Music

“Learning to hear differently is part of the progression. Your hearing evolves and the perception [becomes] more musical.” – Stephen O’Malley

Singer-songwriters are very rarely my thing, because let’s face it; the majority of them are boring and seem to think that an acoustic guitar, a voice, and minimal songwriting talent are all you need to make it in the music world. Hence, my complete surprise when I randomly received a press release to download Montreal’s Patrick Pleau’s Hype-Moi for free. I downloaded it without so much as a second thought or even an initial listen until weeks down the line, but weeks down the line, I was absolutely blown away. Everything about this disc, from the production to the arrangements and the instrumentation, are top-notch. It most certainly could not have been a one week recording process or a lightly-considered project. From the sounds of it, everything was carefully prepared, and it pays off.

Pleau avoids a problem many singer-songwriters seem to face — the problem of one-dimensionality. The tracks on this disc, which is completely in French, run the absolute gamut of songwriting ability, and the main strength of this disc as a whole is its ability to morph from one emotion to another without problems. Slightly funky and electronic indie rock jams like “Valérie” are followed up by jazzy coffee shop tunes like “Café Noir” without incident. “Tous Les Clichés Du Monde” is a tender, minor-key ballad backed by electric guitar riffs and inventive percussion, but is surprisingly concluded by an epic drum n’ bass breakdown which would be out of place if it were on a different disc. On Pleau’s disc, however, it feels right at home.

From the first note to the last, “Cimetière Lunaire” is a moody, nostalgia-inducing piece that immediately draws you in and makes you feel the romantic way actors in movies must feel on the streets of Paris. Although Pleau is not French, the disc is reminiscent of much mainstream French pop, with songs backed by miscellaneous instrumentation and melodies that are simply rather epic.

Hype-Moi is quite an achievement for Patrick Pleau, and hopefully, it will help to solidify the idea that good music does come out of Canada.

Ω

Eulogies walk the delicate line between the indie rock and the ever-dreaded “emo” subgenre. Compared often enough to bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Eulogies rarely break out of that mold lyrically. Although the full-length album, Here Anonymous, doesn’t have enough monotony to throw at the bottom of the review pile, Eulogies fail to stand out amongst a sea of bands in the same genre. The sweet and tender guitar lines are endearing but not challenging enough to build buzz. The Los Angeles band has been performing with their current line up since 2006, and Here Anonymous is their sophomore release.

Here Anonymous is a rather small record in scope, and once that fact is accepted, it becomes easier to digest. With lyrics like, “And like a bad connection I want to fix/ I’ll turn my life around to make ends meet,” the love songs lack the fervor one hopes will inspire. There are messages of encouragement, like in the aforementioned “Bad Connection,” but nothing to really latch on to emotionally. The specific low points are the whinier tracks, which, regardless of their intention, come off as catering to a specific teenage audience. Most of the high notes come towards the end of the record, with the best track being “Dark Place.” Requisite sweet male/female duo track, “Two Can Play,” adds an interesting note to a steady progression of male harmonies. Their most expert pop song is also towards the end, in “The Fight (I’ve Come To Like).”

Unfortunately, this record is pleasant, but nondescript. While fun at points to sing along to, with a prime example being the track, “Eyes On The Prize,” it’s not brilliant. It seems as though it lacks a mission statement. It’s music for the sake of music, which is important, but in an oversaturated market, there needs to be more envelope-pushing, and Eulogies need to be more than just a nice band to see in a bar downtown. There is nothing significant to mention about the disc and no hook of any real note. And when a writer struggles to find something of interest to mention, that is a bad sign. Perhaps it’s a personal thing to ask for a record to be more than just “nice”; here’s hoping that Eulogies take it up a notch on their next effort.

Ω

“I think the timing is right right now. We’re really psyched about the record, and we just felt an agreement that this was a real time to strike.” – Christopher Pappas

Zee Avi

www.zeeavi.com

Hailing from Malaysia, Zee Avi is a new singer-songwriter whose debut album drops May 19, 2009, on Brushfire Records. Discovered on YouTube, her raw talent lies in her voice and songwriting abilities. She immediately captured my attention the moment she began singing. Her jazz-infused, Big Band-style voice made me do a double-take when I saw a petite Asian girl on stage.

Her voice, coupled with one of my favorite instruments, the ukulele, immediately struck a chord with me, and from the looks of it, the audience was as much in tune with her music as I was. Everyone swayed happily beneath the burning sun, enjoying the tenderness and fluidity of her music.

