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Austinist's Will Mills Gets Dunked For Charity [Video]
COLOUR REVOLT
What’s the Deal: There’s a small college town in Mississippi where Colour Revolt is waiting like a swollen, porous sponge for someone to wring them out over the parched mouths of indie rock fans and critics alike. Right now, there is only the self-titled 6-song EP re-released in October of ‘06, but they’re currently in the final stages of recording their debut full-length.
The EP, which caught ears at Spin and Stereogum last year, is equal parts twinkling dreamscapes, desperate noise rock clamoring and raw indie-folk passed through the holes of a harmonica. Singer Jesse Coppenbarger’s vocals hit ground with the tonal tenacity of Tim Kasher or the exuberant yell of Isaac Brock, then calm in a clean-shaven fluidity. On “Mattresses Underwater”, the band exhales a wisp of vibes that could even crack the fragile-as-hell vocals. But, a few jangly layers of guitar licks later and Coppenbarger is hitting high notes hoarsely and giving us all a lesson in the philosophy of drowning. It’s fortunate that the imprint of Interscope records, Tiny Evil, has stumbled upon them because the EP's re-release has brought some attention to the quintet. However, let’s hope they let the boys keep their rough edges instead of trading them in for boy’s choir choruses and sugary sleek guitar production, turning them into another AFI.
Something Interesting: Everything from college to having nearly every piece of equipment stolen in Dallas to Hurricane Katrina has come between these boys and their rightful places in the indie spotlight. Hopefully, the upcoming album will prove that the journey was well worth the result.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Blood In Your Mouth” and “Our Homes Are Graves”
TACKS, THE BOY DISASTER
What’s the Deal: The theme here for this week’s entry is ‘bands who sound way too mature to have only released an EP.’ Austin’s Tacks, the Boy Disaster is a finely-tuned, artful indie pop machine that soars in the upper atmosphere and flutters down to earth with a light piano and crisp melody. Local press along with NPR and Paste magazine have had glowing things to say about the Oh, Beatrice EP, and you can expect reviews will only improve with their next release.
“Frozen Feet” is among the tracks worth noting with its glowing harmonies, skyward twinkles and ambient key effects like floating aimlessly in space. The vocals on the track begin with “The sky was folding in upon itself/you were wearing Orion’s Belt”, and nothing could be more fitting. Then, there’s “Matilda”, which begins with an Iron & Wine-inspired whisper, the rattle of a shaker and a slow guitar strum. The lo-fi haze lights up a bit when the piano picks up, but it remains a strongly sentimental tune.
Something Interesting: The band has a video for “Frozen Feet” by local musician Bill Baird and another for “Forget Me Not” by the local media production company Super! Alright!. Both have an charming, adept DIY sheen.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Paris”
Tacks, the Boy Disaster Official
Tacks, the Boy Disaster MySpace
Image of Tacks, the Boy Disaster courtesy of their MySpace; by J Vaclav and Paradigm Photography
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