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Album review: Bears and Company - South of the Mountain

South of the Mountain has been in the works for a while now. After a successful Kickstarter campaign in January of last year, Bears and Company set out to “create a dynamically driven record fueled by honest emotion,” according to its Kickstarter page. Dynamically driven it is, and hot damn, is it emotionally honest. This brand-new album will melt your face with heavy indie jams and just as easily melt your heart with brutal, beautiful lyrics.

If you’ve seen Bears and Company live, you’ll be insanely content as soon as you press play. “I Dreamt I Destroyed the World” tears into the audible plane with fast, riffy guitars—a live show favorite. This is one of many songs that entices the whole crowd to sing along to. Not to mention this song was released on a limited demo album the band put out last summer as an acoustic track.
 
Pay attention, because before you know it, “Occurrence in the Wildwood” is on. A graceful guitar reverb sound blends the songs wonderfully. You’ll find yourself lost in an entanglement of Logan Tyler’s smooth voice and Alex McClain’s angsty screams as they combat for the attention of your ears.
 
Again, you barely blink before “Susannah and the Elders” hits your playlist. I’d love to say this is the catchiest song on the ten-track album, but truth is, that’s just in my ears. Sitting in class, or on the clock at work, and I find myself shamelessly humming the tune to any song on the album at any time. Large sounds from gang vocals spice up the tune.
 
The Bears finally key things down from the seemingly customary heavy and fast songs with “Carroll A. Deering,” the fourth song featured on South of the Mountain. The song is a lullaby compared to what we’ve heard so far. Slow, sentimental, and heartfelt. It takes an uphill aesthetic, getting louder and more intricate during the four minute and fifty second duration. Don’t understand? Close your eyes and listen to the song, you’ll get it.
 
Keeping the tempo down and the tunes quiet, track five is just as chill as four. “When the Sky Opened” is another limited acoustic track from the Bears’ summer demos. A chillingly soft timbre emits from this song. This is the closest thing to an anthem you’ll find on this album. Starting off with a daunting and melancholy tone, the song does pick up a brighter message near the end, powering into the last half of the album.
 
“‘Return of the Hunters” and “After the Quake” are two other crowd pleasers at any Bears’ show; crowd pleaser is putting it lightly. As the band plays these songs live, the whole ambiance of the room shifts. Show patrons get closer and for several minutes every individual molds into one. It’s a weird, eerie phenomenon that is spectacular at the same time.
 
After these two powerhouse songs, you’ll run into the album’s title track, which serves as an interlude—an all-instrumental arrangement. To be the bearer of great news, this is not a break from the hard-hitting action that you’ve become accustomed to for the past half hour. This song stands just as tall and strong as any other of the nine tracks.
 
A personal favorite of mine comes next: “We Were Brothers.” It’s a sorry, remorseful song that has a plethora of ups and downs, musically and lyrically. On the latter half of the song comes a haunting, spoken-word-esque, poetic verse. Combining the screams of McClain and the angst-driven voice of Tyler, an otherworldly sound is created. This song takes the cake for the most emotional arrangement, for me at least. Just as mentioned about the catchiness of all the tracks, any given song on South of the Mountain can be claimed as the most emotional.
 
The Bears finish strong with the finale, “Moskstraumen.” In alignment with the title, this song is a perfect soundtrack for imagining large swirling bodies of water. Again, if you don’t get it, listen close, eyes closed. It’ll become clear. The dynamic shift of the heavy indie jams blending into subtle “la da da’s” pushes the song around and around, further and farther. This song was by far the best choice for an outro track.
 
The production and mastering of this album is top notch. Recording artist Aaron Crawford kept Tyler sounding sweet and soulful, his bass prominent and plucky. McClain’s voice was very vivid, but not overshadowing. McClain and lead guitarist Zachariah Knoll’s guitar works sounded perfect. Coming in loud, merging into a soft embodiment, resonating and producing feedback; gentle plucks and fast power chords fill the rest of the guitars out. The production of Allan Latini’s drum work was excellent: loud when they needed to be, heavy where appropriate, and epically proportioned to keep each and every track moving along.
 
