Results tagged “wovenbones”

Two is a magic number when applied to garage bands. This year has seen a glut of talented duos ripping it up - WAVVES and Lullabye Arkestra are just a few examples - and similarly, the Vancouver band Japandroids have been pushing their own "maximal," duo-driven agenda since 2006.

The Horrors strut into Emo’s on Saturday in support of their Mercury Prize nominated second album Primary Colours. The English five-piece was all the hype across the pond a few years ago on the strength of an eponymous EP and the debut full-length Strange House which featured a not-to-be-missed video in “Sheena Is A Parasite.” With Primary Colours, the band wanders further into the textured terrain that is atmospheric psychedelia, expanding and evolving its sound and successfully avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump.

This is a show we’ve been anxiously anticipating since it was announced last month. San Juan, Puerto Rico isn’t exactly renowned for its punk scene, but over the past two years Davila 666 has been making a serious effort to change that. The band’s 2008 self-titled debut on garage punk’s torch-bearing label In The Red is a dynamic, near-perfect slab of garage rock, laced with singer Carlitos Davila’s irresistible pop sensibilities. Their current US tour has been knocking calcetines off all over the country, and you can bet Emo’s inside will degenerate into a raucous, and very loud, dance party when Davila 666 hits the stage tonight.

Now this, this is going to be some kind of unhinged, goofy, and indubitably fun time. Atlanta’s the Coathangers are in town again, and this time around they’re supporting their new record and first for Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze label, the aptly titled Scramble. For a band that essentially began as a one-off joke at a house party, the Coathangers have gotten a lot of mileage out of a crass abortion reference and a sound that's somewhere between vintage Athens new wave and a ramshackle Kathleen Hanna tribute/novelty act.

What’s the Deal: It almost doesn’t make sense. This guy should be a huge mainstream success. He’s played with John Mayer and David Gray, and he even shares the melodically raspy vocal style of the former. His recordings are near spotless, with gorgeous acoustics and catchy choruses. It’s got to be his total lack of interest in writing meaningless, rhyming lyrics for the club about a girl and how her body is a “wonderland” Instead, his songs, which stay true to the storytelling style of folk songwriting, involve subject matter that’s much more serious and at times pretty dark. He sings about the Iraq war, his brother’s drug addiction, cancer, vengeance and even the Holocaust. There’s a definite dichotomy of light and dark, heavy and weightless going on in his music. The words are weighty, the sounds are airy. He sings some about God and an afterlife, but with a certain amount of fear, honesty and vulnerability. The self-destructive and fragile nature of the human condition is a major theme.

Despite the bluntly, perhaps cynically attention-grabbing name, Holy Fuck have earned their position by figuring out what hasn't been done before and doing it very well.

Cast aside your midweek malaise and head to Emo’s on Wednesday to reinvigorate, courtesy of four talented (and somewhat under the radar) local acts on the inside stage. First up, shake your fist to noisy pop-punk from Sex Advice. Mocktigers follow with a polished dark-wave sound that contains essential deep, gruff vocals, shimmering guitars, and pulsating rhythms. Third on the bill are Woven Bones, who will undoubtedly turn up the volume a tad higher with worthy blasts of shoegaze and psychedelia. The band released a split 7" with Jacuzzi Boys on Needless Records recently; buy it via the label’s MySpace page. Dikes of Holland round off the night with still more rock ‘n’ roll.