Though I'm not a huge fan of Foster the People, I still enjoy them every not and again, and love when I hear the song "Pumped Up Kicks" come on the radio. Now I can enjoy the band on a whole new level.
Released literally no more than 30 minutes ago, Ratham Stone's cover of "Pumped Up Kicks" puts a whole new spin on an already classic song. With Adam Lipinski's dynamic lead vocals and core instrumentation by twin brother Andrew Lipinski as well as members Joe Hodgin, Daniel "DPak" Pacchioni, and Andrew Meffettone, Ratham Stone's cover leaves little if anything to be needed. The rhythmic team of Pacchioni (bass) and Meffettone (drums) creates a pule-laden backdrop for the dual vocals of the brothers Lipinski as Hodgin (lead guitar) leaps forward in short, melodic bursts. Great cover, great band, definitely more to come front here guys. Check it out!
There are rare times within the music world when journalists and fans can see a new talent on the fast track to worldwide attention. Yet when those realizations do hit, they come on with the power of a whirlwind hurricane. Those of us who have ours ears to the ground are sometimes lucky enough to see such a musical revolution take place, and with this new talent today, it's one of those very rare revolutions. In the same way that The Strokes broke the mold and took first the nation, and then the world, by storm, The Head too are gearing up for a takeover the likes of which we haven't seen in a good long while.
The Head (from right): Jacob Morrell, Jack Shaw, Mike Shaw
Atlanta's newest three-piece pride, The Head, a power-trio comprising Jacob Morrell (lead guitar and backing vocals), and twin brothers Jack Shaw (lead vocals and drums) and Mike Shaw (vocals, bass and keys) are bursting onto the indie-rock scene with a flair and polish that gleam in the spotlight while still retaining their hard-rock heritage. With their first album Puckered and their subsequent EP Stockwood opening the doors, The Head's newest album, their sophomore recording Hold On, is turning all sorts of heads in the music industry, and things are just starting to heat up for these Atlanta rockers. Building off of tracks like "Miles Away" and "There Is an Ocean," songs whose rough-cuts graced their first album, The Head come back with ear-prickling tracks like "Separate Bodies, "I'm Fine with It," "Sneeze," and "Top of the World" to fill the digital bites of their second album with power, melody, and toe-tapping, catchy songwriting prowess.
One of the things I like best about the track "Separate Bodies" is the intro: simple, melodic and catchy, everything that should go into a song with crossover appeal. The intro also gives me a clue as to the influences hidden behind the backdrop: Jacob Morrell's guitar playing is immediately reminiscent of R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. Using palm-muted arpeggios to bring the melody to Jack Shaw's first snare beats, Morrell makes sure that "Separate Bodies" starts right, and just below the palm-mutes, Mike Shaw's basslines add a whole new level of depth to an already talent-filled track. As The Head build forth into the first verse and subsequent chorus, one thing is clear as can be: these guys draw from a multitude of influences to create a sound accessible not only to the hardcore alternative fan, but to the fans of power-pop, indie-rock, and prep-rock as well. As the guitar chords and arpeggios progress into full flares of sonic rainbows, The Head's rhythm section of the Shaw brothers mixes in a little of Vampire Weekend's prep-rock with the R.E.M. and Beatles-influenced melodies cranking out of Morrell's guitar. With a bridge and winding-down that hold melody tightly wrapped in rhythmic heartbeats, The Head's sound is truly that of an Americanized Oasis on Strokes steroids with Beatles polish. A clear choice for the lead-off single from Hold On, "Separate Bodies" is an immediate triumph for the Atlanta trio (and the music video's pretty sick too, see for yourself).
As the indie-rock boys keep on rolling, "I'm Fine with It" bleeds through the speakers like a Posies-influenced aloe for anything wrong with the world. Perhaps a little lighter and brighter than The Posies (after all "Dream All Day" and anything else from Frosting on the Beater had a bit of a dark edge), The Head shine brightly on "I'm Fine with It," reveling in indie-rocking guitar notes running through forests of cymbal-cracks and bass-bumps. Jack Shaw's vocals are mesmerizing and and melodic, and from behind his kit, one would never know that he's not front and center. Proving that drummers as much as anyone can be lead vocalists, he's joined by brother Mike Shaw, whose vocal talents are no less admirable. With the Shaw brothers taking care of the lead vocals and rhythm section, guitarist Jacob Morrell fills the air with sonic butterflies of the brightest tint, as his "Ah, ah, ah's" lift up the Shaw twins' vocals to even higher plains. Most certainly one of the songs I'm sad to hear end (and more than happy to play again on "Repeat"), "I'm Fine with It" is a homerun for The Head, plain and simple.
If "Separate Bodies" and "I'm Fine with It" aren't enough to sate your indie and pop-rock pleasure, then tracks like "Stockwood," "Sneeze," and "Top of the World" will have you happier than a pyromaniac in a fireworks shop. "Sneeze" brings a Strokes-esque rhythm from the Shaw boys, and married with Morrell's Vampire Weekend-influenced guitar parts, there's nothing more I could ask for. "Stockwood" is perhaps one of the more interesting track on the album: showcasing Mike Shaw's keyboard talents, the track has a decidedly '60s sound, courtesy of Morrell's guitar chords and notes. And right on top sits (literally) Jack Shaw, the drummer with the voice of a born lead singer. Boasting lead vocals from both brothers and fretwork from Morrell, "Stockwood" could quite possibly be the undiscovered jewel on the album. Yet with "Top of the World" providing even more incredible rhythm and melody to the album, I find myself beginning to wonder if there's anything The Head can't handle. I'm inclined to answer "no."
