My list for this month isn’t like last month’s, which I had selected from close to 10 that I had been listening to. Slacking off, I didn’t begin my search until the end of the month. However, that doesn’t mean my list is mediocre. These bands are punchy and worth the same attention as those on my last list.
The Band: The Equals
Album: The Equals EP (2011)
Location: Austin, TX
Status: Playing around Austin, next show at Emo’s
Why? Each instrument swings in and then cascades into the next, either creating a well-developed layer or a thoughtful and significant contrast, similar to techniques used by other primarily instrumental bands, like Explosions in the Sky and Julianna Barwick. The hard strong drum beats aren’t jarring but instead create a smoothness. It sounds as though they have incorporated a little acoustic guitar in with the electric guitar, but I am not sure. Whoever did the mixing did a stellar job, though the volume of some instruments could stand a little tweaking.
The Band: Tiger Waves
Album: Only Good Bands Have Animal Names
Location: Austin, Texas and Chicago, Illinois
Status: Playing Mohawk in Austin, Texas
Why? If the songs were ordered differently, this album could be the soundtrack for time-elapse footage depicting the demolition of a skyscraper and the construction of a bio-dome. The songs seem divided into two categories, ones with modern melodies and ones with distinctive 1960s pop melancholy. They are a band that seems to go by feel, seeking songs through pushing instrumental strength and pairing these arrangements with caressing and harmonizing vocals. (Because of their saturated songs and moments which border on being overwrought, I am a little worried that these two members might fall into each other if they decide to work on their next album isolated from others.)
FoulPeony 