escorted into an emptied photogra phers' pit directly in front of the stage, Cocker addressing the couple, Shane proposing to Michejle in front of 50,000 people, and her accepting through the half-breaths of hyper ventilation. The event was covered in music and majo r press across the globe, too. So, congratulations, Michelle and Shane. Best of luck to you both. And, Michelle, don't be too harsh when Shane can't get Oasis to reunite for the wedding. A man does what he can. Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@fiagpole.com The Glands THOMAS GALLOWAY Full Moon Fiction Independent Release On this solo venture, recorded with producer Thomas Johnson at Chase Park Transduction. Thomas Galloway steps out from his role as spirited frontman tor local jam-rock outfit Mama's Love to explore the most carelree corners ot Americana music and show off his chops—playing all banjo, mandolin, guitar and piano parts on the EP. The lazy, sun-drenched vibe of album highlights “Mournful, TX' and “Sleeping Bear' showcase Galloway's ability to seemingly channel the pen cl Robert Hunter while delivering a performance reminiscent of Gram Parsons. ‘At 2 a m she looks alright/ 'Underneath the glow of the last call light/ She’s your means to the end of the night,' sings Galloway on countri fied free-love romp “Means to the Night' The ode to casual sex will have GlaxoSmithKline marketing depart ment suits descending on Athens, GA soon to ensure the song's catchy refrain soundtracks the next Valtrex commercial Missteps like Means’ and the unsettled opening track “1116 Easy Shed,” which sounds more like a col lection of OK ideas foe a song rather than something comfortable standing alone, gel a pass. It will be fun to watch this talented songwriter hone his craft around town. David Eduardo OF MONTREAL thecontrollersphere Polyvinyl Record Co. The Athens indie act has gone increasingly introspective over the past several years, writing opaque R&B-pop jams laced with soundscapes and fever-dream imagery, the control- lersphere, the band's new five-song EP, culls tracks recorded during overlap ping sessions for last year's full-length, False Priest. As such, thecontroller sphere shares the same thicket of sound as that disc. Opening track ‘Black Lion Massacre’ weaves drums and cymbals through challenging layers of sound, while “Flunkt Sass vs. The Root Plume’ follows a Bowie-blazed trail of spaced- out acoustic. One standout track here is ‘Holiday Call,’ an extended eight-min ute song that, despite its length, fea tures fewer digressions than its shorter companions, instead evolving into a string-filled. Middle-Eastern number before ‘Slave Translator' brings the EP to a funky close. One of the nice things about Kevin Barnes' musical excursions over the past decade is that while they've often had a loose sort of thematic cohesion, they’ve never felt rigidly adherent to those themes. With rough outlines sketched, the band fills in the content in unpredictable and rewarding ways. At times exhaustmgly dense, thecon trollersphere sounds like a wrapping up of of Montreal’s past several years of creative experimentation and a cul mination of the different permutations and expressions of an art band gone pop—and the other way around, too. Chris Hassiotis RUBY KENDRICK No Weight No Chain Independent Release The music on No Weigh! No Chain sounds about how its cover looks, light and hopeful with the occasional gloomy patch. Like the balloons carry ing away the anchors, the lyrics act as a call to find inner peace. Kendrick's pain is palpable in the bare guitar framework and subdued arrangements, yet held at bay by her tranquil voice. Though reserved, Kendrick's timbre proves versatile, which sustains a calm atmosphere across 11 tracks: a bit of Ani DiFranco’s intensity, a bit of pop sensibility and a wealth of melancholy that recalls Patsy Cline—or, for a more modern comparison, Zooey Deschanel. Kendrick's knack for sunny pop is apparent in concise, buoyant songs like “Do Me Right' and “Forever More,’ but she allows herself to stretch out. as on ‘Can't Sleep Here’ and the title track, which contain ambient touches. “Ain't Gonna Call’ and ‘Gold’ are the album’s emotional core, where Kendrick sounds the most vulnerable. This placid folk-pop may not rein vent the wheel, but it’s a relaxing ride, and one of Kendrick's biggest strengths is that she never sounds in a hurry. After all, rising above one’s troubles is a process. John Barrett WITCHES Forever Bakery Outlet It would be easy to dismiss Forever, the debut album by local post-punk trio Witches, as a simple, aimless. 10-song block of ambiguity, but a deliberate dissection of the record proves that this work is not nearly as vapid or directionless as it m.ght originally seem. The elementary lyrics and disjointed composition seem to be purposeful, carefully woven into cohe sion by singer Cara Beth Satalino’s poignant laments. Forever is a story ot heartbreak, complicated realiza tions and honest disillusionment told through a lucid, black-and-white lens. Alternating between first and second person, the story is one of either deep- seated anger, self-loathing, or perhaps a combination ol the two. The craftsmanship is undetermin able, as is often the case with any post-punk record, and it can be at times difficult to discern whether the confusion is intentional. Often, th? guitar competes with or disguises the albums greatest strength: Satalinos vocals The elements added by drum mer Jared Gandy and bassist Michael Clancy are basic and uncomplicated, but anything more intricate would have confused the style of the record alto gether While this band has obviously not yet reached its zenith, the potential is undeniable and worthy of a listen er two From its original simplicity to its intelligently crafted undertones. Forever proves first impressions can not always be trusted Carrie Dagenhard TRIZ Looming Illness Independent Release Though Athens’ Triz is a DJ, Looming Illness is not a hit-and-run DJ mixtape. Available for free down load (trizmusic.com). this release is a proper eight-track album of original compositions. Heavily informed by the cerebral IDM side of the electronic coin, Triz’s distinguishing aspect here is his smart distillation. The approach features beats clipped just enough to make them unusual and more than a few pages from the Jack Dangers book of sonic mind expansion. The dense ‘Gets ta Steppin” flick ers like Meat Beat Manifesto in a fit of dubstep convulsions. The hypnotically liquid plod of “Cree's Joint’ radiates acid ripples with each step. “Lounge 1335’ is cocktail futurism boiled down to its sleek, stylish element. And “No Jive’ flashes between dubstep grind, rhythmic freneticism and disco guitars. Top cuts include the classic electro-lined title track, deconstructed rap banger ‘Mean Muggin” and the big-mackin’ shuffle of ‘Whilst Betwixt.’ But none compare to the mental, manic breaks of ‘All the While.’ Tricked out, hype and excellently left-field, it's on par with classic mid-'90s underground floor-thumpers like some of tne Bassbin Twins weirder stuff. If you’re cruising for dumb, fist pumping club music, keep moving. But if you’re down with body music that doesn't require a dance floor to be absorbing, then you've arrived. Bao Le-Huu 12 FLAGPOLE.COM-JUNE 8,2011
