Lincoln Star covers THE BURNING HOTELS!

http://journalstar.com/entertainment/music/article_dfa990b2-6470-11df-995f-001cc4c03286.html

The Burning Hotels set to make a return trip to Lincoln
Story Discussion By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted:



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The Burning Hotels, with members Chance Morgan (from left), Wyatt Adams,
Matt Mooty and Marley Whistler, is scheduled to perform with The Machete
Archive and It's True on Wednesday at Duffy's Tavern. (courtesy photo)

If you go
What: The Burning Hotels with The Machete Archive and It's True

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St.

Cover charge: $5 for those 21 and older, $7 for 18 to 21
Matt Mooty can't wait to get to Lincoln.

The Burning Hotels, Mooty's band, has just released "Novels," its debut
album, and the group is heading out from Ft. Worth, Texas, to plays some
shows to support the CD.

The first out-of-town date is Wednesday at Duffy's Tavern, by design.

"We're all feet tapping like crazy," Mooty said. "The anticipation is so
high. The show we had the last time in Lincoln was awesome. Sometimes you go
to a city where you just click. That's what happened in Lincoln. The
audience was great and we really liked it there. It's kind of like a
laid-back version of Austin."

"Novels" has received good reviews. Most writers are comparing the band's
downstroke-driven buzzy guitar sound to The Strokes. But The Burning Hotels
sound is rooted in earlier music, late 1970s punk and 1980s post-punk from
the likes of the Gang of Four.

"That's exactly where it comes from," Mooty said of the earlier music. "When
we were getting out of high school, The Strokes first record was coming out,
so it was kind of influential. But it definitely comes from The Clash and
those kind of bands. That's where we started."

Some of The Burning Hotels members have known one another for quite some
time.

"Me and Chance (Morgan) have known each other since we were 10," Mooty said.
"We skateboarded together."

The two started playing together and hanging around the Ft. Worth music
scene at 16 and added drummer Wyatt Adams, whose family had what Mooty
called a "garage/apartment" out in the country. There, The Burning Hotels
honed their angular post-punk sound, putting together the songs for its 2007
EP "Eighty Five Mirrors."

Last year, the band, which also includes bassist Marley Whistler, appeared
in the movie "Bandslam." The Hotels' song "Stuck in the Middle" is on the
soundtrack.

Consistently garnering rave reviews for its energetic live show, including
an avalanche of hosannas for its South By Southwest performances in March,
The Burning Hotels now has a disc that showcases its spiky sound and
romantic/sexual lyrics that have rightfully been compared to the early sound
of The Killers.

But Mooty admits the disc doesn't capture everything about The Burning
Hotels.

"The record does it as much justice as it can," Mooty said. "But we're
definitely a live band. It (the music) has more character live, I suppose.
It's just two different things. Being in the studio is fun, but it's like
writing a thesis. Playing a rock show is just fun."

All four band members still have day jobs, but with the upcoming tours going
into July, that could change.

"It's starting to go more toward that, touring rather than working," Mooty
said. "It's way more fun. Driving a forklift isn't a dream job for me."

Instead, Mooty's dream job is jumping in a van and driving about nine hours
to Lincoln, playing a show, staying at the Great Plains Motel at 27th and O
streets, then heading out down the road for another show.

EXAMINER feature on Austin's JESSIE TORRISI

http://www.examiner.com/x-34254-Cape-Cod-Rock-Music-Examiner~y2010m5d20-Singersongwriter-Jessie-Torrisi-is-equal-parts-sexy-swagger-and-sincere-soul


Equal parts sexy New York swagger and doe-eyed, down home Americana, Sicilian songwriter Jessie Torrisi is determined to carve out her own unique niche in an indie scene crowded by singers searching for their spotlight. What Torrisi’s debut album, Bruler Bruler does differently, however, is ride than thin, dividing line between quirk and confidence…all the while ushering in Torrisi as a name to watch in 2010.

