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Voxtrot
We covered Voxtrot last year. The following entry is a semi-reprint with an update of new happenings.
2005 was a big year for Voxtrot, and we here at SYitP expect that 2006 will be too. Voxtrot have undertaken a seemingly non-stop tour of the US (aside from transportation issues that caused a few cancellations), have run the CMJ gauntlet in September, have twice been SPIN's band of the week, and have gotten tons of great press from other fine publications online and otherwise. Few bands are quite so openly appreciative of bloggers, or wear much-deserved praise with such humbleness and surprise, but Voxtrot's consistent live sets show they're much more than a music blog buzz band and make them of the most exciting and promising of Austin's own cadre of bands appearing at SXSW this year.
In 2004, singer Ramesh Srivastava was still living a trans-Atlantic existence, so Voxtrot's appearances were few and far between. Each was highly anticipated, however SXSW 2005 rolled around before I had a chance to catch them live. It's been said that Voxtrot have "one foot in the library and the other on the dancefloor," but the dancefloor rumor proved itself true in the first few minutes of their Thursday night set at Habana Calle Six when Ramesh roused the small audience by describing "The Start of Something" as a dance number, showing that no description could be more apt in regards to their clever pop stylings. Like a cheerful, lost offspring of the Smiths and early Pale Saints, Voxtrot offer hefty production, laden with multiple guitars, occasional strings, and the sweetest vocals since the early '90s brought twee delights and adolescent angst fresh from English towns. But it's done with smiles and twinkles, and Ramesh's boyish energy, even behind a stage piano, gets a crowd moving...and possibly searching for their dictionaries.
Plainly stated, Voxtrot are a rich vocabularied romp in the school playground and feel as wholesome as a run through rain for the perfect cup of tea. But don't be fooled that they're naive or sugar-spun, because they do have teeth. Amidst the cream and crumpets there are shades of fellow Austinites Spoon, Morrissey's darker moments, a smidgin of the Au Pairs and the frenetic energy of the Wedding Present. Voxtrot aren't all sweetness and light, but they are poised for something bigger than self-released records.
Voxtrot - The Start of Something
Voxtrot's website. Order Raised by Wolves directly from their site, or grab it from iTunes. Mothers Sisters Daughters and Wives will be in stores on April 4, but you can buy it directly from Voxtrot at their merch booth during the current spring tour.
Posted by Last Girl to the Party at 01.29.06 at 11:55 PM
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