South of the Mountain is an extremely emotional ride. The music may suggest otherwise, but listen for the meaning of each song and you’ll find several heartbreaks lurking for you. I recall a show a few months ago where I was talking to McClain after their set. He informed that this album would be his most emotional and honest work to date. That really shines through.
 
Bears and Company will be celebrating the release of South of The Mountain tomorrow, April 27, at FOKL. Doors open at 7:30, $12. The Author and The Illustrator and Clairaudients will open. Facebook event page.
 
 
 
--Steven Ervay 

Steven Ervay is super rad. 

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Published: April 26, 2013 |
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Album review: Soft Reeds - Blank City

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)

When you go out and see live music, preferably a lot of live music (as you all should, y’know), you occasionally find yourself witnessing a performance that gives you the sense of something really big on the horizon. When Soft Reeds played the 2012 Middle of the Map Festival, I happened to be front and center for their set at recordBar. They ran through several songs that evening that I hadn’t heard before, and frontman/guitarist Ben Grimes said they were tracks from their still-being-written next album. Since then I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that, based on the five tunes they performed, their follow-up to 2010’s Soft Reeds Are Bastards was going to be a monster. One year later, the band has released its second full-length album, Blank City—and it would seem as if I got this one right.
 
The core four from their Bastards album—Grimes, percussionist Josh Wiedenfeld, multi-instrumental man John Mitchell, and funk mistress Beckie Trost on bass—were joined soon after by Jeffrey Harvey, whose keyboards and backing vocals added that extra bit of something that helped to pull the rest of the band into a more cohesive unit. Blank City comes in at a taut 31 minutes over its eleven-track playlist, and very few moments will leave the listener with the desire to sit still. “Pregnant Actress” is a case in point, as Trost’s effortless groove lays the foundation for what could pass for a lost classic from the heyday of Studio 54. The influence of Berlin-era Bowie can be found throughout the album, with “Nothing Changes” particularly showcasing angular, jagged guitar riffage—it’ll cut up some eardrums, without question. Grimes’ vocals are once again at their machine-gun-staccato best, which serves to augment the edgy arrangements that make Blank City a splendiferous indie-dance-floor classic in the making. 
 
Not every track follows the same game plan of getting people on their feet—not that there’s anything wrong with that. The opener, “17,” is a brief aside to a Moroccan marketplace where spices and savory goods are openly displayed for all to enjoy. “Hospitality” is an unexpected course-change that shows Soft Reeds can do more than just attack: they can musically woo as well, and who doesn’t like a little musical wooing now and then? And the album’s closer, “A Hysterical Woman,” once again proffers the Middle Eastern vibe of the opener, but instead of an open market you’re in a trendy hookah bar, zoning out on the smoke and the rhythm and Mitchell’s snake-like sax work.
 
Soft Reeds put down their sounds in the studios of Element Recording, whose owner, Joel Nanos, says of Blank City: “Truly one of the best albums to have graced this place.” Whether it was the surroundings, the move from a four-piece to a five-piece band, the cohesion of creativity and ability intersecting at just the right time, or a combination of all of the above, there is no doubt that the thoughts I had regarding this album a year ago have been validated. This is more than an improvement or a natural progression from their previous work; this is a band hitting on all cylinders, and they know it. The confidence, the tightness, the swagger … they’re all there. In abundance.
 
They may not be bastards anymore—but they’re hardly soft, either.
 
Soft Reeds will be celebrating the release of Blank City in Kansas City this Friday, April 26 at The Riot Room with special guests Be/Non and Rev Gusto. Facebook event page. Ticket link. And next Friday, May 3, the band will venture out to Lawrence with The Caves and Schwervon! to release the album at Replay Lounge. Facebook event page. You can purchase Blank City on iTunes and/or pre-order the vinyl with immediate digital download at The Record Machine Store.

--Michael Byars

Michael Byars is a self-confessed music junkie, used to drink Mountain Dew as if his life depended on it, has a second career in England as a juggling busker waiting for him if he wants, and once nearly made a purple-haired record store employee shoot tofu out of her nose. How many of you can say THAT, bitchez? 