“I’m happy with the record,” says Torrisi. “I had very low expectations, or rather no expectations going into it... I'd never been at the helm of making a record, and hey it sounds like a real record, one I imagine I'd like if it was some other girl singing. But I don't sit around listening to it. That helps me hold on to the rosy glow.”

The raven-haired songstress continues, “I’m definitely a perfectionist, too. It's part of the curse of being a Capricorn, a first child, and an only child for the first 10 years of my life -- all that thinking. Right now, I'm busy agonizing and obsessing over new songs I'm writing and how to make the live show totally unique & undeniable. Why obsess about the past when you can obsess about the future?”

Said live show has been receiving quite the response in terms of the singer’s energetic approach to the craft. “Well I like company,” says Jessie, “so my band The Please, Please Me is an ever-growing circus with cello, trombone, drums, bass, guitar and lots of switching instruments. I'm originally a drummer, so there's at least one song where we all swap and I drum, sing 'n play harmonica. I'm starting to do a lot more of that...sometimes just singing and pounding the bass drum and shaking a tambourine There's one tune where I can actually play the acoustic guitar and the drums at the same time…but not in schlocky boardwalk one-man-band fashion! I keep waiting for some critic to call me the female Levon Helm!”

She continues, grinning, “Other things that make my show mine: Having a trombone. It's like lighting a fire onstage. I sometimes duel with my trombonist -- him on horn, me on kazoo. Obviously, he always wins. My new guitarist/plays a bit of everything guy is like a Mexican Elvis. He can't not swivel his hips. We never know whether my cellist is going to show up as a blond or brunette; her dream is to open a wig shop. My drummer's bad-ass. My bassist is a wisecracker. The whole band has personality. I wouldn't want it any other way.”



Torrisi also wants to involve her audience with the show as much as possible…reeeeal up close and personal-like.

“We always close out the show... should I give away the ending?... by dragging the audience (as many as fit) onstage to be our kazoo chorus. The stunts are fun.... they're about bringing the audience into our playground. My show is inspired by the looseness and wild streak of New Orleans. What's the point of being a rock star? To do fun, outrageous, playful, childish things. Things no grown-up in their right minds remembers to do once life gets serious. I try to do that onstage, but I take writing songs very seriously. I don't believe in whipping up energy for its own sake. The substance comes from the melody, lyrics and soul of the song…which I slave over. Then ask myself, how can I unleash that, push it to an extreme acoustic guitar alone never could?”

Torrisi’s music has an old soul. There’s an appealing warmness on Bruler Bruler which should win over the minds (and hearts) of most who grace it with a listen, echoing Jessie’s varied influences all the way home.



The singer agrees. “I am a bit of an old soul. It's the old souls that inspired me, were my musical foundation... especially the jazz greats from Louis and Miles to Billie and Ella. I was a jazz drummer way before I even dreamed of singing or writing songs. Then when I was living in New Orleans, I fell in love with Motown. Frankly, I've always been over the moon for black popular music…but especially Otis Redding. It’s surprised me how much people call my music country or Americana. While I love me some Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams, I think their style has run its course with me. There might be a lot less country twang in my singing next record.”

“As for the message and the feeling,” she adds, “…it'll probably still be old soul. Passion and the urge to chase it never really goes out of style. In moments of doubt, I try to remind myself that uniqueness trumps everything... I've always come from a lot of places -- musically, spiritually, intellectually, in every way. Everything you dig finds its way in eventually. Something I'm obsessively listening to now will get turned out in the washing machine and emerge in one my songs -- hopefully as only I can do it -- in a year or two. Overall, I just try to be myself as bombastically as possible.”

Jessie adds, “I've done a bit of stewing about wanting to be in a more ‘right now’ ‘the thing’ style recently. I would kill to be Lily Allen or Thao Nguyen or Yael Naim or Feist -- any of the hip hoppy, anti-folk, simple songs with boppy melodies and horns artists. But these women are so great because they invented that thing they do. That's how I want to be. I guess I don't believe in the shortcut. I'd just f*ck it up if I tried.”

