SXSW FEATURED: ROCKFOUR

This is kind of a repost from April, but since all of our mp3's are screwed up prior to December, and it is relevant, I see no harm in reposting these songs. The plight of RockFour at South By Southwest is sort of a depressing one. Imagine being a 60's influenced psyche band from Israel, and traveling all the way to Austin, Texas to play a 45 minute set at SXSW, but when you arrive, the club (in this case, the Continental Club) you are playing is completely isolated from the rest the city. Couple that with the poor decision to sandwich the band in between 4 Country acts, specifically Pam Tillis & Ian Moore, and you have a rather depressing scenario on your hands.

Fortunately for RockFour, their music will be worth crossing the river for. After spending years on the American Guitar Pop label, Rainbow Quartz, RockFour are releasing their new record, "Memories of the Never-Happened," through Israeli Label Earsay Records, it should be interesting to hear. The songs posted below are from their 2004 release, "Nationwide."

RockFour will be fighting for attention Friday March 14th at the Continental Club (1315 S Congress Ave) at 10:00PM.

Nationwide (mp3)
Candlelight (mp3)
To The End (mp3)

-Popkoff

SXSW FEATURED: THE ISLES

With South By Southwest right around the corner, I have spent most of this week trying to figure out my schedule for both the movie & music portions of the festival, while also trying to figure out how I’m going to balance my volunteer shifts with my actual job. I’ve decided to add another task to my load for the next few weeks by posting a series of SXSW specific blogs.

Looking at the Lineup for this year, it’s not the usual crop of "in-the-moment-hipsters" that’s got my attention, but rather, it’s the slew of bands that have been on my radar for years now, but for whatever reason never seem to actually travel to Texas. Bands such as The Forms, Rockfour, 31 Knots, & The Isles are perfect for an event like this, essentially giving me an opportunity to kill many birds with one stone. Part of the fun of SXSW is having the freedom to walk from venue to venue and still be able to get in and see what you want. Clubs like Emo’s & the Parish, which will no doubt be housing some of the bigger named acts (Blonde Redhead, Mountain Goats, and whatnot) are harder to get into, unless you’re willing to commit your whole night to it. With this in mind, these lesser known bands should really be the ticket for me this year.

Our first post is about The Isles from New York. I first heard their "Back to Terrific" EP in 2005, and immediately thought to myself, "why aren’t these guys huge?" Their sound, a mix of Sunny California & Dreary British Pop, felt unusual, yet familiar at times and the recording seemed near perfect in it’s balance of emphasis. The vocals were clear, pretty, but not too sugary, while the drums were light, but diligent pops. A friend of mine recently described their vocalist as sounding like what might happen "if Interpol & Death Cab for Cutie had a baby and peed on it," which he said was a compliment. I can see where he’s coming from on that, but I think they’re better than the sum of those parts. Since their 2005 EP, they have released several singles, and a rather impressive full length entitled "Perfumed Lands"

They will be headlining Wednesday March 14th at Habana Calle 6 Annex (708 E. 6th St) at 1:00AM, and I will be there.

Fuck (mp3)
Eve of Battle (mp3)
True South (mp3)
Pills From Mexico (mp3)

-Popkoff

Wire

It's almost cliche now to claim to like Wire. So many bands and artists have cited them as an influence, that it almost feels un-hip to not like them.

I stumbled upon Wire in the bargain cassette bin of Hastings many years ago. I bought their first 2 albums ('Pink Flag' and 'Chairs Missing') for a buck each. For about a year I listened to those albums so intensely on my headphones, that I can now recite every lyric. It was 1991 and I had grown tired of radio, tv and college rock.

Within the span of 2 albums though, Wire changed from a manic punk band exploding into 2 minute songs to a post punk art band willing to experiment with, and abandon, what they had done previously. A year hadn't even passed, 'Pink Flag' came out in 1977. 'Chairs Missing' came out in 1978.

The music was pure balm to me. The melody, energy and angular guitars from 'Pink Flag' can still be heard today (Interpol, Elastica, Lush, Bloc Party, Rakes anyone?), and the dubby textures, echo reverb and fantastic use of silence from 'Chairs Missing' are still being employed today to great effect (i.e. Mogwai, Trans Am, Colder, etc...)

Here's a few tunes from both, but i highly suggest tracking down both albums today.

Field Day For The Sundays from 'Pink Flag'
Ex Lion Tamer from 'Pink Flag'
Mannequin from 'Pink Flag'

Practice Makes Perfect from 'Chairs Missing'
French Film Blurred from 'Chairs Missing'
Another The Letter from 'Chairs Missing'
Men 2nd from 'Chairs Missing'
I Am The Fly from 'Chairs Missing'

-Drew