Hyperpotamus

www.myspace.com/hyperpotamus

Madrid’s Hyperpotamus describes himself and his music as a “solo a capella show,” but I must admit that the terminology initially meant nothing to me. It is a simple yet clever description, but it’s almost too simple. After seeing Hyperpotamus perform, you begin to realize that he is in fact a “solo a capella choir and band in one.” He makes the beats, the operatic background vocals, the tender harmonies, and the turntable scratches all with his mouth, four microphones, and a loop station. Sounds are looped over and over one another to create complete, dynamic songs that range from R&B ballads to hip-hop tracks and electronic jams.

Armed with what must be a freakishly multi-track mind capable of processing an impeccable sense of rhythm, Hyperpotamus creates all of his music in real time and improvises a huge amount. Prior to the show, I asked him which three songs he was going to start off with, and he told me that he had no idea. Quite surprisingly, he only made one mistake during the duration of his hour-long set.

During his set, Hyperpotamus transformed from the rather humble-seeming man before the show into an absolute goofball. It became very obvious that he is extremely comfortable on stage, and his stage antics captured the attention of every passerbyer in the Hilton lounge where he was performing. Even those who did not stay to watch could not stop watching as they were walking away – even as they were ascending the escalator or working at the hotel – and Hyperpotamus drew in a crowd that grew more than four times from what it was initially.

SEE ALSO: HYPERPOTAMUS BAND INTERVIEW

Scissors For Lefty

www.myspace.com/scissorsforlefty

Scissors For Lefty have been on REDEFINE’s radar off and on for the past four years, but this SxSW was the first time I’ve ever caught them live. Despite having one keyboardist missing due to his child being born, Scissors For Lefty made the best of their situation one particularly rowdy, packed night on the Wave Rooftop. They played their synths via an iPod to make up for the lack of their fifth member, but still managed to deliver an energetic show when all was said and done.

Scissors For Lefty is a band that can be greatly praised when one takes into account how their sound differs between their live incarnations and their recorded incarnations. Lead vocalist Bryan Garza might sound more pleasing to the ears in their recorded works, but he is much more charismatic in person, and he has a showman’s mentality. He’s open to freestyle antics and has a particular indie rock performer quality found perhaps in the frontmen of other dance bands like Hot Hot Heat or Franz Ferdinand.

With the whole band decked out in flashy clothing and illuminated by fog machines and neon lights, Scissors For Lefty worked hard on this spring evening to make damn sure the crowd danced to their music, by jiving, screaming, and shimmying themselves.

Freeland

www.myspace.com/adamfreelandmusic

Those well-versed in electronic music might be familiar with UK-based producer and DJ, Adam Freeland. This SxSW, Adam Freeland mixed up his performances between DJ sets and sets played with a live band. The live band project, uncreatively dubbed Freeland, turned Adam Freeland’s electronic music into rock music — which was an appropriate thing to test-drive on the generally rock-minded SxSW crowd. Comprised of three men armed nearly head to toe with miscellaneous technical equipment, Freeland played fan favorites like the deep, synthesized-voice driven “We Want Your Soul” and ended with a ridiculous ditty sung by Adam Freeland himself about the virtues of female vaginas. The set managed to offer satisfaction to those who knew the music well and also fed the curiosity of those who didn’t know it at all, creating a mass of midnight show-goers ready to dance.

The Everyday Visuals

www.theeverydayvisuals.com

In Boston, The Everyday Visuals garnered a reputation as a great live band, including the title of “Best Live Act” from one of their local papers, The Improper Bostonian. It’s a difficult feat to accomplish, particularly in a large city where many bands exist, but with a SxSW-sanctioned write-up under their belt, TEV played a night at Habana Calle 6 to a newly engaged audience. By harmonizing during tender moments and rocking out during raucous moments, TEV charmed the crowd with their ability to showcase a wide array of styles. Playing mostly new songs, a couple of old discs, and an energetic cover of the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B,” TEV showed off the fact that they are a talented band with multiple members capable of singing well and capable of playing multiple instruments.

Although their set started off a bit rough and perhaps even slightly boring, The Everyday Visuals soon brought their unique brand of folky, poppy indie rock to life for a room full of passerbyers and new fans to enjoy.