Transient Songs: Cave Syndrome [Album Review] FENSEPOST

http://www.fensepost.com/main/2010/08/18/transient-songs-cave-syndrome-album-review/

Transient Songs: Cave Syndrome [Album Review]
18 August 2010 Written by Ron Trembath


Are you tired of your father’s versions of psychedelic rock? It can be granted that the 70’s were the age for some of the finest LSD-related music and mishaps history will ever know. But, surely it becomes tiresome to constantly hear about Rush’s supposed futuristic nonsense, or Roger Water’s boring obsession with the sky, and not having anything of your own time for a real comparison. Well, degenerate hipsters and demon-friendly youth-mongers, you are in luck. Introducing: John Frum a.k.a. Transient Songs. Stick it to your old man you gentle monsters!

The dark flames of Frum’s appealing fury is evident and enlightening throughout Transient Songs’ album Cave Syndrome, which serves as a powerful demonstration of spaced-out rock and roll that is reminiscent of old times, yet strikingly fresh. Not every track is entirely complicated though. Take “Smoking Slows the Healing”, which has a well-blended nuance that pushes the envelope once sealed by Feral Children. But the notable spiraling essence of John’s eccentricity is at its most vulnerable with “Astoria”. And for the borderline hardcore fan in all of us, “Sin Through The Summer” is a delightful offshoot from the estranged.

Cave Syndrome is an album you can’t hear just once. It might require a few long drives in the summer sun or a quiet hiding spot beneath the winter moon to fully comprehend the excursion into the bizarre that Frum is desperately and accurately trying to convey. And if that midnight conversation with dear old Dad over a few PBR’s only leads him to despise your “new crap” called music, it’s probably safe to say that he would have loved them 35 years ago. Sadly enough, defiance can disappear with age and responsibility. But, quality spin-drifting rock and roll like this well never die.

Austin CVB and DoubleStereo bring local music, Live Music Capital of the World® merchandise to AustinTexas.org

Austin CVB and DoubleStereo bring local music, Live Music Capital of the World® merchandise to AustinTexas.org Launch party showcases new microsite, Sept. 3

August 12, 2010

AUSTIN, TX - The Austin Music Office, a division of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau (Austin CVB), is partnering with DoubleStereo to launch a customized microsite within AustinTexas.org for visitors to search, listen to, and buy Austin music and a new line of official Live Music Capital of the World® merchandise.

The new Austin music and merchandise site goes live on Sept. 3 with a public launch party from 5-8 p.m. at Club DeVille (900 Red River Street). Hard Proof Afrobeat and Bus Stop Stallions provide live music, and guests can also enjoy food from Frank and merchandise by Southside Sanctuary. The party is part of the “First Friday Frolicks” series (formerly “From the Mind of Adi”) presented by Transmission Entertainment.

The new site invites visitors to explore the city’s music scene, which can be overwhelming to a first-time visitor, prior to their arrival. Featured artists include Los Lonely Boys, Asleep at the Wheel, Drew Smith, Grupo Fantasma, The Black and White Years, MC Overlord, White Ghost Shivers and more than 50 others.

“Many visitors have heard about Austin’s music scene, but they don’t know where to begin to experience it,” says Rose Reyes, director of music marketing for the Austin CVB. “Now any band that signs on to sell their music at AustinTexas.org can connect with visitors before they arrive. This allows visitors to find out which bands they’d like to see, learn their music – and maybe even sing along when they get here. On the other side, if a visitor stumbles upon a band they like, now they can find their music on our website. It’s all part of our efforts to make the Austin music experience more comprehensive.”

The Austin CVB selected the local company, DoubleStereo, to produce the microsite. Founded in 2009, DoubleStereo has recently emerged as a leading digital music platform, blog and merchandise fulfillment house for bands and music vendors. DoubleStereo signed on to the project in order to more closely align itself with the Austin music community and encourage participation by local bands.

