Newspaper Page Text
T. Hardy Morris: Audition Tapes
Dangerbird
???????????????
A couple months back, Dead Confederate frontman T. Hardy Morris casually told Flagpole that
his first solo outing was comprised of a bunch of songs he had written
that simply didn't work in the context of his primary band. But from
the time Morris began playing those songs around town, many sus
pected Audition Tapes would be a more considered affair.
"You remind me/ That we're not getting any younger," Morris sings
on opener "Lucky," a tune that chronicles the alcohol-driven down
fall of its protagonist. Substance abuse and redemption are recur
ring themes on the record; "Hardstuff" urgently addresses them both
("Leave yourself alone/ And I'll leave well enough alone"). There's a
palpable mixture of faith and desperation throughout: the purging of
darkness, the letting in of light.
Audition Tapes was recorded "onto tape and late at night," Morris
said back in May, and its tales of hope and regret are intensified by
Adam Landry's intimate, bassy production. Meanwhile, Matt Stoessel's
pedal steel is the album's emotional core, and though her vocals are
often faint, Thayer Sarrano adds a certain subtle depth. ("Beauty
Rest" is Sarrano's shining moment???her spectral singing enlightens
the otherwise reticent tune.)
There are rare missteps. "Share the Needle" is more rocking than
the rest of the album (only here does Stoessel's steel feel incongruous); it might have worked
better backed by Dead Confederate's trademark nu-grunge roar. Overall, though, Audition Tapes
is a gem. Confronting demons, in life or on record, is a messy thing. That Morris handles it with
such creative composure is nothing short of remarkable. [Gabe Vodicka]
murk daddy flex: MDF
Independent Release
At face value, murk daddy flex is just another bedroom hip hop producer with a penchant
for freewheeling beats and skimming vibes. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find that Terence
Chiyezhan is creating genuine old-school hip hop instrumentals with a modernist's ear and a
Southern accent. Although there have certainly been forward-thinking producers tapped by
labels like Stones Throw and Warp harvested from below the Mason-Dixon (here's looking at you,
Scott Herren), MDF maintains Chiyezhan's crooked color and unique voice, which will likely never
lose its backwater character.
Opening with a spaghetti western-sourced sample of slide whistle and cheap, dusty guitars,
"Mangosteen" begins the set and sounds similar to Washington, D.C. producer Edan's psychedelic
beats. The woozy bounce of the stringed sample is reminiscent of Broadcast's postmodern pas
tiche, with the dance-floor enthusiasm and swagger of the Avalanches' edit-happy compositions.
"Coriander" and "Turmeric," two early tracks that present the album's pantry-herb-and-spice
theme, feature a wobbled, glitchy take on Southern hip hop with a demented section of stringed
accompaniment. Similar to Clams Casino's 2011 breakout Instrumentals mixtape, MDF blends
melancholic progression and nostalgic melodies with clean yet bombastic beats that seem cus
tom-tailored for a backpack lyricist to sprawl all over. The album also
throws in bizarre interludes and transitions to create a hazy, dreamlike
mood throughout. The gauzy glue seals one of the best mixtapes to
come out of Athens in recent memory. [Bobby Power]
Scab Queen: Brags/Bodies
Independent Release
??????????????? /???????????????
Existing in a grey area of drone, post-industrial and electro
acoustic murk, local outsider Michael Lauden records darkly compel
ling sounds as Scab Queen. Since the project's inception in May 2012,
Lauden has quietly released a string of bleak drones and processed
tones, culminating in Brags and Bodies, two curt digital releases
recently made available via Bandcamp.
Brags, comprised of a single 24-minute track, is a black-metal sym
phony of industrial clatter and doom-affected pacing. Featuring guest
vocals by Leo Ashline, the piece shifts in and out of genre, direction
and delirium at any given moment until roughly the midpoint, when
everything dissolves into a blur of sustained aural abuse.
Bodies, released two weeks ago, streamlines the long-form hysteria of Brags and distills the
hauntological visions down to five brief yet brutally vaporous transmissions. The title track sets
the mood with an ethereal mix of sound collage, meandering guitar improvisation and hallucina
tory effects, sounding like if DJ Screw and Philip deck collaborated on a remix of Candlebox's
"Far Behind." The tune resembles a hallucination or a misremembering of an experience rather
than a concrete scene.
"Bird (A)" and "Bird (B)" pick up the cleansed palette as a starting point for even deeper
drifts; the echoing, folding drones resemble the work of Jacob Kirkegaard and the Touch Records
canon of dark, droning ephemera. The suite ends with "Wind Torn (A)" and "Wind Torn (B),"
two extended moments of brightness and looped beauty. Lauden's vocals make a sudden cameo
as well, burrowing out a peaceful space rather than distracting from the bigger picture. [Bobby
Power]
?? NOW 1 -
starring
SALLY STRUTHERS
www.HelloDollyOnTour.com
...v;
??? ??????
?????????
??? ??????
??? ??????
?????????
??? ??????
??? ??????
?????????
????????????
??? ??????
?????????
?????????
???????????????<*
??????????????????
?????????????????<
?????????
?????????
?????????
???v. ?????????
????????? ?????????
??? ?????? ????????????????? ?????????????????
.????????? -?????? ?????????
AAA*
??? ?????????
??? ?????????
??? ?????????
w. ;.v
??? ????????????
??? ?????????i
??? ??????
?????????
?????????
jjp III*.
;:::
J: i
Hi :::\\\ ???
1 !!!?>.. ||
????????? ????????? ????????????????????? ?????????.
???????????? ???????????? ????????????????????? ???????????????
?????????
liiiv; :s: v
??? aaa
???????????????_ aaaaaaa aaaaaa. aaa a
::::
???aa. aaa aaa a s * aaa a
??? ???.???a. aaaaaa aaa aaa a
aaaaa'a SSSltV S!! l
Ilimi III ???
viii
HI .WVAV. !
????????? ????????? ???
| j:| '*???:???::
????????? ????????? ?????????
??? ?????? ??.??? ?????????
??? ???a a.i aaa
??? ?????? ?????? aaa
.M :::????????????::: ???>>. ::::
*aaaa* aaaaaaa aaa a..a aaa a
aaaaaa
????????? *???????????????
????????????
NUTCRACKER
HELLO, DOLLY!
STARRING SALLY STRUTHERS
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2013
THE NUREYEV STATE BALLET THEATRE???S
THE NUTCRACKER
Productions in the
Broadway Entertainment
Series are made possible
by our sponsors:
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 & 22, 2013
MEMPHIS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
I TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
WOMEN OF IRELAND
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014
Classic center
'WOMEN
??F IRELAND
Theatre
CALL, CLICK, OR STOP BY THE BOX OFFICE r h
706.357.4444 ??? ClassicCenter.com ??? 300 N. Thomas St. ??? Downtown Athens
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2014
12 FLAGPOLE.COM-JULY 17, 2013