Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mailbag:: These Hands, Sam Lowry, Mantasy
First things first... how about some new music from These Hands? Can do. Michael recorded a complete body of work on March 1st/2009 and has sent over the lead track, No Distractions.
I can’t speak for the rest of the appropriately titled - March 1st - but No Distractions is an almost tribal jam. Dark piano chords, a big kick drum and ominous tones replace the pleasantries we embraced on songs like Zoe Montreal, but the way he adds the acoustic guitar that dances in the distance is strangely mesmerizing. As it plays over and over, you can actually feel yourself decompressing and your thoughts starting to consume you.
Sam Lowry paints a grim, but beautiful picture. Honestly, I'm not sure why more people haven't embraced his dark, extremely personal songs, but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time. His baritone vocals remind me of a southern Matt Berninger delivering stark narratives with the honesty of Leonard Cohen.
He's about to release his new record - With/Without - a collection of reworked older material and fresh new ones, half record (in one day) with a new band after only a few rehearsals and the rest just Sam and his trusty guitar. It's gripping, gripping stuff.
He's going to be heading into my old stomping grounds - Pittsburgh - in support of Langhorne Slim. I'm hoping Nicolette goes and takes some killer photos, as Club Cafe is the perfect setting for both young artists.
Here are some of the dates:
Mar 13 @ Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 14 @ The Grog Shop - Cleveland Heights, OH
Mar 15 @ The Pike Room - Pontiac, MI
Mar 16 @ Schubas Tavern - Chicago, IL
Finally, we have local boys Mantasy. Honestly, with a band name like that and the associated cover art, I was a bit leery of even putting We Killed a Guy in my stereo. I'm not much of crossing punk with spastic, rough new wave styles, nor do I really appreciate cleverness like naming songs "Fuck Sakes" or "Shit Slug", but we will review anything a local band sends us (for better or worse) and surprisingly, I got into some of the tracks on the record.
Don't get me wrong, I couldn't hit >> fast enough on quite a few tracks and it was waaaay too long - 17 tracks is just simply too much for any band to pull off and the band draws from the same sounds a lot - but I was surprised by how listenable this record really ended up being. That might not be the type of compliment the band was looking for, but considering the cover art almost made me throw the record in the trash, it says something. Gorno Mob is catchy, the aforementioned Fuck Sakes (any song that drop Reebok Pumps is ok with me) throws some nice keyboard and the chorus of Meat Legs sticks in your head even if you don't want it to.
They are warming the stage for Monotonix and Myles Deck @ Gus' on May 15th, and I'd wager they will be nutty as fuck.
MP3::
Mantasy - Meat Legs
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