Indie Music | The Oomph Music Blog

Underground Music Showcase Diary–Day 2

Jul 242010

The UMS got into full swing Friday as more bands played in more venues. If you’re into this kind of thing (like me), it’s akin to being a kid in a whole row of candy stores. All you have to do is walk down South Broadway, and music of many different kinds pours out into the streets from the various indoor (and outdoor) stages.

For me, Friday evening for some reason was mainly retro night. I even Tweeted about the irony that indie music is supposed to be progressive, but most of what I heard sounded like it had come from 4 to 8 decades ago.

Forget 60’s retro–that’s so ’90s. No, this stuff sounded like it comes out of the Dust Bowl. (One of my Facebook friends joked about the recession stirring the collective memory.)

Forget electric guitar; that’s so early 2000’s. The bands that are truly chic today use string basses, banjos and mandolins. (I’m surprised no one has thought to throw in some washboard.)

My tongue is in my cheek, of course. Not all the indie bands are doing this, though the ones who are doing so are actually pretty good. The beauty of indie music is you’re free to play what inspires you, and there is a lot of diversity (I just happened upon a slew of acoustic acts tonight). I just couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of these twenty-somethings writing and playing music my grandparents would have liked.

The acts I caught all or part of tonight were:

Natural and the Disasters–indie folk/rock/something-or-other
Speakeasy Tiger–pop/rock with a retro ’80s glam vibe
Tim Bruns (frontman for Churchill)–country
Paper Bird–acoustic indie/folk with a bit of doo-wop thrown in
The Beaten Sea–alt-country/folk
The Centennial (formerly Meese)–atmospheric pop? (I covered this one for Examiner.com here.)
Carbon Choir–indie-rock

And my pick for the evening: Tim Bruns of Churchill.

Admittedly, I had some bias here; Churchill is my current favorite local band. But left to himself, Tim has a country-leaning style all his own, and his lyrics are intelligent, emotional and thought provoking.

Carbon Choir ran a close second–but I could only catch the last few minutes of their act.

More to come…

Underground Music Showcase Diary, Day 1

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Jul 232010

So this weekend in Denver, over 300 indie bands (both locals and passers-thru) are gracing 20-plus stages along South Broadway in the Underground Music Showcase. Often billed as Denver’s version of SXSW, it’s a great deal for music lovers. Forty bucks for four days of music. Not bad. I have a lot of friends playing the showcase this year, so between showing them some love and catching new bands I haven’t seen yet, I’ve got my boat loaded.

So what am I doing in my few minutes of down time? Blogging about it.

Seriously, I thought I’d keep a running diary through the four days, giving a few of my impressions, and a “top pick” for my favorite act each night. So here goes…

DAY 1 (Thursday, July 22)

The UMS box office is in a vacant lot next to one of the many venues on S. Broadway. I pick up my wristband, and discover that it’s one of those small plastic you-can-drink-in-the-bars kind of bands that is NOT refastenable, so if you take it off, you ruin it. And it’s good for all four days, and you HAVE to wear it, not just carry it around. This means I have to either keep it on for four days, or figure a way to re-fasten it day to day. I choose option 2.

Opening night is the slowest, with only a few venues and artists starting off. Still, I’m able to catch all or part of the sets of five acts, and I’m already impressed with the diversity just within the music I heard. These are the acts I caught, and the best genre that describes them for me:

Alan Baird Project–indie rock
Chella Negro–Americana
Sarah Slaton–indie/acoustic
Paean–experimental/atmopheric
Jeremy Messersmith–indie/acoustic

My pick of the night: Paean

I had some prior experience with Paean, having reviewed their record. The down side of their set was that they are a larger band and were packed onto a tiny stage like so many sardines, and some of the bandmates had to have their backs to the crowd just to fit onstage. Also, the vocals were too low in the mix, and when I could hear the lead singer, it was that strange, half-singing-half-screaming, I-am-in-great-pain kind of sound I’ve talked about before. But there is a passion and vibe in the music of this band that is absolutely captivating, with songs that tend to start minimalistically, and crescendo to a fever pitch. Once again, I found myself forgiving the vocals in favor of the music.

More to come!

Carbon Choir–No Carbon Copy

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Jul 102010

In the many attempts of indie music to break the mold created by the mainstream and come up with something new, I hear a lot of experimental rock that sounds more like chaos than anything else. When you get a lot of these bands exploring all this new ground, ironically, they all tend to run together in their experimentalism.

