The Ides of February

This week on Aux Deck, we’ve paid off ambition’s debt and really dug down for some great listens. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

A certain sense of grandeur and a narrative lyrical style, augmented by their indie-rock-meets-horns sound, brings this lush track by Great Caesar to the forefront of their eponymous EP. The instrumentals are simple; just horns, bass, drums, and guitars, but masterfully arranged. The song lures you in with muted strumming, a snare, and gently swelling brass. But as the lyrics near their conclusion, the drum quickens to a rat-a-tat-tat marching beat, the horns crescendo to sweeping overtures that pause just long enough to allow the songs great hook (“pack up your bags and fly, we’ve got some dreaming before we die”) to sink in, and the the guitar builds to powerful downward strumming. The innocuous intro and tumultuous, resounding end accomplish the twin goals of first drawing you in and then knocking you out masterfully. And the uncommon, narrative style of the song allows the instruments to do just that. Telling the story of two children on a great journey, who, faced with impossible obstacles, eventually triumph through simple faith in themselves, the clear beginning-middle-ending to the lyrics lend a clear beginning-middle-ending to the music, combining for a layered, abundant song that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
–James Sutton

If last week’s single wasn’t enough, I’ve brought you another velvet-cloaked single with a vintage sound, one that plugs your nose and goes down surprisingly smooth for a fresh and local indie outfit. Everything about this single is seething with daring ingenuity, the originality of the track burning through the late-sixties essence and branding it with a blazing, animated fire that ignites the whole single with a scorching, torrid vibe. SF band The Soft White Sixties have taken the dreaded sophomore slump and spat in its face with their 2013 album Get Right, searing their talent into every single and instilling it with their unique, neon sound. City Lights is the real flashbulb single off of this record, and it truly encapsulates the savvy style of the band. The track is kickstarted by a muted, rythmic bass, but luminous vocals and a clear drum beat soon come in to polish off the track and buff off the hard edges. With the late addition of a whiny, off-tempo guitar, the refined product comes beaming with perfect simplicity and just a touch of authentic genius. The Soft White Sixties may not be reinventing the wheel, but their version of it certainly runs without any semblance of a snag. Who needs anything else?
–Andrew Wilcox

Do you ever have that moment, when you are driving or walking on a sunny day and everything is working out well for you, and you think to yourself that this is like a movie? Well this might just be something I do, but in any case this would be the song in the background. Cicadas by The Wild Maps has a road trip, fun, nostalgic sound. This song has the ability to put you into a great mood so fast. It starts out with a tinny old train station sound, and then in comes the harmonica which adds another element of this train sound. Not long after, comes in the the vocalist with a deep, bluesy voice. The song continues with this rambling sound and incorporates lyrics like “caroline is never sweet unless she shuts her sailor mouth and starts to sing.” And if that hasn’t sold you on the song, how many bands do you know with a: mandolin, tambourine, organ, trombone, harmonica, banjo, and ukulele?
–Delia Badger

Cliché Crashers

What’s up AuxDeck readers? This week, all four of us came to the table with a classic, conventional track- only, each of them has a unique twist. Be it a raucous, energetic high school band that happens to contain a cellist; a surprisingly youthful take on an old, aging classic (while still sticking to its southern roots); a velvet 70’s rock vibe wrapped in shiny, new San Franciscan vellum; or a conventional, laid back American folk track written and performed in a distinctly British manner, each of these tracks have been bent into something special and extraordinary. That’s the reason we love them. We hope that you will too.

– Andrew

Sirkka Miller, the lead singer of Whether the Empty Storm, wants to tell you a story– and she obviously has a lot to sing about. Her voice is like eating a TicTac; it’s sweet and mellow and then suddenly fills in and gets more powerful and raw. Will Moon keeps the drum beat crisp and clean; you’ll hear it come in after the glossy bass entrance by Evan Linsey. Whether the Empty Storm also includes a cellist, Mari Ma. The cello adds richer, fuller sound to the song and is especially powerful during the chorus. Have I mentioned that this band came out with this album while still in high school?? They wrote and produced it themselves. Whether the Empty Storm is what every high school garage rock band aspires to be.
-Ruby Lanier

This one starts off with a bang- the first sound that hits your ears is a deliciously dark, smooth, and irresistibly sexy guitar anthem that stains the track with a grimy, seductive mood and leaves it dripping in a caliginous gloom. Such are the stylings of Hanni El Khatib, an SF native with a knack for spitting out dusky, dirty tracks; one that is put on raucous display in his latest record, Moonlight. The entire album reeks of a rank, rancid grunge steeped in a musty cigarette smoke, taking no prisoners with its deep metal imprints and a Hendrix-esque bleeding guitar that mars each track with a monstrous and unrelenting pressure. It’s this obvious appreciation of old school rock and blues that gives his music its pure and vintage vibe, but it’s suffused with just enough modern angst to emerge from the vintage mist and form a unique aura of its own. The Teeth doesn’t need much describing; it’s just a hot, hard, and heavy rock n’ roll song that’s best played as loud as possible with your eyes closed and your head banging. Inside and out, a solid track.
-Andrew Wilcox