(Video from I Heart Local Music)

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Published: April 25, 2013 |
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Album review: Fourth of July - Empty Moon
(Photo by Todd Zimmer)
 
There is no time to breathe. No time to think. No time to even formulate a thought. There is no count in. Nothing. The sad, sorry songs from Fourth of July hit you like a bag of bricks, and now you’re forced to pay attention. Press play on Empty Moon and the baritone voice of singer Brendan Hangauer is the first thing to hit your ears. “Honey / is it hard to make friends / the way your emotions bend / and almost break?”
 
That first line is a decently accurate depiction of Empty Moon. A tangled, conglomerated mess of emotions; bitter songs with a tinge of hate and remorse fill out the full flavor of Fourth of July.  Subtle hints of longing and love lost finish off the lyrical taste. As stated in the band’s Facebook profile, Fourth of July is “having fun to sad music.” I couldn’t have said it better.
 
The majority of Empty Moon, as with the band’s previous two efforts, maintain a poppy, indie folk sound. Through Fourth of July On the Plains (2007), Before Our Hearts Explode! (2010), and now Empty Moon, the band has not changed their style. It’s good to know exactly what you are getting into when a band releases new works.
 
The difference in this album is the sheer rawness of the lyrical content. Previously mentioned is the band’s knack for formulating sad songs. This album takes a much more hateful tone; more of a big middle finger to one’s emotions as opposed to a snarky rude comment featured in the albums before.
 
Every song on Empty Moon can stand alone and hold its own as a potential single. But there are several songs that really resonate long after the album is done playing. “Drinking Binge” takes on the tale of, well, binge drinking, with arguably the fastest-paced tempo on the album.  “Eskimo Brothers” explores the seemingly shitty life of small-town dating. How a girl goes from guy to guy and eventually you’re just waiting your turn—there’s nothing else to do. Finishing off Empty Moon is perhaps the group’s most heartbreaking song, “Berlin.” The track takes a very angry, bitter tone as Hangauer serenades the memory of a former love.
 
Accompanying this album, on the High Dive Records Bandcamp page, is the Empty Moon Demos (below). All the same eight tracks dumbed down to strictly Hangauer and his guitar. In this demos album, Hangauer sounds more sorrowful and his voice is raspier. This is a haunting and distraught album that lies in the shadow of the musically-upbeat Empty Moon. These demos almost sound more appropriate than the actual album, having that melancholy ambiance.
 
This Lawrence band has made us wait for three years for Empty Moon, and it was well worth that wait. Exploding with such force and emotion, Fourth of July’s latest effort is really a great listen when you’re feeling blue.
 
Empty Moon was released on April 9 on High Dive Records. This Friday, April 26, Fourth of July will be doing an in-store performance at Love Garden Sounds with 1,000,000 Light Years at 7:00 pm. Vocalist Brendan Hangauer will be exhibiting his art there for Final Fridays Lawrence. Facebook event page.
 
 

--Steven Ervay 

 

Steven Ervay is super rad. 

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Published: April 25, 2013 |
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Album review: Cowboy Indian Bear - Live Old, Die Young

(Photo by Todd Zimmer) 

Cowboy Indian Bear’s newest record Live Old, Die Young is a mystical and massive full-length, 12-track LP. Spending the last couple of years crafting their sound, these boys and girl have grown into an entity all their own. Live Old, Die Young is one of the best records to come out of the Kansas City/Lawrence music scene since the release of Two Conversations by The Appleseed Cast. Cowboy Indian Bear has put together an album that is eclectic, dynamic, and enjoyable from start to finish. The only problem I have with this record is that my drive to work isn’t any longer and it’s impossible to listen to 42 minutes of amazing songs on a 20-minute drive. Here’s my song-by-song breakdown of Live Old, Die Young. Enjoy!
 
“Washing” starts out the LP with slow, smooth waltz instrumentation that provides an excellent backbone for the four-part harmonies that carry this dreamy tune. Featuring an interesting stand-up bass and vocal break, this song keeps the same pace throughout. It’s a gentle song that isn’t overwhelming upon first listen and showcases many of the features that make Cowboy Indian Bear an enjoyable and unique band.
 