SEE ALSO: THE EVERYDAY VISUALS BAND INTERVIEW (W/ VIDEO CLIPS)

Port O’ Brien

www.myspace.com/portobrien

Port O’ Brien is a band that I had heard about and somewhat enjoyed, but I’d never cared enough to acquire their music myself. When they took the stage at Red Eyed Fly one sunny afternoon, however, they were spurred on by two drunken Seattlites who were sitting front and center, loudly telling the band and the audience how stoked they were to see Port O’ Brien at SxSW since they had missed them the last time the band had gone to Seattle. The members of Port O’ Brien took the harassment graciously, humoring the drunken dudes and engaging them in conversation. It was then that it became obvious to me that a Port O’ Brien show is one that not only features good music, but ultimately, good vibes. Among the lead vocalist’s raw, Kurt Cobain-esque tone of voice, the guitarist’s wildly stomping dance moves, and the bassist’s calm demeanor, the guys of Port O’ Brien showed diverse sides of themselves that ensured good fun for the whole family. They finished off their set by offering old pots, pans, and miscellaneous metal objects for crowdgoers to bang on while they performed what is probably their most favorite song, “I Woke Up Today.” The result was a wholly engaged crowd and a SxSW finale that ended with an enormous amount of positive energy and the sense of community rivaled by any great street performance.

Ω

When it comes to pop music, bands can try to “defy convention” in a myriad of ways. Some reach for far off musical influences, seeking to add some contrived spice to their normally pedestrian songwriting. Some try to create jarring textures that say to the listener, “Hey! I really hate music. You should too.” Some play in the nude. Few and far between are the bands that actually seem to enjoy the musical influences they reference. It’s easy to mistake pretentiousness for genuine open-mindedness.

LA’s Foreign Born approach their brand of rhythmic pop with a fresh and open mind, concocting an interesting brew of folk, rock, shoegaze, and afrobeat on their latest full-length, Person to Person. Kind of like a mix between Doves and Vampire Weekend, Foreign Born’s trademark sound is a dense, intricately-produced rock sound infused with a heavy dose of rhythmic drumming and guitar work ala Talking Heads and Paul Simon.

The only area that Person to Person falters in is its tracklisting. The album (pardon my French) blows its load early and slows down to a crawl before ending. “Wait in this Chair” is not a bad song by any means, but is much too sluggish to be the closer, considering the boundless energy of the first half of the album. A better choice would have been to close with the bright and sunny “Early Warnings;” its playful guitars and ooh-aah choral inflections would have ended Person to Person on a high note. Songs like “Blood Oranges” and “Vacationing People” serve as much better indicators of the band’s potential than the somewhat by-the-numbers rocker “See Us Home.”

Person to Person‘s success comes from Foreign Born being able to take simple ingredients and mix them into something interesting and addictive. The album dulls a little when they let off the pedal, but for the most part, it’s a thrilling ride.

Ω

Anyone familiar with Interpol’s Antics might notice a strange similarity between that and the first few seconds of Little Brazil’s Son. This is actually a compliment, but it all goes downhill from there. If this interviewer was age 16 or below, then Son might be a very formative album for the adolescent years. At this point, however, jaded in old age as I am, it just seems derivative. I dare even to make the comparison between Little Brazil and the pop-punk leanings of Unwritten Law and that ilk. For those fans, this is perfect: angsty, with a vocalist with high vocal octave range. Lyrics like, “What am I doing/ Am I just spinning my wheels?” reek of simpler, insecure times. All of this is surprising, considering that some of Little Brazil’s band members were in the formidable Saddle Creek Cursive spin-off, The Good Life, and power player, Son, Ambulance. This is their third full-length, and their first for Anodyne Records.

Breakdown after breakdown, this is a predictable record — safe for those who find comfort in the genre and are looking for more of the same. Nothing different happens until the pace slows down at the fifth track, a ballad entitled “Nicholas.” The most upbeat and stimulating track is “Perfection,” which has more involved guitar work and atypical solos. Little Brazil would most likely benefit from multiple vocalists to give the music more texture. Whatever interesting elements they can add to diversify their music would be suggested.

What is incongruous about the record is that a lot of the songs deal with themes of family and children — adult themes that it seems their fanbase might not be able to relate to. Despite the fact that this record wouldn’t appeal to most of their Generation X and Y peers, the lyrics are earnest and delivered from the heart. Little Brazil keeps good company, comes from good roots, and tours with great bands. My hope is that they step it up for the future and turn the solid rock base that they have built into something more complex and stimulating.

Ω

“I don’t believe in emulation. I think we have to create our own… I don’t believe that we need to have someone to copy. I’d rather take influences in a productive manner and take it in our own direction.” – Jordan “Jordy” Topf

“Above all, we’re artists. It’s about the craft and doing something different, not necessarily doing what’s expected.” – Kacy Ritter