There’s a stigma associated with cover songs. Covers are often written off as simply imitations of another’s work, or as a mere reflection that’s somehow lesser than the original. But Barnstar!’s take on Josh Ritter’s gloomy, methodical tune “Darlin” shows us how covers can simultaneously accentuate what’s best about a song while also taking it to new,inspiring heights. Giving the original song’s slow start a jolt of life with bright guitar chords and a gently rolling banjo, and then building to melodic mandolin riffs and wistful, dark fiddling, the band stays true to the song’s bones while making sure the track is undeniably by Barnstar!. However, the instrumentals by no means overpower the sparse, wistful lyrics,and that’s what makes this song great. Delivering an impassioned plea to the woman spurning him, Mark Erelli begs her to “let me prove myself”. The song builds to its conclusion, the strings fade away, and you hear the loneliness and melancholy in the line, “I’m just out here ringing bells”. Then the whole band comes in for the final chorus, but that’s what stays with you- the moment of calm where old song meets new, where the loneliness of Josh Ritter combines with the depth of Barnstar!, creating a tune that’s not just Barnstar! doing Ritter, but where the best of both worlds combine.
-James Sutton

I must admit, although listening to folk music is not always considered a cool or hip thing, I’ve always had a soft spot for it, and this album is no exception. Bedroom Hero, by Liz Lawrence, a young British singer-songwriter is very folk pop-esque. Her voice is quite beautiful, and this song really shows it off. It starts with just her and a guitar plucking, and as the song progresses a piano comes in to keep a beat a little more. It sounds like Ingrid Michaelson, or Sara Bareilles, with a feel-good nature and simplicity that work well together. Since this album there have been two others, and we can only hope that there will be more down the road.
-Delia Badger

South by Northeast

In this week’s issue of Aux Deck, James and Andrew, first head north to report on a smart, post-punk act based somewhere in NYC, and then cross the East River to Brooklyn, to give a listen to an alt-country-rock-jazz band with a music-school pedigree. Meanwhile Delia and Ruby take the deep dive, way down south, to bring you two fun, indie-pop bands from Tennessee, each with its own approach. Enjoy!

Sometimes, simple is just better. New York City boys Zula seem to have stolen that motto and run with it with their debut 2013 album This Hopeful, which is filled with a seemingly loose array of raw, lucid tracks; but underneath the coarse facade of the album one can dig and find something much more than a grungy riff or catchy hook, something heavier and more profound. It’s this magnetic mixture of youthful energy and a smooth, sophisticated undertone that give this single, Twin Loss, it’s enigmatic appeal. The song stands as a paragon of simple and beautiful songwriting, with a meek, foreshadowing bassline that steps up to dominate the track after teaming up with a loud and sickly sloppy guitar. Powerful, emotional vocals apply the finishing blow to a track that was already in no need of something special, arriving at a finished project that none of us know what to do with, except listen to again. And again. Simple.
–Andrew Wilcox

It’s easy to label Lake Street Dive as a “vintage style” jazz quartet, but an exploration of their latest album, Bad Self Portraits, shows much more depth than that immediate takeaway. Their fifth track, You Go Down Smooth exemplifies what this album does best: using just enough garage rock and R&B/soul influences to complete their refreshing, upbeat sound. Opening with slightly crunchy, rhythmic guitar chords which provide the foundation for the whole song, the virtuoso singing of frontwoman Rachael Price and bright, cheery, backing vocals quickly take over. Making every note and run seem easy, the training and musical acumen gained from Price’s attendance at the prestigious New England Conservatory (where the band met) really shows in her voice. The rest of the band’s education also comes through in the literate, witty lyrics. (The group writes collaboratively.) Rounded out by the energetic drumming of Mike Calabrese and a brassy horn section, this track really gets your hands clapping and your feet tapping. In a genre that often trends toward the overdone and pretentious, you can tell this group simply enjoys the hell out of making their kind of music, making this a great, charming listen!
– James Sutton

Parachute Musical is an indie-pop-rock band from Nashville. Everything Is Working Out Fine In Some Town is the band’s second album (it came out in 2008). This song, Dear Jacksonville, the one cued up, is driven by a simple, compelling piano part. The lyrics are prominent as well. The song starts off with the lead singer and piano, then a drum beat that is steady and keeps the song moving, and once you get farther into the song, you’ll hear the time signature shift into a more swing feeling. Elements of the song will remind you of things you’d hear on the radio, but it has its own, unique sound. The positive vibe makes it easy to jam out to with friends – it’s a good song for a road trip playlist. Have fun rocking out!
– Ruby Lanier

The East Nashville band “and the relatives” released their second album Green Machinery in November 2010, which the song Fourth Rate is featured on. The  album has a country meets pop meets rock feel. The beginning of this song sounds a little like the Beatles with a mid-sixties vibe, incorporating kind of a raw sound with very deep forward vocals. And the relatives have a tendency towards funny, witty lyrics, along with the garage band aesthetic. Just a warning – it gets stuck in your head.
– Delia Badger