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New reviews of local albums are posted regularly on flagpole.com. Here are three releases to check out this month.
Burns Like Fire: To the Ground EP
Autumn + Colour
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The five-track To the Ground EP stands as the first time Burns Like Fire's
considerable swagger has been accurately captured on record. It's crusty
and catchy but rather ripped, lean and mean but full of invigorating hooks.
Album opener "Jean Shorts" finds lead vocalist Web Couch in full-on
throat-shredder mode???think Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music???and the
rest of the band capably matching Couch's forceful delivery.
"Abandon Ship" stands as the EP's other obvious highlight, a friendly
fuck-you anthem that dares the listener to disagree. Guitarist Josh Smith's
wiry lead adds an unexpected melodic layer to an already irresistible tune.
Closer "110 Degree Beaver Fever," despite its indictable title, closes the
recording in style, its half-speed chorus breakdown a necessary reminder
that these are songs best heard in a dank basement, sweat and beer cans
flying.
There is nothing too surprising about To the Ground. It's brash, brief
and well-constructed. Mostly, the EP serves as confirmation that, if it's
four-chord pop-punk you're after, nobody does it better in Athens than
these guys. Having honed its chops since 2010, Burns Like Fire has finally
coalesced into a formidable force on the local scene, more convincing than
99 percent of Warped Tour wannabes and no doubt poised to break out
beyond Athens' borders. [Gabe Vodicka]
Dank Sinatra: Strange
Independent Release
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Strange, the fluid third full-length from local six-piece Dank Sinatra, will
delight devotees of the noodly, funk-flavored rock and roll the band has put
forth to this point. But it should also gain the group some new fans, folks
who don't necessarily spend their free time parsing sites like Jambase and
counting the days 'til moe.down.
The title track kicks off the record nicely, boasting an insistent 4/4
rhythm, a meaty, bluesy lead riff and a fuzzed-out counterpart. With its
chug-a-lug groove and surrealist lyrical visions, it calls to mind a looser,
more playful Queens of the Stone Age. A muscular sax refrain courtesy of
Luke "Gnarly G" Powell propels the tune into instant-classic territory.
"Down South Georgia Boy" follows that up with some Dead-guoting
back-and-forth that's playful but never veers into self-parody. This is the
what sets Dank Sinatra apart from so many of its peers: Though the group's
influences are obvious, it never allows them to take over completely.
Furthermore, these fellas can sure play their instruments, but there are also
solid songs beneath the virtuosic sheen.
By the time Strange reaches its midpoint, some steam has been lost.
"Uncle Scotty" is a technically impressive but ultimately needless instru
mental exercise; "Sleeper" is just flat-out silly. Thankfully, the last two
tracks, "Girl in White" and "Philmont Funk" find the band back on track. The former is a funked-up blues ditty; the latter is a
bluesed-out funk tune that makes potent use of psychedelic sound wizardry. Jammy but not hammy, it ends the record with flair.
[GV]
Dank Sinatra plays Green Room on Thursday, Jan. 16.
The Skipperdees: Some Bright Mourning
Independent Release
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Forget confining The Skipperdees to some arbitrary genre.
However you file it, the new release from twins Emily and Catherine
Backus is in the upper echelon of 2013 releases (unfortunately, the
record came out too late to make the deadline for Flagpole's Top 10,
which we published last week). Often guirky and at other points
painfully serious, these dozen songs???produced by folk guru Jim
White???showcase some of the best songwriting you're apt to find in
Athens, or anywhere else.
Many of the songs feature the sort of jangle you'd expect from a
duo that selects an acoustic guitar and a banjo as its primary axes.
But songs like "The Atomic City" have a Texas-flavored tightness
rarely heard in these parts. The song's lyrics focus on how FDR's
energy policies impacted the state of Tennessee ("Those bombs pay
your bills/ Didn't you know?"); John Keane's wobbly guitar licks
are egually captivating. And dry wit eventually gives way to honest
reflection. "Kyrie" confronts some of the headier issues surrounding
growing up. "Atlas," an aural compliment to "Kyrie," delves into a soured relationship ("I don't want pity or prayers for my sinful
heart").
These young ladies are offering up some serious wisdom. But while the poetry found here is certainly impressive, credit is also
due to the many guests who make Some Bright Mourning a sonically vast record. In addition to the full Packway Handle Band
lineup backing up the Backuses on the bluegrass-y "Ashes, Ashes," the Drive-By Truckers' John Neff lends pedal steel on a few key
tracks, providing electric icing for this near-perfect cake. [Dan Mistich]
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