But when Denver-Boulder band Carbon Choir sent me a copy of their latest release, High Beams, I was refreshingly surprised by their particular flavor of atmospheric rock. Yes, it’s out of the mainstream, and yes, it’s experimental. But it’s also highly intelligent music, blending reflective falsetto vocals with ethereal guitars and intricate (yet accurate) rhythms in a sonic mix that actually works. You’ll probably hear Radiohead and Coldplay influences, but this is definitely not a carbon copy band.

I look forward to hearing these guys play live, and since they are local, I expect I will soon.

Take a listen for yourself.

Carbon Choir: “Measure of Your Madness”

Download the record from itunes here: High Beams – Carbon Choir

Two Bedroom Apartment from Danielle Ate the Sandwich

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Jun 302010

Ft. Collins indie singer/songwriter Danielle Ate the Sandwich has gotten a lot of national attention from her quirky YouTube videos, her witty stage presence and her ukulele-folky sound.

Tuesday, July 6 is the official release of her third self-released record Two Bedroom Apartment. It’s a definite expansion for Danielle, especially with the addition of several studio musicians for the project. In a recent conversation, Danielle told me the experience grew her musically: “They opened my eyes to what my songs COULD BE with the assistance of others. I usually shut people out of the process and have a hard time trusting people enough or a hard time with sharing the credit. Working with the other musicians made me talk about the songs and think about them and hear them in new ways and let go a little bit.”

This is especially true of the song “Silver and Gold”, Danielle’s personal favorite on the record. “That’s one of the songs that CAME ALIVE with the other instruments on the track. When I play it solo, it’s so empty–knowing what it sounds like on the record, it’s hard to even play it when it’s just me.”

Two Bedroom Apartment is available for pre-order now at Danielle’s website.

Danielle Ate the Sandwich: Silver and Gold

Good, Bad, Ugly, Modern, Retro: The Hollyfelds

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May 212010

I don’t know if there’s an official genre called retro-country. (If there isn’t, I’m sure we could just make it up. You can do that these days, you know.)

Anywho…if retro-country is a genre, that’s the best way to describe the sound of Denver locals The Hollyfelds. (That’s FELDS, not FIELDS.) Hearing their music and/or seeing them play live definitely reminds you of days gone by, when country was country-western, not just rock & roll put out to pasture.

And yet, there’s a modern element in there as well. It doesn’t sound exactly like old-school country; there’s a distinct alt-indie vibe in there. Almost like an indie band went back in time to the fifties, attended a hoe-down (the retro meaning–keep it clean, folks) and came back sounding like this. Or maybe the other way around, like a 50’s country band came to the future, picked up some alternative vibes, and went back…well, make up your own mind. You get the idea. Either way, they are a fun band to listen to.

True to the retro vibe, the Hollyfelds are releasing a two-song “EP” this weekend, entitled, Lo Bueno, Lo Malo, Lo Feo, on 7″ vinyl record–just like the 45-speed records my kid once thought were just oversized CDs. AND…true to the modern vibe that is also part of The Hollyfelds…the two songs will also be available by digital download. You can hear one of the songs below.

The Hollyfelds: “How To Be Gone”

BTW…that EP title. It sort of makes me want to whistle the theme song of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. In Spanish.

If you’re in Denver this weekend, you can catch the Hollyfeld’s EP release party this Saturday, May 22, at the Meadowlark Bar. Details are posted on my weekend picks on Examiner.com.

Snow & Voices: A Beautiful, Quiet Storm

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May 152010

Hailing from LA, Snow & Voices is the creative partnership of vocalist Lauri Kranz and multi-instrumentalist Jebin Bruni. Their third effort, Anything that Moves, is set to release on May 25.

Downtempo, atmospheric and haunting, Anything that Moves is a keyboard-heavy collection of songs, carried by simple drum and bass and overlaid by Kranz’s beautifully understated vocals. A roster of top LA musicians round out the recording as well.

Check out the song, “I Am a Storm” below; see what you think.

Snow & Voices: “I Am a Storm”

Music for Animals

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May 062010

Hailing from San Francisco, Music for Animals has been gaining traction on the west coast for the past few years. Their hooky, danceable pop/rock vibe has drawn comparisons to The Killers. As a songwriter, I’m always looking for the “hook” in songs or in a sound. I also look for the balance between creativity and accessibility.

I don’t know how original the sound is, but I think this song off the band’s EP is pretty catchy. But don’t take my word for it–see what you think.

Music for Animals: “Nervous in NY”

Alternatives and Experiments–Sam Phillips

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May 032010

Okay, show of hands…how many of you hundreds dozens ten readers knows who Sam Phillips is?

Hint: It’s not the guy from Sun Records. He’s been dead for years.

