Austinist CD Reviews: Shipwreck and Macromantics

Shipwreck - House of Cards EP

Psyching yourself into being a prolific musician means that you either (a.) end up with some good records at the end of a long creative push, or (b.) make loads of crap that will sit buried in the back of your closet with your broken pride. Gambling with this possibility, Illinoisemakers Shipwreck promised to release four EPs in 16 months with House of Cards their first. The foursome have been busy wrecking shop ship in the studio -- the third EP is said to be under way.

A motley mix of rock n roll sounds, the EP ranges from the Spoon-esque "House of Cards" to a darker "Black Moon," a track about a foreboding sky and leaving your sneakers inside. "Atlantic" creates a melody well-suited to soundtrack a submarine trip in some deep oceanic trench, and "Alias" is probably the most catchy with a quick beat and memorable chorus. So far, we think the stuff is pretty good. But only good enough that it will probably be on an adult alternative rock station in the near future.

[Shipwreck on MySpace]

Macromantics - Moments in Movement

At 15, Aussie Romy Hoffman toured as the bassist for Ben Lee’s pop/punk band Noise Addict in America while she simultaneously fell in love with hip-hop. Weird, yes. But so goes the story. Under the alias Macromantics, she just released her second hip-hop album Moments in Movement (Kill Rock Stars).

Upon first listen, you’ll want to compare her with Lady Sovereign. This would be unfair; we really just think it’s the accent. Macromantics’ tracks, though at times humorous, are much more mature and even political than the silliness for which Sov is known. Dotted with allusions to popular culture, Hoffman’s solid flows are memorable mostly because of the sheer speed with which she raps. But even after several listens, we’re not sure we get it. Maybe it's the off-kilter Australian accent. Or maybe it’s that every picture we’ve seen makes her look more like a country singer than a hip-hop artist. (Oh--she’s coming to Austin with Deerhoof March 9th).

[Macromantics on MySpace]