Music: April 2005 Archives

(Clockwise, from the top left: Gratitude, Straylight Run, and Minus The Bear)

Last Sunday, I went into San Francisco in order to see Straylight Run and Gratitude live at the Great American Music Hall. There were actually 5 acts on the bill. I was a little confused as to when it started, so I missed all of Spitalfield, and part of The Honorary Title.

I didn't have to wait too long for Gratitude to take the stage, and they didn't disappoint. I can still remember when I saw Far back at Peabody's Downunder in the Cleveland Flats so many years ago. Jonah really blew me away with the amount of raw energy that he was able to put into his performance. Well, it is a number of years later, but that doesn't appear to have slowed him down at all. Gratitude is definitely growing on me, especially after seeing that performance.

However, I was a bit surprised to see that Gratitude went on before Minus The Bear. I know that Gratitude is a relative newcomer, but I have never even heard of Minus The Bear before! So, I wasn't really expecting very much, but I was quite surprised by this band. As it turns out, they were pretty darn good, and deserved there place in the roster. In fact, I think that the crowd was the most enthusiastic for this band, of all of the bands that I saw. I liked their set so much, that I bought their CD "Highly Refined Pirates" after the show. I've listened to it twice now, and it is solid. Rock, with a bit of electronics thrown in.

Finally, Straylight Run took the stage, to cap a pretty long evening. The crowd had dwindled by this point, and what was left wasn't even all that enthusiastic. Which I guess sortof makes sense -- Straylight Run is a bid of an odd duck -- too many ballads to be rock, but not poppy enough to be pop. Nevertheless, those who left early missed out, because they played a solid set. Including some new songs -- well one old song, which is sometimes called "Costello" apparently, and two new ones (I think). I hope that this band makes it -- headlining this tour is good for them, but I don't know if they have that special "mainstreamy-ness" that it takes to achieve "critical mass".

I was able to bring my camera into the show, so I managed to take a few pictures and some videos as well. I'll try and post some of that stuff later, but for now, you can enjoy the banner that I made (ala Karen Cheng).

-Andy.

I have been buying a fair amount of music lately. I would like to do in-depth reviews of everything, but I have realized that the only way that I will get through everything is by doing quick reviews. So here it goes:

• Keane - "Hopes And Fears": A light, pleasant, Coldplayesque CD. Kevin's fine ear for music gives this band a high rating. It took me awhile to get into Keane, and I haven't had this album in heavy rotation, but it is still a solid purchase.
• The Mars Volta - "Frances The Mute": this band is into experimental, progressive, barely listenable music. I tend to only like music that is, well, music. So as a result, this album isn't going over too well with me. When The Mars Volta veer out of unlistenable territory and into actual music it is quite brilliant. If it I had a lot of free time on my hands, I could probably cut this down to an EP and make something
  enjoyable. As it stands, I wouldn't recommend this album.
• Woven Hand - "Consider The Birds": Incredible, just as Chris said. Highly recommended. David Eugene Edwards has crafted another magnificent album from start to finish. Haunting, moving, eliciting strong emotions. Musically, this album occupies just the right place between being too spartan and too overwhelming. Highly recommended.
• Gratitude: I had high hopes for this album. I like the main creative force, Jonah Matranga in his solo onelinedrawing effort, and ravenously love his previous band, Far. Unfortunately, this album seems overly bland and generic. The first time that I listened to this album, my disappointment was almost palpable. But I have listened to it more since then, and I think it might be steadily growing on me. So maybe there is some hope. But it certainly isn't Far part two. Not recommended.
• Autolux - "Future Perfect": I'm a big fan of the band Failure, which unfortunately, broke up a few years ago. Thankfully, the two master minds behind that band, Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards, continue to produce music. Ken is doing On and Year Of The Rabbit, while Greg's latest band is called Autolux. And now you know why I bought this album. On the whole, I would say that this album is decent. When the music is good it is great. In particular, the last three tracks on the album: "Asleep At The Trigger", "Plantlife", "Capital Kind Of Strain" are quite strong. The middle parts of this album tend to drag, however. Thus, I wouldn't classify this as a must-buy. If you like Failure, though, you may want to give this album a look.
• Pretty Girls Make Graves - "The New Romance": totally stupendous album. Go out and buy it immediately. This album reminds me of what rock music should be like. Solid guitars, impeccable drumming, great vocals and lyrics combined with a beat that you can really groove to.

Coming up next: The Shins - "Chutes Too Narrow", The Beta Band - "The Three E.P.'s", and Queens of the Stone Age - "Lullabies To Paralyze".

-Andy.

I just bought my ticket to see Straylight Run & Gratitude in SF on Sunday. Rawk.

-Andy.