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Celebration

If there are ever to be heirs to Siouxsie's and Budgie's seemingly unending musical and romantic love affair, or a more functional descendant to Elizabeth Fraser's and Robin Guthrie's hauntingly beautiful trainwreck, they're likely to be Celebration's Katrina Ford and Sean Antanaitis. Celebration are The Banshees or The Creatures without the vagaries of presentation, and the Cocteau Twins stripped of 808 and shimmer. Ford's vocals are at the forefront, like Siouxsie's or Fraser's and somewhere between, though more operatic and gutteral...or both...and hardly ever pretty. It's this display, combined with Antonaitis' command of organ pedals and keys, that make for Celebration's unhinged and confrontational cabaret soul.

Somehow, more by chance than planned, both Little Miss Rock'n'Roll and I have had the opportunity to catch Celebration three times over the past six months, twice with Calla and once with The National. Celebration's live performances are simple--vocals + tambourine, organ, occasional guitar, and drums. They've garnered comparisons to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, assumably because of Ford's stage presence and vocal power, but more noticable is that Celebration, like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, generate unprecedented bedlam with just three people. When they were joined by a saxophonist (much to Little Miss Rock'n'Roll's satisfaction) during their recent appearance at the PLUG Music Awards the funk that holds Celebration together and makes them accessible became apparent.

Celebration are difficult listening, but not as visceral as Love Life--Ford's, Antanaitis', and drummer David Bergander's project (along with The Bellmer Dolls' tailor, Anthony Malat of Sinner/Saint) that preceeded Celebration. While lusty and compelling, Love Life were a raw, gaping wound that Celebration have closed with tempered aggression and self-conscious sexuality, undoubtedly feminine, strange and beautiful. I would hazard a guess this is what Ivo Watts-Russell was looking for when he signed the Cocteau Twins. It's no wonder Celebration are on 4AD.

Celebration - Holiday
Celebration - Diamonds
Celebration - Stars

Celebration's profile at 4AD is here. They also have a Myspace page. Buy Celebration's self-titled debut from Amazon. Celebration play the Beggars' showcase with Calla and The Double at Club de Ville on Thursday, March 17.

Shadows tags: celebration sxsw2006.

Posted by Last Girl to the Party on 02.18.06 at 11:35 PM | Comments (2), TrackBack (0)

Centro-matic

(We featured this artist last year on See You in the Pit; the following is a semi-reprint that's been updated.)

Will Johnson must be one of the most prolific songwriters in independent rock today, writing and performing songs under his own name, as well as South San Gabriel and Centro-matic. At the core, Centro-matic is a rock band from Denton, Texas that has slowly built up a fan base across the United States through a mad-cap touring schedule. Fans of Whiskeytown, Son Volt, and Uncle Tupelo will appreciate their Americana-tinged music. Centro-matic are best described as the new working-class heroes of indie rock: spunning up catchy country rock spanning a wide spectrum of pop, with flourishes by organ, cello, piano, and violin. It's classic, it's elemental, it's a sound that never goes out of style, and also amazingly well executed for a band that's been around for years and years. (The band is celebrating its tenth birthday in a few weeks.)

That particular sonic combination may not seem out of the ordinary at first, but their country-fried pop combines the best of sweet, carefully-arranged ballads with energetic bursts of rock and loud, hook-filled power pop anthems with a healthy dash of Texas weird. The signature sound of Johnson's sincere, gravelly vocals mixed with the insistent keyboards of Scott Danborn create pure joy, live, and audiences agree. Just listen to "Love Has Found Me" and see if you don't find yourself whistling or humming along to the adorably sweet song. The first time I saw Centro-matic live, I didn't know what to expect but within a minute or two, I found a large grin on my face and one of my best friends shouting how happy she was to be there at that very moment.