Sal Silva III, founder of DoubleStereo, says, “This is a great partnership for DoubleStereo because it directly showcases the talented Austin bands and their music that our site makes available. By enabling visitors to directly listen, download and discover the Austin music scene via the city’s tourism site, we hope this partnership with ACVB will play as an innovative way for visitors to recognize the rich talent pool and music culture Austin offers.”

###

About the Austin Music Office
An accredited member of the Destination Marketing Association International, the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau (Austin CVB) is the official marketing and sales organization for the City of Austin. Austin CVB promotes Austin nationally and internationally as a premier convention and leisure destination in order to generate business for hotels, event and music venues, restaurants, transportation providers and attractions, thus enriching our community's overall quality of life. A division of the Austin CVB, the Austin Music Office promotes the city’s vibrant live music scene by booking bands for visiting conventions, advocating for the local music industry and marketing local artists. For more information, visit www.AustinTexas.org.

J Minus review of DEVIL MUSIC on Metro Spirit

“Devil Music”

Jminus.com

A band’s appearance can be misleading, especially where publicity stills are involved. Tom Jones looks like a flamboyant banker; the Saturday Knights, a great hip-hop group out of Washington state, have a dude that looks like he works at a vegan market. And fronts a hardcore group on the side. Of course, band members typically just stand beside some railroad tracks or lean against a wall, so I doubt we’re supposed to tell them apart anyway.

In the case of J minus, we get a little more imagination, not to mention truth in advertising: four Armani-clad scruffers standing in a wooded clearing, the sun peeking ever so gently through the trees, and the image, for once, accurately reflects the music found therein. The band’s sly concoction of 90s alt-rock, epic-leaning emo, and wry Americana manages to sound both off-the-cuff and streamlined at the same time, and while the path they follow is not of the beaten-to-death variety, they hold to it to great effect. Think Story of the Year, The National, and Dishwalla all attending AA together. Yeah, I like that. That makes sense.

J minus dabble successfully in several areas, so it’s surprising that their only real misstep here is a track likely meant to inject even more variety into the album: closer “Congratulations, You Suck” isn’t a total loss, but a borderline-snarky, acousti-crunk ditty at the end of an album’s worth of emotive, near-flawless power pop (“When the Lights Go Out”) and lived-in balladry (“No Sleep Tonight”) is questionable game-planning. Still, we’ve got ourselves a winner.

read in full here as well

POPDOSE on Microtia "Spacemaker"

http://popdose.com/cd-review-microtia-spacemaker/


I was bound to review Spacemaker no matter what genre the band was thanks to the intriguing information that Microtia create their own instruments and that this album cover and artwork is made out of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Marlboro Light boxes. That’s rock ‘n’ roll right there folks. Or at least that’s broke-unsigned-artist. Thankfully, the disc (which unfortunately is not made out of the beer that was inside the PBR boxes) contained a sound that fits the nature of the artwork pretty well.

The name of the final track on the album describes Microtia’s sound perfectly – “Pocket Full of Bee Stings”. The sharp, jagged guitar riffs sort of poke at you until you’ve given in and accepted the fact that that many different rock and metal genres join forces on this disc to create a loving family. The overall sound is a post-something – maybe post-rock, more certainly post-hardcore (one day I’m calling something “post-music” and seeing if it sticks) with some spacey moments, some stoner riffs and some good old fashioned RnR tossed in for good measure. And you know it has to be post some kind of genre with song titles like, “That’s the Problem with Owning Half the State of California”, “Tone Mountain vs. The Body of Riffage” and “I’ll Fight Harpsicord” (would have been better with a comma after Fight – just sayin’).

Cave In fans and stoner dudes would probably like this album a lot, which means a lot of people should like Spacemaker. Interestingly enough, after going through this, it made me pull out the debut album from The Used though. I keep hearing “A Box of Sharp Objects” (maybe the aforementioned bee-stings) from them in many of the Microtia tracks. I hope that’s considered a good thing at this point, because the disc is quite solid, especially “1000% Sure” which is certainly going to remain in my rotation for a while.

