Le Diamant Brut: Bad Weather California & Sad Accordions
What’s the Deal: They’re not really sad accordions. They’re more like moody guitars, or melancholic keys. But, either way this Austin five-piece’s sound is peppered with folk, indie and atmospheric noise while glistening then dripping and coated with a bittersweet emotional vapor. Three-fifths of the band moved to Austin and started playing together back in 2003, and since, the group released their full-length debut A Bad Year for the Sharons back in 2006, and they have an upcoming EP planned for release in the fall. You can check out the group for yourself on July 19th at Stubb’s inside with Jessica Lee Mayfield. After that, they embark on a tour of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and other more interesting states beyond.
“Fire/ash” off their LP has a dreamy, dreary feeling that starts with a hum, a guitar and a soft lyric. The song swirls and picks up momentum and melody, thrashes around a bit, then settles and fades.
Something Interesting: Members of Sad Accordions are also involved in other Austin music endeavors such as the Whiskey Priest, Zookeeper and Ovenbirds.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Bottomless”, “Down In The Valley” and “Endings”
Sad Accordions [MySpace]
What’s the Deal: There’s definitely a jammy vibe to this Denver rock group. But, any hint of cliché that assignment brings is quickly shooed off the porch by Chris Adolf and company’s skill at creating appealing music that flirts with several genres like reggae, lo-fi folk and psych rock. From carefree to spooky, their music features instruments like the pedal steel and bells along with the occasional well-placed group chorus.
You can hear these voices rise up well into the tune “New Religion”, which feels like a call to peaceful pastures and an accepting lifestyle. They sing the words, “let’s start up a brand new religion/let’s start up a whole new cult” in such a sunny, welcoming way with organ, shakers and sing alongs that they’ll have all of us signing up to drink the Kook-Aid in no time.
Something Interesting: The band frequently receives glowing praise for their live shows, with people claiming Bad Weather California is one of the best bands they’ve seen. If you like their recordings and want a reason to take a summer trip to Denver, there’s no better time than the weekend of July 25th. That’s when the city opens up for its Underground Music Showcase, featuring a ton of bands you’ve never heard of but should.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “We Were Young and We Got High”
Bad Weather California [Official]
Bad Weather California [MySpace]
