Music February 26th, 2009
Huge piles of CDs on my desk, so here goes:
Catfish Haven - Devastator: I find it hard to believe that there are no Allman brothers in this band. Maybe Ernie Allman? Imagine Greg Allman fronting…actually, imagine him fronting the Allman brothers. That’s a little cheap; they have more going on, and this isn’t at all bad. They’re almost there - but I’d hold out for the next Catfish Haven release.
The Maine - Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: I’ll tell you how they sound before I hear them: they sound like the Von Bondies, or Louis XIV; they sound slick, catchy, and forgettable. They’ll swear, but they’ll be basically wholesome. I’m getting this all from the photo on the back of the CD. All five band members in identical white sneakers and black jeans.
So, let’s open it up: how’d I do? They’re even more poppy than I expected - they’re more Jonas Bros. than Von Bondies. Otherwise no surprises. I will not remember the Maine. (They just ask for that one.) They will probably go platinum.
Eye Alaska - Yellow & Elephant: Sounds like armed Sade producers took over a Verve session.
Hearts of Palm UK - For Life
: As Lincoln said, people who like this sort of thing will find it’s the sort of thing they like. Hearts of Palm UK are in fact from Echo Park, L.A., and their album is nicely done. It’s not my thing, though. A number of people (that number is two) are already comparing them to Camera Obscura, but they’re more beat-driven & electronic, and I prefer CO. Gotta love the cover of “More Than This”, you’ll probably hear that elsewhere…
The Besties - Home Free
: These guys come awfully close; sassy, Liz Phair voice that I dig, energetic, bouncy sound, uncluttered production - I’m keeping it for now. Not blowing me away but…they remind me Dressy Bessy - they’re not trying to do too much, and it works. I’ll definitely check out the SXSW show. Unless it conflicts with Dwight Yoakam.
Ryan Bingham - Mescalito
: This is not strictly new (2007), nor did it come to me via the usual promo channels: my neighbor and true old school Austinite, Cliff, handed this to me literally over the fence. You won’t hear about Ryan Bingham from most of the indie outlets because he’s on Lost Highway, and he plays country/blues. My guess is he’s going to get a little bit of backlash for being a Chris Robinson-style peacock (see pic above), and for Lost Highway high-fi production. But he’s already more established than the rest of these acts are ever likely to be, and this was the most fun I had this morning.
Two more I’ll be keeping: Like A Fox - Where’s My Golden Arm?
- they have a Flaming Lips/Ween thing going, which is to say, druggy, man; and The Golden Hands Before God - Here, who have at least one entertaining houserocker, “This Ain’t No Communist Party”, (”This ain’t no communist party/you ain’t sleeping on my couch”). Apparently I’m valuing gold highly in these troubled economic times.
There are no home run absolute must-have albums in this set…but Ryan Bingham’s “Sunshine” is worth your four minutes:
06-sunshine
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