On Fort Recovery, we find the band three years later and more polished than ever, with Johnson's voice sidling up to speakers, swinging, under guitar flourishes. It's the type of album with just enough classic rock roots to make it perfect for pumping up the volume in your notional vintage convertible, and letting the wind run through your hair, with just enough grit and heart to stand out from the crowd. No fancy sleight of hand, no tricks, and no gimmicks: Centro-matic are as American as good old-fashioned rock'n'roll.

Centro-matic - I See Through You
Centro-matic - For New Starts
Centro-matic - Take a Rake
Centro-matic - Flashes and Cables
Centro-matic - Argonne Limit Co.
Centro-matic - Biology Tricks
Centro-matic - Love Has Found Me

Centro-matic official web site. Fort Recovery is in stores on March 7th but you can get it via mailorder from Misra Records right now, or pre-order from Amazon. You can also buy their last album, Love You Just the Same, from Misra Records, Amazon, iTunes Music Store.

Shadows tags: centromatic.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.17.06 at 12:18 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Czars

The Czars are one of those bands that have drifted in and out of my life for years. I'll forget how much I adore frontman John Grant's voice and interpretation skills -- and then I'll stumble across the band and be blown away all over again.

Now, it's unclear as to what happened to The Czars after the release of their 2004 album Goodbye (after a ten-year career of toliing in relative obscurity, except in Europe, natch) -- though the title gives a good indication. On the band's old website, there's every indication that they've broken up. But the band's new site (and the website of label Bella Union) features tour dates and a posthumous (?) CD of covers that spans the band's career. Anyway, my point here is that it seems that John Grant is touring as The Czars, either with a rotating cast of characters in his new band, or on his own -- it's a little unclear. In a conundrum that leaves me thoroughly puzzled, I can't find any information out there about the band's current personnel -- maybe if you dear readers know something, you can clue me in.

While I was fussing around the Internet, trying to uncover any clues to the situation described above, I had to laugh at a review in Pop Matters that described The Czars as "Sade meets The Eagles." The reviewer seemed to mean this in a completely derogatory way and probably felt very clever with himself for thinking it up. But when I read that line, a giant lightbulb went off in my mind -- his pithy assessment finally explained why I liked the band so much. It's true, Grant's melancholy voice throbs with a diva's pathos over delicate and deceptively deep California-tinged country-lite melodies. It sounds like an odd combination, to be sure, but it works somehow.

Mostly because just when you've settled comfortably into a song, The Czars bring the weird -- a melody will suddenly turn inside out or flip around in another direction entirely -- like the multi-tracked quasi-religious choruses on "Hymn" that transmogrify into a piano ballad with a guitar solo and come back 'round again, or vitriolic snark reminscent of the best of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman ("Goodbye"). And then there's the deadpan cover of ABBA's "Angeleyes" and the band's absolutely crazy-making take on Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" that owes as much to the original than it does to the iconic cover done by This Mortal Coil -- a fact most certainly isn't unintentional, as The Czars are on Bella Union, the label run by Cocteau Twins bassist and This Mortal Coil contributor Simon Raymonde.

And, in the end, instead of being dreadfully annoying, it's downright touching that Grant wears his influences on his sleeve so unapologetically.

The Czars - Goodbye
The Czars - Hymn
The Czars - I Saw a Ship
The Czars - Angeleyes

The Czars' official website. Buy the band's latest album, Goodbye, from Amazon or some older albums from the iTunes Music Store.

Shadows tag: theczars.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.16.06 at 3:39 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Ladies and Gentlemen

The Ladies and Gentlemen, despite the name, is entirely the brainchild of one Thomas D'Arcy. And if you're expecting another Canadian supergroup that specializes in walls of sound or drawn-out compositional experiments, you've got another thing coming. Small Sins is, as its core, an indie pop album. But it's an indie pop album is filled with warm electronic sounds of keyboards and drum machines that practically shimmers in front of you, like light flowing through gauze, glittering. It's a collection of charming, sincere songs that floats by on a gentle bed of layered synths and Moogs, barely touching the ground. Simple but not simplistic, D'Arcy succeeds in creating sweet, tiny moments with stripped-down choruses and just the right dose of ornamentation.