Now maybe just like the Used, Microtia can have their singer have sex with some member of the Osbourne family and they also can get their 15-minutes of fame! Wait – that won’t work anymore. How about Gene Simmons’ kid? They’re still on TV.

Eastern Surf Magazine review of MICROTIA

http://www.easternsurf.com/vitalreverb/080610/



The way Microtia physically releases their albums is cool. They use old cigarette boxes and beer case cardboard to fashion their records and merchandise — 1,650 beers and 2,500 cigarettes for Spacemaker alone — they supposedly make their own instruments, they present themselves really well visually, and they would seemingly be up to the challenge of making a power play with Spacemaker. Unfortunately, this Portland quartet falls just short.

Microtia’s intentions are good, as they self-describe their creation story as “pump[ing] Björk with 400 CCs of testosterone and put[ting] her in a rough-edged rock band,” but their attempt to move far from the soft and defining sound of the Pacific Northwest has left the band placing upon us a release that sounds more like a late ‘90s Nickelback album or Creed torture session, not a palatable prog-rock album.

The name Microtia is possibly derived from a congenital deformity that messes up one’s ear, to put it lightly. If this is the case, then I get it, because ears and loud music and shit getting damaged makes sense. But I wouldn’t have been the first of the band members to jump on board and start chanting the name out of excitement. There were probably a couple of guys in the group who sat back when the name came up and said to themselves in a hushed grumble, “Man, I’m in another band named after a disease.”

I agree with a lot of what seems to buzz around Spacemaker. The instrumental talent from keyboardist Dan Roberts, bassist Oliver Merson, and drummer Tim Steiner is a tidal bore of power, but Eric Leskovar’s vocals drown out his raw guitar and the heavy, well-played drum and bass lines that would be otherwise enjoyable. “Pocket Full Of Bee Stings” is the one song I found on Spacemaker that allowed Leskovar’s incredible guitar work to cut through his vocal wake. Microtia earns high marks for sustainable creativity and DIY awesomeness, but barely passes on the strength of their music alone. By Will Tunstall

The Burning Hotels Have Just Signed An Administrative Publishing Deal With Kobalt Music.

The Burning Hotels Have Just Signed An Administrative Publishing Deal With Kobalt Music.



Email: info@xopublicity.com
Website: http://www.xopublicity.com
Music: http://www.xopublicity.com/07To%20Whom%20It%20May%20Concern.mp3

Media Alert ::
We are very pleased to announce that The Burning Hotels have just signed an administrative publishing deal with Kobalt Music. Other recent signings by Kobalt? Phoenix, Yeasayer and FIFA. Kobalt Music Publishing is home to a lot of great artists and The Burning Hotels are very excited to join their roster.

In addition, The Burning Hotels will be supporting Toadies on 7 August 2010 at the Palladium in Dallas, Texas.

The Burning Hotels

http://www.adequacy.net/2010/05/the-burning-hotels-novels/
The Burning Hotels - Novels
May 13, 2010 by David Smith
Category: Albums (and EPs)



The Burning Hotels
The Burning Hotels captures a sound that was all the rage a few years ago:
that of Bloc Party, Interpol, Strokes, and so on. It reminds you of how
quickly tastes change. That's probably a good thing for music generally
because it means that we're constantly getting new innovations. But it means
that the shelf life of any recording is subject to short periods of hype and
long periods of "ah, yes, back then." reflections.

It's hard to tell whether The Burning Hotels represent a continuation of the
early 00's indie-rock sound, or whether it's already been long enough that
an album like Novels should be considered a resurrection of the form. In any
case, The Burning Hotels would have probably gotten a music-mag cover or two
had it been present at the watershed. With a few notable exceptions, the CD
sounds a bit "old hat" coming out in 2010.

