Wilmington indie rockers, Astro Cowboy, released their first full length album last weekend titled Hedonism Colosseum. Complete with a release party at Bourgie Nights in Wilmington on July 12th, the band handed out a hundred free copies of their album and also released it on bandcamp the following day.
Hedonism Colosseum explores the feelings, relationships, drama, and juvenile joy of being in high school. As the band writes on their bandcamp page:
“Remember when you thought that high school was going to last forever? When you thought that it was the apex of real? Every relationship, decision, and action you made, you thought was going to remain relevant and important for the rest of your life? This album is the result of those feelings.”
The album features 10 brand new, original songs. It includes the heavier, punk influenced songs like “White Shoes“ and ”Suntan“ which share a similar sound with the band’s first EP Rat-Man Vann, but on more than a couple tracks, such as “Inhale” and “Goodbye, A.E.G.” the band takes instrumental explorations with intricate guitar riffs and drum fills that sound reminiscent of Modest Mouse’s The Lonesome Crowded West.
All in all this is a very solid record, and my only complaint is that it’s not longer! Clocking in at 40 minutes, the end of this album leaves the listener wanting more.
Astro Cowboy follows the release of their album with an East Coast tour supporting fellow Wilmington band, Museum Mouth.
WHY DID I NOT GO TO THIS SHOW!!! But seriously, Tycho’s last album “Awake” is probably the most inspiring album this year.
Going for a long drive? Listen to “Awake.” Studying? Listen to “Awake.” Crab fishing in Alaska and rough seas got you sea sick? Listen to “Awake." Most electo- trance -(poppy) music like this will be amazing all the time, but what makes the album beautiful is the distinction between all the songs. Each one has a certain mood affiliated with it.
Please download this album as you swim through the introspective heat waves of the summer.
I believe the cover can say a lot about an album. This one’s a familiar image, suburbia. Though, it’s not a comforting view. The words of the album title are painted in black across the vinyl panels of this weary-looking house. It’s almost definitely a sarcastic remark. The lawn is overgrown. The hedges are misshapen. The shutters are dirtied. This doesn’t feel like home.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Oh no, another pop punk album about the suburbs.” Well, if there’s one thing that sets this album apart from — those — it’s the writing. The lyrics on a song like, “Your Deep Rest” make that very clear. You don’t have to read too far into them to see the song is about loss, particularly the loss of someone you love. It’s a theme that permeates the whole album. In “Dendron” it’s summed up with the words, “Part of your charm was the way you would push me from all of the traps that I just couldn’t see. Figures the one that was there to have tripped you up would be the one was set there by me.” For me, these aching moments of regret are the album’s highlights. Where you felt you could have done something more. You could have somehow fixed a hopeless situation.
The Hotelier’s sophomore album, “Home, Like Noplace Is There” was released a couple months ago. While this means I’ve missed the hype train, it also means I’ve had plenty of time to let this record settle. Well, this collection of nine songs has been on consistent rotation, and it still sticks. It’s the kind of emo/pop punk hybrid that hasn’t been a rarity in the past few years. But, it’s much more endearing than most. I think when people look back on the late 00’s and early 10’s era of DIY “emo” music there are only a few bands they’ll remember. Algernon Cadwallader, Snowing, TWIABP, and The Hotelier will be among the most prominent.
In a weird way, this album also shares elements with bands like Third Eye Blind, Blink-182, and Taking Back Sunday. But here, the emotions, the guitar distortion, and the vocals, are all much more raw. What I love about this album is its tendency to conjure up memories in me, like being in middle school, waiting endlessly in carpool lines, or just the feeling of being young and aching to have a purpose, dreaming of living an unhinged life, but still so scared to leave home. It brings back memories of hopping creeks and sneaking into construction homes. The failed relationships that can’t be resurrected, the regret of letting time make its move, the snare of depression. Things that feel so strange to look back on now… “Home, Like Noplace Is There” will surely be looked back on. It’s undoubtedly one of the best rock albums of 2014.
PS: Do yourself a favor. Read the lyrics with this one.
Favorite tracks: “The Scope of All This Rebuilding”, “Your Deep Rest”, “Among the Wildflowers”
Written by DJ Cancel, host of the Arroz con Pollo show, which airs every Saturday from 5-6pm.