D'Arcy is blessed with a talent for a great melody, and also the world's softest, prettiest falsetto: so light and airy it threatens to blow away in a gust of wind. The songs are sweet but never quite cross the boundary into twee; don't be fooled by the dreamy exterior, as the content of the songs is much more raw and personal. The Ladies and Gentlemen take a hushed, confessional tone when dealing with ex-girlfriends who are up to no good, and bad decisions in love. "Stay," the album's centerpiece, is a bittersweet gem that flounces and has the perfect setup of circular keyboards, a steady backbeat, girly backup vocals, and a killer snark in the chorus, while "It's Easy" is the summer jam that never was. Recorded and mixed entirely by D'Arcy in his basement studio, Small Sins is bursting at the seams with textured and hushed bedroom pop blostered by the occasional showering of handclaps or chorus of voices.

The Ladies and Gentlemen have a welcome, velvety sound garnering comparisons to bands like Grandaddy and The Postal Service, and D'Arcy's naive, quietly wispery vocals go perfectly with the cheery but mellow mood. While The Ladies and Gentlemen may never inspire a mosh pit or an audience full of pumped fists, the music is sure to guarantee a few smiles in the crowd and some toes tapping.

The Ladies and Gentlemen - It's Easy
The Ladies and Gentlemen - Stay
The Ladies and Gentlemen - Won't Make It Easier

The Ladies and Gentlemen official site. Buy Small Sins from Amazon.

Shadows tag: theladiesandgentlemen.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.15.06 at 1:19 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Like

(We covered The Like last year, here's a reprint of that entry and an update of what the band's been up to in the last year.)

I like The Like, and so should you. But don't hate Elizabeth Berg, Tennessee Thomas, and Charlotte Froom because they're young and beautiful, the daughters of music industry veterans, and live in Los Angeles. Despite all these seemingly detracting factors, The Like aren't just likable, they're totally lovable.

I'll admit it, I found out about The Like in an issue of Interview a few years back. The picture and accompanying little blurb were enough to make me seek out their music and subsequently obsessively share it with anyone who would listen. If I made you a mix CD anytime in the past few years, no doubt The Like's "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting" was on there, often as the closing track.

The Like play girly dream pop songs full of lightly crunchy hooks, and I mean that in the nicest way possible -- because I love girly dream pop, especially when lightly crunchy hooks are involved. But don't let that turn you away: I dare you to resist the danceability of "Falling Away," or lead singer and guitarist Elizabeth "Z" Berg's plaintive voice, a growly mix of innocence and experience, on the chorus of "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting."

I missed The Like's set at SXSW 2004; it was one of those situations where a band that my friends wanted to see (which, of course, I can't even remember now) was playing in the same time slot. So, in penance, I dragged myself to an early weekday show at Emo's later that summer, when The Like were touring with the (rather down at heel) Phantom Planet. I was the oldest person there, except for like, people's parents. It was also deadly hot, as Austin is in July. But it was so worth it to finally see The Like play live after three years of ardent devotion.


The Like - So I'll Sit Here (Waiting)
The Like - Falling Away
The Like - Bridge to Nowhere

The Like's official website. After finishing high school, as planned, the girls of The Like recorded and released thier debut full length album, Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?, produced by Wendy Melvoin (yes, of Wendy & Lisa fame) in 2005. Their previous recordings encompassed a trio of self-released EPs which are now out of print (though one is available from the iTunes Music Store). Buy their debut at Amazon or from the iTunes Music Store.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 02.14.06 at 1:30 AM | Comments (1), TrackBack (0)

Christine Fellows

Folk music has a bad rap. Tell someone you're into folk and they'll instantly picture a pretty but overly emotional girl with an acoustic guitar and lots of whining, preferably in a bohemian coffeeshop setting.