No, Sam Phillips is a girl. To be more specific, she’s an eclectic singer/songwriter in a sub-genre some call “lo-fidelity”, kind of a raw, sparse sound that almost sounds like something out of Sun Records. Sam Phillips was once married to T-Bone Burnett, who did the music for Walk the Line and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, as well as his own recordings. (If you’re familiar with his music, you get an idea what Sam Phillips sounds like; heck, you probably already know Sam. I’m rambling now…)

Anyhow, I’ve been a distant fan of Sam Phillips for years, and followed her journey ever since she renounced her previous work as contemporary Christian artist Leslie Phillips in the late 1980s. As Sam Phillips, she’s continued to write and record out of the mainstream, gained a loyal following over time, and even played a role in Die Hard With a Vengeance. And more recently, she’s taken on a whole new experiment–which is the purpose for this post.

As I’ve said before, the musical landscape is in a huge transition right now, the main catalysts being the rise of indie music and the easy access to digital downloads. More and more artists are realizing that they must find other ways to make a living than just selling their music (since it’s so easy to download and share it now). I’m always intrigued to find out what artists are doing to adapt, and Sam Phillips has been trying something totally different.

She’s dropped her record label, gone “indie”, and started a music subscription service on her website called “LongPlay.” For 52 dollars a year (that’s a dollar a week, for you people counting on your fingers and toes), subscribers get five freshly recorded EPs throughout the year, a full-length CD at the end of the year, and access to other interesting materials along the way as Sam gives her fans a window into her ongoing creative process. I personally like the idea because it’s more than just marketing music–it creates a living dialogue between the artist and her fans. It will be the most recorded material in one year that Sam has ever done, and it’s a true experiment.

But it seems to be working.

The latest EP, Magic for Everyone, has garnered such a huge response that on April 20, Sam put it up for public release as a download for sale to the public. You can sample it and buy it on Amazon or itunes.

Whether or not you dig Sam’s lo-fidelity vibe, this is a creative venture for a highly creative artist. It will be interesting to see what comes next.

Buy “Magic For Everybody” from Amazon

Download from itunes:

This YouTube vid is not from the EP–I just think it’s a cool song.

Feel the Paean: “Songs for Us to Sing”

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Apr 272010

To hear them describe themselves, Paean (pronounced, “PAY-in”) is more of a collective than a band–a cooperative community of friends and family. The central rendezvous point seems to be the Maddocks Family Barn, just up the road from here in Ft. Collins, Colorado. It was here that the creative madness of Dave Maddocks eventually grew into a circle of talented multi-instrumentalists and other creative types, culminating in the band’s latest DIY project, Songs for Us to Sing.

Paean has definitely developed an eclectic sound; actually, it sounds a bit like Appalachian bluegrass got on the wrong bus and wound up at Woodstock. Filled with moments of intense melencholy, I guess you could also think of it as acoustic emo. But whatever you call it, it seems to work. Songs for Us to Sing strikes that difficult balance between a consistent thread on the record and diversity in the songs. In fact, I had a hard time selecting one or two songs that give a clear reflection of what the band sounds like, because each is distinct. It really is a sit-down-and-listen-to-the-whole-thing kind of record, and the songwriting and overall musicianship are both quite strong.

That said, there’s just one element to the record that made me go, “HUH?”…the lead vocals of Dave Maddocks. In the mix, the vocals sit under the music quite often, but when they come to the front, it sounds like something akin to panicked hyperventilating. I literally was asking myself, Does he MEAN to sound like that? Dave’s voice has been described as a “sad voice;” I guess that covers it. But the interesting thing is that his voice didn’t make me want to turn off the music; instead, it made me want to keep listening, if only to satisfy my curiosity. Oh, well…Bob Dylan can’t sing to save his life, and look where he wound up.

If you’re in the Denver area, Paean is celebrating its CD release at the Hi-Dive Friday night, along with Bad Weather California and Mehko and Ocean Birds. Go check ’em out for yourself. Meanwhile, here are a couple of the tracks from the record; you can purchase the record at the band’s MySpace, if you like it. Either way…tell me what you think about the music.

Paean: “Cut Open”
Paean: “Floyd Brown”

Honey from an Open Hand

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Apr 242010

Open Hand, an indie rock band from LA, is exploring new territory with their album Honey. While their previous work tends toward straight out jam-band rock, this record seems to venture into a more atmospheric, progressive, experimental vibe–even incorporating some hip hop elements. Additional contributors to the record are Matt Talbot of Hum and Christopher “Kid” Reid from Kid ‘n’ Play.