Austinist Show Preview & Giveaway: Frog Eyes, Evangelicals, and White Hinterland at Club DeVille

image from Absolutely Kosher

Frog Eyes, Evangelicals, and White Hinterland
Thursday, June 12
Club DeVille (900 Red River St)
$8, doors at 8
[info] | [tickets]

Everyone and their brother has heard of Wolf Parade. And most of their brothers have also heard of Sunset Rubdown. And people here and there and all about have heard of acts such as Destroyer, Handsome Furs, and Swan Lake. So why has Frog Eyes, yet another band somehow related to the Wolf Parade family ( *see the end of this article for the ridiculous relation), withstood the onslaught of recognition granted to their brethren, coming out clean and eccentric with most of their anonymity intact? Well, a pretty good guess would be that Frog Eyes' lantern-jawed lead man, Carey Mercer, appears to be a bit of a crazy bastard, and that they predate the Wolf Parade phenomenon, and therefore weren't privy to all the hype which comes from "popular band offshoot status." But if you listen really carefully to Sunset Rubdown's latest album, you can hear Mercer's influence all over it, from the freedom to rant and rave, to the unrelenting energy, to the sheer madman brilliance of it all. So, if you want to see a man who has had an influence on a whole bunch o' good, while not truly getting his own due, tune in to Club DeVille on Thursday.

Playing just before Frog Eyes is up-and-coming Oklahoma outfit Evangelicals, who sound nothing like they'd come from Oklahoma, unless you count a somewhat-discernible Flaming Lips influence cropping up every now and then. Using reverb-laden vocals (and a propensity for theatrical falsetto), a high-in-the-mix guitar, and a willingness to go a bit wacky, then a bit smooth, then a bit hand-clappy, all in the same song, Evangelicals should be a good act to see, especially since they're right on the edge of headliner status themselves.

And setting up the whole big business is White Hinterland, which, despite their spot at the beginning of the bill, have quite a nice sound of their own, mixing in general adorableness, strings, piano, jazzy drumming, and fluctuating song structures to make them a reason to show up before it gets too late in the night. Altogether, this looks to be a really, really fascinating show, and one that demonstrates that Club DeVille is becoming just as legitimate a venue as its more venerable Red River neighbors.

* Spencer Krug, one of the two frontmen for Wolf Parade, and the brain behind Sunset Rubdown, has contributed to the Frog Eyes project both in the studio and occasionally on the road. Also, Carey Mercer is one of the three-headed monster, along with Destroyer's Dan Bejar and Krug, who comprise Swan Lake.

Follow the jump for a chance to win a pair of tickets!