To begin, here is some background information. Calle 13 is composed of two artists both whom were born and raised in Puerto Rico. The main vocalist is Residente, born René Pérez Joglar, and Visitante, born Eduardo José Cabra Martinez, is the beat maker. Residente’s half-sister, Ileana Cabra Joglar, is also credited as a vocalist for the band. With a first album self-titled “Calle 13,” released in 2005, Calle 13 proved that fame does not come from main stream media. Calle 13 gained fame the old fashion way by making great music. Though songs like “Se vale to-to,” “¡Atrévete Te, Te!,” and singles like “Querido F.B.I” won the duo a main stream media ban for being excessively vulgar, it also brought them into the spotlight. This gave the audience a chance to really listen to the music. Since then, their music has built an impressive legacy with a documentary titled “Sin Mapa,” two Grammys, and 19 Latin Grammys, a record tied only by famous artist Juanes.
What does Calle 13 stand for? Political equality, keeping those in power in check, and giving power back to the people. What genre do they fit into? It depends on who you ask. Calle 13 calls it urban music. Most label it as hip hop, rock-rap, and even reggaeton. In all honesty, Calle 13 has created its very own genre. Their beats and flow change with every album they release; this brings me to their newest album.
Multi Viral, Calle 13’s fifth and newest album, is a masterpiece. It is an album that has been developing since the beginning of Calle 13’s career. Calle 13 had help from Tom Morello, Julian Assange, John Leguizamo, Silvio Rodríguez, and more in this album. The duo finally found a way to express their thoughts in an eloquent and beautiful way without the need of appealing to anything but what they stand for. Hints of this can be seen in previous albums with songs like “Pal Norte,” “Latinoamérica,” and “La Perla,” but Multi Viral truly has it all. It includes inspirational songs such as “El Aguante,” and “Respira el Momento,” focused on people’s individual power to persevere. It includes songs like, “Gato Que Avanza, Perro Que Ladra,” “MultiViral,” and “Adentro,” charged with social and political commentary about government surveillance, the greed of the wealthy, and much more.
Multi Viral is the greatest of all of Calle 13’s albums to date. Having followed their career myself, it is amazing to see how Calle 13 has matured and grown these past nine years. I recommend this album to everyone, no matter what language you speak. The beats, rhythm, and flow of the album will make you fall in love just as much, if not more, than the lyrics themselves. I will leave you with my favorite verse from the album translated into English from the song “Me Vieron Cruzar,” which means they saw me cross:
Pero estoy preparado para // But I am ready for
Los días salados // The salty days
Cualquiera que camine // Whoever walks
Se tiene que haber resbalado // Must have slipped
Cai con todo el peso // I fell with all my weight
Pero si es fuerte la caída más // But if the fall was strong
Impresionante será mi regreso // My return will be even more impressive
This album is full of fuzzy dreamy catchy and whatever other good vibe adjectives that you can possibly think of. Gift is sure to have a least one track on it that will appeal to any and all listeners out there.
Honeymilk // “Lean on the Sun"
Coming out of Stockholm, Honeymilk contains a solid indie rock feel with their whining guitars and fuzzy vocals. Kinda sound like YUCK…but with lots of good flavors.
Solid girl punk rock. Not too crazy, but still consisting of all female vocals and in your face guitar riffs. PINS is on the rise and rightfully so.
Mainland // "Shiner EP"
Although this EP only has a total of four tracks, it is quite the head turner. Full of catchy rock melodies, this New York band is full of passion and definitely pushing their way into the music scene of today.
Desert Noises // "27 Ways"
Absolutely fantastic group. Giving off a good foot stomping indie folk/rock feel, Desert Noises combines lots of tambourines and clapping to make their music simply infectious.
Some truly entrancing music from this Carrboro based outfit. Diali Cissokho hails from Senegal but moved stateside and teamed up with a crew of really talented local musicians to form this incredible band. Some ridiculously dancy tunes interspersed with some intensely emotional tracks. To hell with the language barrier, music is universal. Play it if you’re looking for something different!