One of those exceptions is "Where's My Girl", which packs a lot of energy
into its 3 minutes. Opting for some unusual syncopation for its verses, the
song speeds along smartly with Braid-like stop/start moments in its C and D
sections. "Where's My Girl" shows the band making the most of its
influences: sharp guitar, rapid-fire drumming, laid-back and catchy vocals.
"To Whom It May Concern" and "Hey" similarly make the band sprint, staying
away from some of what doomed Interpol in later years (plodding songs that
seemed directionless). Musically, though, there's not a lot of novelty.

Of course, songs like "French Heart Attack" and "Boy or a Girl", with its
foreshortened measures, hold their own against the stuff that Editors et al.
were doing on their first/best records. That's to say, the band knows what
it's doing and does it well. Clearly talented and occasionally inventive,
The Burning Hotels might well follow up with something more extraordinary
and distinguishing. Let's hope that The Burning Hotels breaks from the past
and doesn't follow the Bloc Party trajectory of increasingly irrelevant
releases.

Cave Syndrome reminds me an awful lot of some of the best bands nobody ever heard

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-transient-songs-cave-syndrome/#comments



As a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, I have to say that it has been quite a while since I have heard anything as good as Transient Songs coming out of our backyard. Cave Syndrome is the second album from the "group," which is actually a man by the name of John Frum and his occasional guests.

Cave Syndrome reminds me an awful lot of some of the best bands nobody ever heard in the early nineties. Groups such as Sadhappy, Adrian's Childhood, and Paisley Sin never caught a big-time record contract, but they were all great. Frum's music has something in common with each of them, but there is also a NW indie spirit about the disc that is reminiscent. The name of his record label alone is good for a chuckle: Indian Casino Records. His pop sensibilities are spot on too. The liner notes mention The Church and The Chameleons as influences, and the statement is certainly accurate.

The record begins with "In This Darkness Light Seeps Through," which despite the foreboding title is one of the more upbeat tunes. It strikes me as something Wayne Coyne might have come up with after an overdose of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass.

The trippiness, reverb and fog get deeper as the album progresses. "Smoking Slows The Healing" builds into a transcendent guitar frenzy that becomes absolutely hypnotizing, as does "Greenwood Backyards." The most fascinating song of all, though, is titled "The Cancer In Our Bloodlines." It is as if both The Church and The Chameleons decided to collaborate on a version of "A Day In The Life." The opening segment is a virtual Steve Kilbey carbon, while the latter portion would not have been out of place on side two of Script Of The Bridge.

John Frum hails from Texas originally, but we won't hold that against him. Especially as he had the good taste to enlist Chris Hanszek to master the disc. Hanszek founded C/Z Records back in 1985, and released the first collection of grunge, Deep Six shortly afterward. Transient Songs belong in such exalted company, and I hope that Cave Syndrome finds an audience. It is a gorgeously nuanced album.




Read more: http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-transient-songs-cave-syndrome/#comments#ixzz0nsBSz95F

Seattle-based John Frum and Transient Songs on DENMARK zine

http://www.undertoner.dk/2010/04/transient-songs-cave-syndrome/

ENGLISH:

As many other artists is transient Songs not in fact a band, but a project from Seattle-based John Frum. It is he who write sangene and invite MUSICIANS with the necessary extent. On cave syndrome withdraw transient songs on several traditions. First and foremost, sound were well founded in the American indiescene, but with elements from both early psykedelisk rock and a bluesy AMERICANA. At the same time, the whole permeated with an underlying Melancholy and uhygge, which gives the sometimes right poppede Songs a certain degree edge. Especially in ”cancer in our Bloodlines” contrasts this uhygge very fine WITH A strygerarrangement AND A lyttevenligt refrain.

