Show Preview and Review - Harlem's "Hippies"

Image from Matador

Harlem CD Release Party
Thursday, April 1
Mohawk (912 Red River Street)
All Ages, $8 in advance, $10 at the door
[info]

Boy, it seems like just yesterday that the boys from Harlem had released their debut LP, Free Drugs ;-), and told us in an interview that "unless somebody wants to help send us to South America or Australia, we will probably stay in Austin until spring." Spring sprung, the band stuck around, and now it's more than a year later and we're now talking about the release of the band's sophomore LP, Hippies, out on mighty Matador Records.

It's a nutso success story, come to think of it, though the band certainly paid their dues by throwing down anytime, anywhere - if there's a show these dudes decided not to play, we're not aware of it - house shows, the Hole in the Wall, The Mohawk, on a boat, even underwater, possibly.

A similarly strong (musical) work ethic courses through Hippies, a big sixteen-song tablet of primitive but exuberant rock and roll fun. Unlike their nervous sonic brethren The Strange Boys, Harlem's three-tiered vocals always sound sung through a half-smile at least. The name of the album is also meant to be playful, we can assume, as the aesthetic on Hippies predates the advent of flower power by a few critical years.

For a Matador release, Hippies sure as hell doesn't have the massive hundred-guitar overdubbing of the Chemistry of Common Life or the careful precision of I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Instead, signing to one of the most major of indie labels appears to have affected the band's production sensibilities not a whole hell of a lot, though the feedback that courses through single "Gay Human Bones" does sound pretty classic. For the most part, though, we've still got a scuzzy rhythm section, vocals screamed en masse and a tangle of guitars. Acoustic additions permeate the record and a glockenspiel makes several appearances, but the band stops short of indulgent studio experimentation or any sort of significant tinkering of what makes them an appealing live act.

Standout tracks include "Gay Human Bones," a giddy shout-along straight from garageland, and the lean "Friendly Ghost." The album slows for the morose "Three Legged Dog," and the quick "Be Your Baby" is unfettered and joyful. Hippies is a continuation of the formula concocted on Free Drugs ;-) - a freebase assortment of sharp but simplistic early rock grooves. It's not a record of surprises, but the missteps are few and the songs are pure.

Harlem is celebrating the release of Hippies tonight at the Mohawk alongside the similarly unhinged Golden Boys and Cowabunga Babes. Come preview (and purchase?) Hippies before the official release next Tuesday.

Harlem: [myspace]
Golden Boys: [myspace]
Cowabunga Babes: [myspace]