Ideal Soul Mart Video Premiere Show

Ideal Soul Mart are playing at the Mohawk on Thursday, March 4th, partly in celebration of their new music video for “Wrk” (which will reportedly premiere at the event.) Silent Land Time Machine and My Milky Way Arms are also on the bill. Show starts at 10 p.m. and is $6/$8 for under 21.

TV Torso and Corto Maltese

There’s a great local lineup at Emo’s tomorrow night. Jesse Woods kicks everything off with his brand of funky folk-rock, then Corto Maltese will melt your face with their swagger. Finally, TV Torso will continue to rock you into the night. The show is 18+, doors are at 8pm, it’s only $8 and I better see you there!

Stereo Is A Lie at the Parish

Stereo Is A Lie, Austin’s own Oasis, are playing tonight at the Parish as a part of Dart Music International‘s monthly music showcase. Dart’s featured ally for the event is Grounded In Music, a program offering instruction for young Austinites (and Philadelphians) in guitar, drums, keyboards, hip hop, and songwriting. Nick Hirsch opens at 8:30pm, and Stereo Is A Lie hits the stage at 9:30pm.

Review – soudah

From the first swift and breezy piano chords to the final song, “Dolphins,” the new album by soudah reflects its oceanic influence.  soudah’s singer-songwriter mastermind Jason Soudah has a voice fit for the memorable pop songs he pens – at times smooth, and at others forceful and earnest.  His bandmates help to fill out the sound, with layers of guitars, drums and even the rich voice of a cello on some songs.

Longtime fans of soudah will recognize some tracks, like the opener “Crushed.”  The song, about the inner-struggle you feel when trying to forget a person you’ve loved, crescendos and settles again like rolling waves.  “Six Hours,” long included on EPs and demos, has become a fully-fleshed, gorgeous love song, with great movement and bright chords.  “Wallowing,” a song that’s already received airplay on independent radio stations, is one of those that features the cello prominently.  The instrument and Soudah’s voice help to set the mood the title implies; it’s a song about heartbreak, loss and that dark place you go to when you’re frustrated and exhausted.

“Gasoline” might give you flashbacks to John Mayer’s “No Such Thing.”  It’s got that peppy acoustic guitar rhythm, coupled with bouncy drums and a super-catchy chorus.  It’s one of the stars of the album, a fun and upbeat earworm with a positive message.  “Underneath” keeps the pace up, with the piano driving the song forward.  The breakdown at a little over a minute includes pretty bursts of harmony, with Soudah’s voice layered over itself.  “Paint Your Own Dream” is an inspirational song with an intimate vocal styling, even whispered in places, that seems to almost whisp by.  A longtime favorite of mine closes the record.  “Dolphins” is one of the slower songs, which suits its lyrical content; it’s that moment when you see a long-lost friend, when you fog up with memories and everything seems to almost stop around you.  It’s a beautiful song with an undercurrent of melancholy, that realization that this person is no longer the one from your past.

Jason Soudah not only manages to write great pop songs, but interesting ones; it’s hard to do these days.  As a band, soudah are musically tight and play these delicate tunes with respect and care.  With relatable lyrics and memorable melodies, you might just get swept away.

“Listen Local” Podcast

A while back, I created a short-run Podcast called “Listen Local.”  It featured music and interviews with some of Austin’s up-and-coming bands, and I wanted to share it with you here.  To subscribe, just follow this link.  You’ll hear from Collapsing Horse, Royal Forest (formerly Loxsly), Ethan Kennedy and Ideal Soul Mart. I’m hoping to re-start this project in the future, but for now just enjoy the archives!

Ideal Soul Mart at Lambert’s

Ideal Soul Mart (one of my favorite local bands) is playing at Lambert’s tomorrow with Wiretree and headliners the Pons.  It’s only $5, and is all ages – check it out!

The Mosh Lives II Tour

The Mosh Lives II Tour will be at Emo’s Wendesday, February 10, with Emmure, Terror, After the Burial, Miss May I, Thick as Blood and Falsetta.  Doors are at 6 and advance tickets are only $13, a steal for such a great show!

Interview – JBM

It is rare to find a performer capable of silencing a room within their first song; someone who quiets everyone with a heartfelt tune that is given, like a gift, to the crowd.  If you have a chance to watch JBM, the musical moniker of Jesse Marchant, you will find just that.  Marchant crafts delicate, engrossing songs that he performs with calming effortlessness.  He self-released his debut album, not even in July, in early 2009, but it will receive a well-deserved publicity boost when it is re-released through Partisan Records in April.  You might also recognize Marchant’s voice from the gorgeous and heartbreaking songs in the movie, Lovers in a Dangerous Time.  Marchant is currently on a North American tour with Sondre Lerche, but took some time out to chat on the phone after his soundcheck in Tallahassee.

Fleshtones Doc at the Ritz

Tomorrow at the Alamo Ritz downtown, the Fleshtones documentary, “Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard Is Full” will show at 9:45pm. The trailer looks fantastic, and the doc itself includes Peter Buck from R.E.M., Clem Burke from Blondie and Handsome Dick Manitoba from The Dictators. Find more info and reserve tickets here.

Royal Forest (formerly Loxsly) at the Independent

On Saturday, Loxsly performed for the last time under that moniker; henceforth, you can refer to the guys as Royal Forest.  They ripped through ten songs with tons of energy, sounding tighter than ever on stuff from Tomorrow’s Fossils, plus a lot of new material that will be released on an EP in March.

A sizeable crowd had gathered by the time the band took the stage at 10pm; many were there to see headlining Japanese act, Polysics.  Royal Forest unquestionably converted new fans; there was head nodding, raised “rock on” horns, and a bit of body shaking scattered throughout the audience.

The group kicked everything off with a new song.  Reminiscent of some Fossils tunes, there was still a slightly different vibe to it; other new stuff pushed the band in even more varied directions.  The second new song they played had an almost bluesy swing, and the breakdown at the end saw lead singer Cody Ground really rocking out; it wouldn’t be the last time the front man would bang his head this night.  “Battalions” brought quick flashes of fall-colored leaves onto the large screen to the audience’s right of the stage, and people turned to watch as RF kicked into this guitar-heavy tune.  “Lamprey Eels” might have been the most animated the band has ever been (or maybe it seemed that way because I was moved to leap around; either way, the resulting adrenaline rush was fantastic).  A new song followed, changing the pace of things.  It was a lounge-pop tune, and at places almost felt bossa nova.  “The Manual That You Wrote” inspired concert-goer Raquel Villarreal to remark, “They’re a bulldozer, man!” as the group shot through the rhythmically-tricky tune.  Over time, that has definitely proven to be a trademark Loxsly/Royal Forest signature:  the group continuously shows off its musical ability by navigating complex rhythms with seeming ease.  They finished their set with a Neil Young cover, “Borrowed Tune.”  It’s become somewhat of a staple in their set list, and they do it justice every time.

The band formerly known as Loxsly has been at this game for 7 years, but with its rebirth as Royal Forest, there is a sense of change just over the horizon.  Perhaps, finally, more people will know the name of these Austin natives, and be able to enjoy the beautiful, cool, intricate indie-rock tunes they create.