“Does Anybody See You Out” kicks in with a groove of multiple percussive instruments, a pick up from the opening track. At six minutes and twelve seconds, this is the longest track of the album. Its dreamy reverb-slathered guitars and keys coast with ease over the tight, intricate rhythm. Its catchy hook, subtle vocal effects, and all around progressiveness make this one of my favorite songs on the album.
 
Lyrically, “Barcelona” is my favorite on the record. The song shows the amazing imagery and storytelling abilities this band is capable of. The pace of the album begins to pick up after this epic tale about the beaches of Barcelona and digging up graves.
 
CJ Calhoun starts out “Seventeen” with a soulful acapella serenade. Katlyn Conroy’s voice sweeps in beautifully along side heavy driving bass, keys, and drums, and you immediately feel the power of this song. There is an anxious drum roll hiding in the mix that sounds almost like a helicopter taking off and it builds in a wonderful way. Conroy’s vocals outweigh the boys towards the end of this song right before it breaks into a dreamy feel-good noodle break. The song ends as simply as it starts.
 
Not breaking the two-minute mark, “Live Old, Die Old” is a trippy interlude track comprised of every instrument, including vocals, reversed. Though I tried, my stash of jazz cigarettes couldn’t help me translate what is being said/sung. Reminiscent of Minus The Bear’s “Highly Refined Pirates,” this interlude fits well where it is and shakes the record up a bit before heading into different musical direction.
 
The first line from “I Could Believe in Anything” grabbed me immediately with the sincere and certain tone of Calhoun’s voice backed by a super groovy bass riff and electronic drums. This short, harmonized chant and percussion-driven track might not be a standard “Radio Single” but it’s definitely no filler song either. It’s the kind of song that is best listened to at a packed Cowboy Indian Bear show after everyone has had a little too much to drink.
 
If track seven, “I Want a Stranger’s Heart,” isn’t the intro song for the next James Bond movie, someone in Hollywood is screwing up. Badly. It’s slow, sexy, reverb-drenched, and adds a magic touch to Live Old, Die Young. The smoothness of this song carries it until it takes a loopy experimental turn. I’m a sucker for reversed vocals and guitars, and these guys do it well. I’m not advocating this, but I’m sure they are saying something cool if you play the record backwards (but don’t blame me if you scratch up that pretty white vinyl).
 
“Cloth into Clothing” is a poppy, percussive song that showcases the beautiful voices of Conroy and Calhoun very well. This track is mixed in a way that will make you feel like you are alone in large empty room (possibly an abandoned church) listening to Cowboy Indian Bear jam. The raw, roomy drums really stand out, thanks to the nimble hands of Beau Bruns.
 
“Let it Down” is by far the shining star off this album. The lyrics are beautifully depressing and float dreamily over massive tom fills and melodic guitars and keys. Though the lyrics may give off the impression of giving in to sadness, the music is hopeful and uplifting.
 
I’m not certain, but it sounds to me that “Live Old, Die Old (I)” could be a trippy sped-up/reversed remix of “Let It Down.” It’s a nifty little addition to this record and I imagine offers an opportunity for members to tune or switch their instruments in a live setting. This track shows that they had some solid time to have fun in the recording studio.
 
Track eleven, “Jennifer, is a solemn song that captures the essence of a broken heart. In typical Cowboy Indian Bear fashion, this slow-building song adds a multitude of large percussion and perfect harmonies. Sonically, “Jennifer” strays from the standard intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus/outro formula. Though it might not be one of my favorite songs off the record, it definitely fits the vibe and tone of this record.
 
According to the Hebrew Bible, Methuselah is purported to be the oldest person to ever live, thus making the title of the final track “Your Favorite Son, Methuselah” ever so fitting. The lyrical phrase “I’ve got an edge / I could be your scythe” creates the imagery of Calhoun bargaining with the Grim Reaper to let him live on as an asset. The upbeat nature of the song helps round the album out in a way that makes it nearly impossible to not listen to the album all the way through again.
 
Live Old, Die Young is a professional and beautiful record. Cowboy Indian Bear has worked hard crafting this gem and it shows.
 