Christine Fellows is easily classified as a folk artist, with a sound that's somewhat like like a cross between Kristin Hersh and Lisa Germano, but her hand-crafted avant folk is anything but cloying, overbearing, or melodramatic. She's folk, but with inventive turns, and a chamber-pop twist.

She has a slightly breathy and delicate but strong that's matched up with inventive melodies that are full of light and life. Her last album, Paper Anniversary was recorded at home, and evokes the feeling of visiting a friend's comfortably worn living room, patches on the sofa and all.

Fellows is an unusually literate storyteller with a a knack at catching nuances that reminds me of the lyrics of John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats; with a sweet and confident air, her songs are a bit of lo-fi sugar, tackling sensitive subjects like funerals and emergency rooms and falling in love as matter of fact and with a slightly skewed perspective on life. After all, this is a woman who claims a certain weakness for cheap pianos and scotch in the middle of a Canadian winter was responsible for her album Last One Standing.

Christine Fellows also happens to be married to John K. Samson of the Weakerthans, and the more thoughtful sensibilities of her music reflect a philosophy very similar to the Weakerthan's gentle moments, while the upbeat numbers swing and twirl and show a relentless joy for life.

She also has the touch of the Renaissance woman about her: having done composition for dance, television, radio, as well as spoken word and film, mostly within the Winnipeg arts community. I daresay she's not your garden variety singer-songwriter, and anyone with half a heart will see the charm of her music.

Christine Fellows - Vertebrae
Christine Fellows - Instruction On How To Dissect A Ground Owl
Christine Fellows - Departures/Arrivals
Christine Fellows - Veda's Waltz
Christine Fellows - Seconds After

Christine Fellows' official site. Buy Paper Anniversary from Six Shooter Records or iTunes Music Store. Buy Last One Standing from Amazon or iTunes Music Store.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 02.13.06 at 2:22 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Arm

In a world where genres mix and match like cats and dogs living together, it's not hard to imagine the unholy offspring of LCD Soundsystem and The Fall, especially in a town like Austin where nothing sounds quite like it does in the rest of the world. Until last year, The Arm appeared most often as a side project for frontman Sean O'Neal and ex-On!Air!Library! drummer Kevin Bybee of This Microwave World (who we covered last year). Add guitarist Alex Lyon (also appearing at SXSW in Zykos) and Alex Ramirez on bass, and you've got something that's somewhere between dance punk, post-punk, in-your-face public address, physical comedy (without props, unless you count the stage organ), and in general, just plain pissed off.

"We are bright young men!" O'Neal shouts, with equal parts insouciance and sincerity, and it's the boundary between the two that make The Arm interesting. They're yet another band who leave the audience scratching a collective head over whether to take it seriously, whether it's all tongue-in-cheek, or whether the entire performance is a giant middle finger up at the music industry and the scene at large. They're as shocking as they are funny, and they're loud while doing it, braiding together DFA-esque funk and no wave panache with general discontent and The Fall's humor and recklessness. And O'Neal's stage presence is uncannily like James Murphy's, down to flagrant mockery of everything and everyone, and nifty interpretive hand motions.

When most bands would fall apart, The Arm deliver, succeeding at wading through sets cripplingly fraught with technical difficulties. Rather than buckling, The Arm rise to the occasion, upping the snark and aggression, borrowing a page or two from hip-hop posturing and Fugazi contortion, channelling anger, social disaffection, and disappointment with their present performance, proving true the legend that "given the chance, they will kill you."

The Arm - To Your Id
The Arm - Bright Young Men
The Arm - Song Automatic 1-2-3!
The Arm - Give Up While You're Young!

The Arm's official website is here. Order their self-titled debut from Tight Spot. A new album is on the way.

Posted by Last Girl to the Party on 02.12.06 at 12:58 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)