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Superhouse - "TECHyes" |
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| 02/09/10 08:03:17 » Album Reviews | |
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Superhouse It was a good thing they didn’t rest on their laurels. The progression as songwriters and arrangers the group has gone through is immediately evident on TECHyes, when an echoing rhythm track leads off opener “Sacred Rings” and Doug Pena’s candy-coated vocals morph into a chorus harmony that would be at home on the work of post-Pet Sounds Beach Boys. TECHyes delivers exponentially on all the promises Friends Forever and the Fever Medicine EP made. It is one of the great releases of 2010. Superhouse make the most out of 16 tracks on the record, which measure up to a massive 76 minutes of extra-terrestrial dance music. The group benefits from having three strong songwriting voices working together in Pena (guitar), Phil Aulie (keyboards and ukulele) and Greg Spencer (bass). Aulie’s abrasive vocals and Spencer’s bubbly attack meld beautifully with Pena, and even drummer Ben Humphreys gets in on the fun – he not only delivers his typically outstanding drum parts, his baritone voice gets a lot of exposure throughout. There are several masterpiece compositions. “Haunted House” fires jagged, 50’s-sounding keyboard and guitar lines and a creepy lyric – “my house is haunted/I sleep with ghosts/the fallen heroes/defeated foes” – into a howl-at-the-moon chorus. “The Dilemma of Prince King” holds Pena’s finest vocal performance to date and reveals the legitimate sentiment and pathos Superhouse is capable of. The album is laid out as a concept record, telling a tale about planetary exile and revenge. “Eighty-Thousand Eighty-Five” and its Side B post-script lay out the story, and the rest of the songs fit in even if they only forward the narrative in tangential ways. “Tin Men” is an epic, multi-part kickoff to Side B that tips the band’s Queen influence. “Heavens Forfend Their Victory” charges with a heady, nervous momentum into ethereal Flaming Lips territory. “The Courageous Confidence Character” finds humor (Pena almost laughs during the song) and Zeppelin-caliber riffing in exasperated existentialism. Even the band’s gambles, like a mid-song rap breakdown by Austin hip-hop artist D.C. Parr on “Creature Song” or the found-sound instrumental medley of “Robots Attack!,” pay off beautifully during the record’s arc. “Floating Thru Space,” the penultimate track, contains lyrics that are a bit on-the-nose but the atmosphere is so intoxicating they’re beside the point. TECHyes ends on its best and most triumphant song. “Megatron Magnifique” throws in everything the group has left – a kids-on-the-street choir, dueling trumpet and violin parts by Patrick McMinn and Alexa Skillicorn, an outro that goes on and on and on – to close the album with such excitement and cinematic prowess that even after the LP’s marathon runtime you want to spin it again. This disc is filled with vital music, and with it Superhouse is primed to re-make the scene in its own image. The only thing they have to do is get the record out to the public. Catch the group now; they’re riding huge waves on the way to something else entirely. |
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Tony Campise Birthday Bash Fundraiser - 2/21/10 |
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| 02/05/10 22:36:46 | |
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Crazy Development |
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| 02/05/10 17:24:59 | |
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Douglas Kent - "The Way I Am" |
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| 02/04/10 18:49:39 » Album Reviews | |
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By Jack Frink Arrangement-wise, Kent offers little outside of the expected Country and Western sound. There’s a rhythm section that booms and shuffles courtesy of drummer Mark Henne and bassist Morgan Patrick Thompson. Twangy guitars, chirpy lap steels and frolicking fiddles (provided by the exuberant Geoff Queen and Shawn Dean), back Kent’s subtly drawling leading man vocals. Lyrically, Kent’s characters are often defeated and frustrated, asking self-pitying questions like “Why’s the world picking on me?” and “Where did all the good times go?” If this is the way he is, Kent comes off as a bit of a sad sack. What counteracts the sob stories are Kent’s enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge of the country songbook. Many of the 12 self-penned originals have mellifluous melodies, and the music ranges from waltzing duets (“Where Did All the Good Times Go,” with guest vocalist Brennen Leigh) to spunky dance-hall rockers (“Soriano’s Girl”). “Stillhouse” opens the album with a spirited tale of old-time bootleggin’. Other notable tracks on Side A are the desperation-of-a-dream “Blood on the Strings” and resonant, regretful “Magnolia Morning,” which tugs the heartstrings even with its awkward finale. However, the album’s second side betrays Kent’s limitations as a songwriter. The first six songs establish his status as a purveyor of classic country techniques, but he doesn’t expand much beyond the lyrical palette of hard-luck, hard-drinkin’ tales of lost love and old wounds. A shout-out to Austin in “Here at Home” doesn’t change the fact that it expresses the same sentiments as “Why’s the World Picking On Me?” The Way I Am sounds too smooth and spotless overall; the production undercuts the beaten-up bitterness that increasingly becomes the engine of the songs. On the record’s best song, “Music’s Made a Fool Out of Me,” Douglas provides a lyric straight from his own life of living as a musician on the road. The rasping guitar and pensive melody create the hardest-hitting and most personal four minutes on The Way I Am. Songs like this could be a goldmine for Kent. Unfortunately, his greatest triumph is followed by the album’s nadir. “The Way I Am” marries the LP’s clumsiest melody to its shallowest lyric. The album’s finale is the hokey, vulgar “You Can All Go to Hell,” which comes from the phrase every Texan has heard. It’s filler and ends the album on an abrupt note. The Way I Am shows us the tools Douglas Kent is working with, but he remains a more interesting musician in person than on record. It is far from a bad start – several of the songs will likely remain with Kent for many performances to come – but it’s far from a breakthrough. more: www.douglaskentmusic.com
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SXSW - Preparations Primer: 2/2/2010 |
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| 02/01/10 20:07:58 | |
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Help Austin Help Haiti, Austin Music Hall 1/24/2010 |
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| 01/23/10 15:21:59 | |
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And even more acts to be announced... Folks, if you're fretting about having to decide between this concert and the football games, they've got you covered—the games will be shown on screens at the venue, so you can attend the concert, see the games, and help Haiti, all at the same time. |
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"We Wanna Help Will Sexton" Benefit at Antones, Monday 2/15/2009 |
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| 01/22/10 17:05:13 | |
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Patty Griffin, Scott Miller, and more, perform Austin's Grounded In Music benefit 1/21/2010 |
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| 01/19/10 18:24:05 | |
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Cactus Cafe hosts House the Homeless Benefit 11/17/09 |
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| 11/09/09 18:13:58 | |
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Austin City Limits 2009 Festival: Wrapped Up |
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| 11/05/09 05:10:29 » ACL 2009 | |
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