This band is split between N.C. and N.Y, but you wouldn’t know that with how cohesive and smooth this EP is. Sort of like a mix between Love Language and Jamaican Queens, Ladyfriend combines surf-psych elements with experimental pop and some slight electronic instrumentation pepper throughout the mix as well. REALLY awesome stuff!
The name of this EP is far more descriptive than I’d imagined. These whiskey-soaked tunes can easily lead to some foot-stompin’ hootin’ and hollerin’ (pardon, that’s the eastern North Carolina coming out in me). A bit of ragtime influence thrown in with some exciting folk-rock standards, there’s tons of potential here! Remind me a lot of an early Holy Ghost Tent Revival.
This Charlotte based duo is churning out some excellent folk-rock music. A lot of strong influences bleeding through on this release, very reminiscent of acts like The Avett Brothers. All around some really enjoyable tunes that range from poppy and anthemic to slower folk-leaning ballads.
Estrangers // Season of 1000 Colors
One of the most slept on local releases of last year without a doubt. Lots of comparisons can be drawn to The Love Language, but Estrangers add enough of their own flair to make it interested and unique (a little bit of classic 50s pop stylings and some sweet harmonies!) An excellent way to kick off Spring is by spinning these sun-soaked tunes!
Hailing out of Philly, the band Nothing puts their rock music right in your face. Loud, but still structured very well to show all of their talent. Definitely worth a listen.
Confession time boys and girls; I LOVE BEAR HANDS. This album is absolutely amazing; upbeat, catchy and full of those wonderful Bear Hand lyrics. I’m not sure how many people are aware of this band, but after this album they definitely will be.
Overall, Sacco is a soothing soft rock album/band that nobody can really complain about. Even though they do not really push the envelope for something new in the indie music world, they really contribute to the talent that exists in the music world today.
This is a beautifully constructed album. Cataldo has been gaining a steady following in recent years, and this album will definitely not halt that trend. Using diverse instruments and heartfelt lyrics, Gilded Oldies is an impressive album.
Of course, Lost in the Trees exude excellence on their latest album.Past Life is a bit of a departure from their usual styling, instead of intricately composed classical instrumentation the band has leaned more towards their art-rock influences. A fantastic album that deserves hella spins!
Lilac Shadows have blown my expectations out of the water with this one. Delving much deeper into the psych-rock realm, No Dark/No Light is filled with exploratory indie rock jams that are as catchy as they are expansive.
Some simplistic yet enjoyable honky-tonk infused rock music. This Charlotte based group has a sound that’s got enough contemporary grit and traditional twang to draw in folks of all ages. Some wonderful stuff on this album!
Ah, the zany folk rock antics of Curtis Eller are back once again. Eller’s got a brilliant mixture of traditionalism and innovation, providing a compelling twist to what could easily be a static genre. Eller’s songs provide enriching stories and immersive lyricism filled with just enough quirk to make it a riotous occasion.
A much needed dose of lo-fi high-energy punk rock for the local scene. Naked Naps combine early 90s indie rock sentiments with an almost twee-punk styling, all washed over with sweltering instrumentation.
By Grant Golden, Technician Staff Writer and WKNC Local Music Director
Lost in the Trees has long since been a band best known for its grandiose orchestrations – it was the band’s calling card of sorts. When I first happened upon the band, it had more than 10 members in its lineup, but during the years it has gradually trimmed down the roster, yet beefed up its sound. Though the band performed only as a sextet for A Church That Fits Our Needs it produced some of its loftiest, most ambitious work to date. When a band becomes so firmly known for a trademark sound, it can take two directions: settle into that foundation, or strip it all down and start anew.
For Past Life, Lost in the Trees chose the latter and it paid off in bunches. Gone are the swelling chamber arrangements, steeped in rich classical tradition. In return they have delivered dense soundscapes crafted by synths and electric guitars. Though there is a handful of moments where its orchestral backgrounds peep in through the mix, Past Life is prominently built upon this new minimal approach and it works. Instead of emphasizing the pomp and fanfare of the string section, songwriter Ari Picker can concentrate more on the core aspects of these songs.
Though Picker’s previous work was dedicated to his recently deceased mother, Past Life trades in autobiographic musings for more abstract lyrical explorations. Dealing with less emotionally weighted subject matter allows for a more leisurely listening experienced listeners can put away their empathetic heartache and allow the soothing sounds to wash over them. Picker certainly still sings of love and longing, but it’s more firmly rooted in contemporary styling as opposed to the theatrical approach we’re used to receiving from this group.