The next level in an intensely growing catalog, Hold On takes everything The Head learned on Puckered and Stockwood and amplifies it 10,000 times. If this is any indication of what these guys are capable of, then the news is out and the future is clear: The Head have the ability to go as far as groups like Oasis and The Strokes did before them. The Shaw brothers and friend Morrell exhibit an astonishing amount of talent for a group so young, yet age is never a factor when true artistic creativity is at play. The album title says it all: hold on, and hold tight, because with The Head behind the wheel, things will never be the same.
Sounds Like: R.E.M., The Beatles, The Posies, Vampire Weekend, Oasis, The Strokes
Key Tracks from Hold On: "Separate Bodies," "I'm Fine with It," "Stockwood," "Sneeze," "Top of the World"
One thing that every music journalist dreams of is being the one to find that "next scene" where there is going to be a huge blowup of talent and overflow of musical genius. Many places and music scenes never get to experience the power of such a scene as took place in L.A. during the '80s or in Seattle in the early '90s. Yet it seems that scenes like the one taking place in northern Florida and perhaps even over in Australia around the Perth and Melbourne areas may be the next places to look for bands with that great crossover appeal. Bands like Fit For Rivals and LOVELOUD from the Jacksonville, FL. scene have already made it onto my radar, but I am being introduced everyday to new bands that won't stay secret for long.
From a City in Trees
From a City in Trees is one of these bands under the radar that has managed to stay a well-kept secret up until now. A dynamic mix of talent from Megan McKenzie (lead vocals), Zack Vogel (lead guitar), Andrew Burgess (rhythm guitar), Max Zimmerman (bass), and Justin Berke (drums), the Florida quintet is something altogether new that strikes me on a number of levels (though Vogel has since left the band to pursue other opportunities, his guitar parts on the demo are nonetheless extraordinary and certainly deserve mention). Perhaps one of the things that makes FACIT so powerful from the start is how they underplay their power; there's no assumption, and no over-the-top fluff cluttering up the songs that stand out to make this band something special. FACIT's unassuming presentation is something that listeners can rejoice for, as it does nothing to muddy their direction and get in the way of the music. Yet because of this, I am also able to hear one of my favorite things to listen for in a new artist: the influences. It's the influences that gives the music a good deal of its composure, and on really solid tracks that influences are clear to the listener, even if they are perhaps not the influences the artist intended. In FACIT, I hear influences from K's Choice and The Breeders, but also from Garbage and Candlebox. The range of influential material to me is massive, and from the first few notes of the first track, I'm excited to see what this band has in store.
From a City in Tree's debut release, From a Demo in Ears, consists of a wide range of musical styles, but two tracks stand out on this recording (to be fair, FACIT only has about three tracks posted from the demo, but if there are more, then they must follow these three in structure and vision). "Stupid for You" is a bold mix of alternative and classic rock, balancing halfway in between Garbage and Cream in instrumentation and Letters to Cleo and K's Choice in vocals. Megan McKenzie's breathy vocals saturate the guitar chords laid down by Zack Vogel and Andrew Burgess, and the Clapton-esque blues licks the jump from Vogel's guitar between the verses is something I wouldn't have expected in this song, but I'm glad they're there. As Burgess adds more rhythm on top of Max Zimmerman's powerful bass-lines and Justin Berke's cymbal-heavy chops, the overall feel of the track shoots to a new level as Vogel takes time out to solo and blues it up. The conclusion of this track as a flurry of rhythm and beats beneath a distorted guitar make for a track that is unmistakeable in its power. If nothing else, "Stupid for You" revels in a tone set in experience and experimentation that are a must for any artist looking to do something new.
"Breaking at the Shoreline" is just as much of a great track as its predecessor. If it does turn our that From a Demo in Ears is only a three-track EP, then these songs would be enough to say everything FACIT is trying to say. Between Vogel's guitar licks and McKenzie's off-beat vocals, FACIT's sound is something that sounds fresh to my ears. I am immediately intrigued by "Breaking at the Shoreline" because of its eerie and ominous intro. The guitars are drawn back, and really the only discernible sounds are McKenzie's vocals and Berke's cymbals. The stop-start rhythm of Vogel's and Burgess's guitars is a great asset to the song, and though it's not as front and center as it was in "Stupid for You," Zimmerman's bass provides a good grounding for the notes above it. The almost minimalist quality of this song adds to its dark effect, and the minute that Vogel takes off on his garage-rock-influenced guitar solo, this is some new sort of brew, and the only thought I can process is how easily these musicians seem to meld multiple styles to come out with something all their own.
The best thing I can say about From a City in Trees is that I don't even know half of what they are yet. Tracks like the previous two, and the song that follows, the intriguingly bluesy "Where Do You Want Me," open a whole new door in my head to what kinds of musical mixes can be made; I'm hearing guitar riffs that would fit right at home on a Cream album next to vocals that scream '90s alternative. FACIT's mysterious vibe is something I love, and something that I find encouraging as it means that there's more to come. I'm very curious and excited to see where these guys will be in a few months. By that time, if these songs don't start gaining the college radio play they deserve, I'm gonna play them on my own show. I may anyway, as this sort of guitar-influenced female-fronted indie-rock is something I've been missing for a long while. Yet there's an even more interesting factor at play: the tone of the music is something that I don't even feel I can find a label for. A term I've used before does come to mind, however: romantcore. I love the romantic undertones of the music, and the way they mix so powerfully with the indie-core of the band's sound. Not wholly stripped-down, but not over-the-top, From a City in Trees brings something fresh to my ears, and more than anything, I'm excited to hear their next release. Hopefully, that'll be sometime soon.
Sounds Like: K's Choice, Garbage, Letters to Cleo, Candlebox, Cream
Key Tracks from From a Demo in Ears: "Stupid for You," "Breaking at the Shoreline," "Where Do You Want Me"
Posts
