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J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
When Sound Team—one of Austin's more recent ill-fated major label breakthrough contenders—split up in 2007, the two principal songwriters Bill Baird and Matt Oliver went their separate ways and, as principal songwriters often do, formed new vehicles for their creative impulses. Baird had already been working as Sunset as early as 2006, and he continues to consistently release music and perform around town with that group. Until recently though, Oliver had been flying under the radar a bit. After playing a few shows earlier this year with his new trio, initially named The Minotaur, he renamed the band TV Torso (which, perhaps not incidentally, is the title of a Sound Team song), and… continued to fly underneath the radar. Until late last month that is: with a move copped straight from the Use Your Illusion playbook, Oliver & co. dropped two 7” singles on the same day. It was worth the wait for their recorded debut; both singles, whose a-sides are "The Black Mask" and "Days of Being Wild," are excellent displays of moody, intelligent, fuzzed-out pop, and are more direct than much of Oliver’s previous work with Sound Team.
The Black Mask b/w The Eye In the Pyramid is the stronger single, but only by a hair, and the a-side is the best of the four songs spread across the two records. A beautifully crafted tune, it climbs and descends repeatedly without ever really reaching a peak, choosing instead to restlessly ride along a current of nervous energy, increasing in intensity until finally and somewhat abruptly collapsing. "The Days of Being Wild" begins with a strummed acoustic guitar, and eases into an upbeat but melancholy pop exercise that examines a fractured friendship, with Oliver wondering if reconciliation is on the cards. Overall, the four songs presented here are consistent enough to have been released together as a 12” EP, so why the double-but-separate 7” treatment? It’s probably a moot question. The format may be a novelty, but the music is not---across the two singles, the chord progressions and melodies are sophisticated and refined, and the band avoids slick production values in favor of a fuzzy, rough-hewn sound that suits their songs perfectly. TV Torso is currently mixing their debut LP, and based on the strength of these singles, we’ll anxiously anticipate its release.
TV Torso [Official]
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Finally saw them at the WOXY.com party a couple of weeks ago and LOVED their sound.