Past Life finds Lost in the Trees bursting past expectation, album opener “Excos” opens with haunting vocals and a sparse piano arrangement that slowly unfolds to find Picker singing of the “rising water” and an infinite longing for another’s love. The song gradually devolves into a melodic collage of sorts, Emma Nadeau’s wordless chorus meshes with Picker’s verses, beautifully countering the subtle yet piercing horns in the background all washed in faint percussive embellishments.
As the song slowly bleeds into the titular track, we’re tossed into the waters of this new arrangement and it feels insanely gratifying. “Past Life” erupts with a melodic guitar lines and a minimal drum beat that pops and clicks along as Picker croons softly of warm, comforting images. As the driving synth line erupts within the song’s chorus, one can finally feel at home within this new soundscape.
Lost in the Trees always felt like they were in a category of their own musically, while their music felt immediately connectable it could easily be slightly dissociative due to how deeply it was entrenched within the classical and baroque styles.
Past Life finds the band pulling more from its peers, but doesn’t make its music any easier to classify. Although it has stripped down to a quartet, they’re still equally ambitious in their musical goals. Tracks like “Daunting Friend” and “Wake” are perfect examples of how Lost in the Trees has retained much of its initial extravagance, creating lush arrangements from minimal tools.
Shedding away the strings makes Picker’s songwriting the immediate draw-in, which is one of the most fantastic parts of Lost in the Trees anyway. Picker’s lyrical acrobatics are part of what makes this music so easily accessible, he paints vivid pictures and elicits specific emotions through his wordplay to make listening feel therapeutic.
But to only concentrate on what Lost in the Trees has changed for Past Life is doing a disservice to the album. If this were the band’s debut it would still be equally impressive, whether you’re aware of its orchestral background or not Past Life serves as an incredibly middle-ground between string-laden folk music and inventive electronic instrumentation. These songs feel firmly rooted in its contemporary influences like Radiohead and Blonde Redhead. It’s made a bold transition into the art-rock territory and did so flawlessly.
Lost in the Trees have reinvented themselves with Past Life. It has wiped the slate clean and left its future wide-open. One of the most exciting parts of this album is the knowledge that its sound can evolve in seemingly infinite ways now, and as a long-time Lost in the Trees fan, that has me as excited about this band’s frontier as I was the first time I saw it.
To my ears this release is a lil’ more upbeat than previous AO releases, some of the songs almost have a punky feel, but if you have intense personal demons or a dark heart, Angel will speak sweet nothings to your inner void.
This is put out by Captured Tracks, which means it’s laid-back guitar jams. Way less reverb on this then like Mac Demarco/Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing, so I think it finds a niche of being catchy acoustic music without being overly derivative of other CT bands.
Another release from 90’s acolytes Speedy Ortiz. If you like them, you know what to expect: 1995 vibes that sound exactly like Helium. In fact, if you like Speedy Ortiz, go listen to Helium, and you’ll be getting the authentic 90’s experience.
Female-fronted space-rock goodness from a band who’s brand of psych I’ve admired for a while. Very ethereal, and by ethereal I mean any other word that means ethereal because that word gets used a ton, damn
I feel like my parents would dig this record, but in a good way…? This is an all-female Burger Records (well-known Cali garage rock label) band that updates the sounds of 60’s girl-pop with modern punk and post-punk tropes, yet manages to avoid sounding like Best Coast. Omg remember Best Coast?
A slightly older release, but re-released by the industry in anticipation of new music..? Anyway, this album feels like someone dumping a big box of Polaroids on your head. Very chill.
If you’ve ever listened to a Xiu Xiu record you know what kind of dark vibes to expect. This is a band that has an album called Dear God, I Hate Myself. Does that put you in the right mindset? Anyway, this is dark post-punk synthy music with lyrics that are really dark, even for this milieu. Not entirely my thing, but hopefully this finds the right people.
Marissa’s first album for Sacred Bones, this sounds at place on that usually-dark label, as this is an album of solid dusky folk music. Also the cover has good typography, because it’s a Sacred Bones release, duh.