Cave syndrome gives rise to many reminders of treenigheden Pavement, Dinosaur jr. and Sebadoh. It is not necessarily a bad thing; rather, a finding that transient Songs plants themselves firmly in the American indierocktradition. ”Astoria” sounds like something that we have heard before, with a tenuous lo-fi sound and a control, which sounds like a skrattende radio from 50′s. Or take, for example the very finely sliced “IN THIS DARKNESS light Seeps through”, which is very well constructed, but both a little for selvmedlidende and pathetic to really to catch your attention. The most interesting element is still intervening of psykedelia-tradition, which are often to promise sangene from the banal to the least interesting. It gives transient Songs opportunity to be out of the billions of bands, which never got further than crooked rain, crooked rain.

But it is also why I, the undersigned are a little. It is not very new, as transient Songs has to offer. For supporters of the above bands, there is enough to get out of cave syndrome. But there will be moved by hegnspælene for what around allow themselves. In contrast, Johm Frum, that the American indierock continues forward undaunted with unequal vokaler, poppede arrangements and the livslede, which in one or other extent also has characterized all forbilledernes music.


Transient Songs: Cave Syndrome
Af Jesper G. Kaufholz | 23.04.10 | Ingen kommentarer

Transient Songs: Cave Syndrome (2010)
Please Play Loud/XO Publicity
Musikalske slægtninge: Pavement, Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr.,
Tags: akustisk, alternativ, ambient, americana, folkrock, indiepop, John Frum, lo-fi, melankolsk, pop/rock, psykedelisk, singer/songwriter, Transient Songs

Som mange andre kunstnere er Transient Songs faktisk ikke et band, men et projekt fra Seattle-baserede John Frum. Det er ham, der skriver sangene og inviterer musikere med i det nødvendige omfang. På Cave Syndrome trækker Transient Songs på flere traditioner. Først og fremmest er lyden solidt funderet i den amerikanske indiescene, men med elementer fra både tidlig psykedelisk rock og en bluesy americana. Samtidig er det hele gennemsyret af en bagvedliggende melankoli og uhygge, som giver de til tider ret poppede sange en vis kant. Specielt på ”Cancer in Our Bloodlines” kontrasterer denne uhygge meget fint med et strygerarrangement og et lyttevenligt omkvæd.

Cave Syndrome giver mange mindelser om treenigheden Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. og Sebadoh. Det er jo ikke nødvendigvis en dårlig ting; snarere en konstatering af, at Transient Songs planter sig solidt i den amerikanske indierocktradition. ”Astoria” lyder som noget, man har hørt før, med en spinkel lo-fi-lyd og en vokal, der lyder som en skrattende radio fra 50′erne. Eller tag f.eks. den ganske fint snittede “In This Darkness Light Seeps Through”, som er ganske godt skruet sammen, men både lidt for selvmedlidende og patetisk til virkelig at fange ens opmærksomhed. Det mest interessante element er stadig indblandingen af psykedelia-traditionen, som ofte er med til at løfte sangene fra det banale til det mildt interessante. Det giver Transient Songs muligheden for at stå ud fra de milliarder af bands, der aldrig er kommet videre end Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

Men det er også grunden til, at undertegnede keder sig lidt. Det er ikke meget nyt, som Transient Songs har at byde på. For fans af de ovenstående bands er der nok meget at få ud af Cave Syndrome. Men der bliver ikke rykket ved hegnspælene for, hvad genren tillader sig. Tværtimod fastslår Johm Frum, at den amerikanske indierock fortsætter ufortrødent med skæve vokaler, poppede arrangementer og den livslede, som i et eller andet omfang også har kendetegnet alle forbilledernes musik.

Portland pop-rock four piece Microtia

Humphrey’s by the Bay is kicking off its summer run by tolling Broken Bells Tuesday night. That’s that indie-rock-meets-synth-pop project with that guy from that band, not the guy from Death Cab, the other guy from the other band, but doing as the guy from Death Cab did. I should look it up, but I just...you know?... Hay! Horse Feathers plays Casbah with Dawn Landes and Joel Partyboy West. Kill Rock Stars quartet Horse Feathers comes to us from Portland, Oregon, by way of Nick Drake and Iron & Wine. Lots of string-y things on new one Thistle Spring, which is just lovely, I’m told.... It’s going to be a Bonerama at Belly Up. As in trombone-a-rama, pigs. This brassy New Orleans big band brings the funk.... Coupla good ones uptown, too, as Illinois’ roots-rocking Forecast and Kansas City royals Queens Club set up at Soda Bar...while Radio Room dials in Portland pop-rock four piece Microtia with our own Misc. Ailments and Oh Air Night. James Mercer from the Shins!!