This week only, you can listen to Live Old, Die Young at the link here. You can purchase it on iTunes and/or get the vinyl with an immediate digital download on The Record Machine store. Cowboy Indian Bear will be celebrating the KC release tomorrow, April 25 at Davey’s Uptown, with Palace and Heartfelt Anarchy. Facebook event page. Then they embark on a two-week tour (details below). The Lawrence release party will conclude the tour on Friday, May 10 at the Lawrence Arts Center with Spirit is the Spirit. Also, visit www.cowboyindianbear.com for more information about their tour schedule, merchandise, and all things CIB.
 
 
--Eric Fain
 

By day, Eric Fain sells used books to pay the bills. Most nights you can catch him at any given KC/Lawrence venue supporting and promoting local music. He is currently the most tattooed and hairy member of the Kansas City rock band, Clairaudients. 

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Published: April 25, 2013 |
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Album review: The Silver Maggies - My Pale Horse

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)

The origin of The Silver Maggies can be traced back to 2009, when musician and Jaykco Guitar Strap peddler Patrick Deveny did what many other makers of music do: he got a bunch of friends together and formed a band. Early returns were good, and the country-rock sounds being made were fine, but after taking part in the Murder Ballad Ball of 2010, Deveny wanted something a little different. He recruited American Catastrophe’s Terrence Moore soon after, and fellow AC member Amy Farrand a couple years later, thereby taking The Silver Maggies to a place much darker and pensive, but still stylish and sophisticated. After some tweaking and fine-tuning, the band released My Pale Horse, its first full-length album, earlier this year.
 
Having seen Terrence Moore perform as a solo artist numerous times, I’m familiar with a few of the songs he brought to the band. Hearing “Trouble” as a fully-formed work is a revelation, as the starkness of the singer-songwriter is replaced with the muscle and polish of this seven-piece juggernaut. Moore’s voice has a natural sinister quality, which lends itself well to the lyrical content of this opening track (“proceed to the exit quickly / cause I’ve got a match that’ll burn this place down / to the ground”).
 
By contrast, in the second cut, “To the Quick," Deveny’s well-weathered voice slides over the music, coercing the listener to join him on a desert drive, windows down, the landscape lit by the waning light of dusk. When the chorus hits, I hear a perhaps-unintentional-perhaps-not taste of ‘90s alienation of “Nearly Lost You” by Screaming Trees, giving the track that much more of an isolationist feel.
 
When the distant horn comes in on “It All Went South," you may get a sense of influence from Arizona legends Calexico—and you would be absolutely correct. The band’s signature trumpet sound comes from the embouchure of Jacob Valenzuela, who lends his services to My Pale Horse in a most distinctive and impressive manner. To further the connection between the two bands, the album was mixed by long-time producer-engineer and Calexico collaborator Craig Schumacher in his Tucson, AZ studio.
 
Labels such as “gothic country” and "high desert noir" are not so cut-and-dried as “rock” or “blues”; they are far more descriptive and far more challenging to attain, as they hint at music that is very cinematic in scope. This isn’t the sound that you want as low-level background ambiance—these genres should take the listener into a far more visual realm. A daunting task to live up to, and The Silver Maggies—which also include Jonathan Knecht on drums, Felix Dukes on guitar, Steve Tubbert on bass, Samon Rajabnik on Hammond B3 organ, and guest vocalists Claire Adams and Katy Guillen—have risen to the challenge. When I listen to My Pale Horse, I not only feel as if I’m watching a sepia-tinged Western movie; I feel as if it’s getting to the part where the good guys and the bad guys are getting ready to settle things once and for all.
 
Sounds like trouble—but a kind of trouble I’m happy to bear sonic witness to.
 
My Pale Horse was released on March 28 by KC music collective Money Wolf Music. The Silver Maggies' next live appearance will be at Cowtown Mallroom on Sunday, April 28 at 3:00 p.m. It'll be a free, all-ages show in one of KC's most historic venues. 
 
--Michael Byars
 

Michael Byars may or may not be pickling things at this moment. It’s possible that he’s already had four or five bottles of Mountain Dew by now. There’s a chance that he is at a hookah bar somewhere. You may say he’s a dreamer. But most of all, he spells pretty well and he works for free, so we let him write stuff for us sometimes. 
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Published: April 18, 2013 |
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Published: December 31, 1969 |
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