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/may/12/club-crawler-your-mileage-may-vary/

Fort Worth Weekly on The Burning Hotels

http://www.fwweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3383:the-burning-hotels-next-chapter&catid=38:music&Itemid=399

So it’s kind of refreshing and amusing and nice that this trio

http://www.verbicidemagazine.com/2010/05/07/the-very-foundation-this-restless-enterprise/

How many indie-pop bands are out there that you wouldn’t know the guys in the band had any hormones what-so-freakin’-ever except that they sport really crappy beards?

Right. A metric shit-ton.

So it’s kind of refreshing and amusing and nice that this trio, fronted by Michael Lewis, sings songs about unheard of indie-pop topics like, well…like fucking. Not just “we made love” or “I think you’re swell then you left” pablum, but fucking. I mean, you’re gonna stay tuned to a record that has an opening line of the first track like, “Were you just gonna wrap your legs around me/or was it just that I was pretty and free?” (the song is “My Sweetest Defeat”).

And it’s not just about dirty words and locker room bragging (although the tune “My Angel One Last Time” does feel a bit forced in its “do me” theme. A minor eh-factor). The blunt sexuality of a few of the songs has some back to it with strong-crafted hooks, sparse and spot-on production, and smiling melodies. And horns! Big, full horns. Who’d’ve-thunk it, huh? Fans of The Decemberists (some of whom appear on this) will probably dig this.

Heh heh. Dude said, “fuck me til I bleed.”

(self-released, no address provided)

The Burning Hotels 9.5/10!

The Burning Hotels
http://oudaily.com/news/2010/may/04/new-music-tuesday-lcd-soundsystem-and-bob/?print
"Novels"

9.5/10.0

Who knew the best modern post-punk wouldn't come out of New York, L.A. or
London, but DFW?

Steadily dominating the Southwest, The Burning Hotels had a solid EP under
its belt, along with a guest appearance in the movie "Bandslam," but it
outdid itself with its full-length debut, "Novels."

Part youthful exuberance and part sophisticated restraint, "Novels" is
brimming with angular rock hooks and airy pop drifts that float down like a
balloon onto a bed of nails, coming to a rest right before it bursts.

Most astonishingly is how quick the band has built something so lean and
tight; "Novels" leaves no room for anything other than joyous rock riffs and
tucked-in pop anthems.

To give a bit of context, take the zagging hooks of Bloc Party ("To Whom It
May Concern"), morose new wave of Interpol ("The River") and vintage rock
melodies of The Strokes ("French Heart Attack") and you've got the basis for
The Burning Hotels.

Fittingly, where those three bands all faltered on their third discs is
where The Burning Hotels picks up, making for a thick slice of post-punk
bliss.

It makes no short order of launching into it, rocketing off with the
blistering "Austin's Birthday" and zipping "Boy Or A Girl." With the
occasional ballad ("Silhouette") lodged between, "Novels" races at breakneck
speed through an endless stream of poppy earbugs that won't leave your head
for days.

Perhaps most remarkable is how intricate and detailed each song is without
being overwhelmed by its structure. The band rallies each song with an
arsenal of quick-as-a-bullet chord progressions and regimented rhythm
changes that are executed to the T.

The cuts in "French Heart Attack" and "Hey" are Pine-Sol clean; the echo in
"Time" gives me chills. "Novels" is a perfect example of how tedious efforts
and attention to detail can ultimately lead to an impeccable product.

There's no major misstep to critique, no fault to pick at. "Novels" is not
perfect, but it's pretty damn close.

-Joshua Boydston