And to think with my last retrospective being pictureless! Unfortunately, not only does this Retrospective have to be pictureless (well mostly), this post is gonna have to be a bit less wordy too. As this season tends to do, I've been hit with something that's thrown my body off it's homeostasis. Whatever it was I was fighting Thursday morning with OTC meds, came back with a full vengeance later that night while I was out at Emo's and still has me fighting. So while I trip on Dayquil and Nyquil to sounds of whatever happens to be bobbing my record player's needle, I want you to trip and bob to sounds of DJ Car Stereo (Wars) and Neiliyo - doctor's orders.


From DJ Car Stereo (Wars)' The Bandit (all songs are right click - save as):
Charlie B. Barkin
Gator McKlusky's Gold

Learn more at his site.
Be his friend!

Labels: Emo's, Retrospective

Filling the hills of Austin with the sound of music like a group of the most "gifted" Von Trapp children, the Bright Light Social Hour have been frolicking (in a manner similar to what's pictured above) around Central Texas since 2005. On the table for this If You've Only Got... feature is their decidedly danceable piece of tunage, "Back and Forth." Consisting of a highly suggestive repetition regarding something going in and out and stair-stepping elements that climb up and move back down - back and forth, back and forth - this is one song that's sure to keep you moving. Overall, Bright Light Social Hour just makes you wish they wouldn't shut their Von Trapps.

If You've Only Got Series 6 (all songs are right click - save as):
The Bright Light Social Hour - Back And Forth

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!

Labels: If You've Only Got...

For me, South By of 09's dying audibles were sung by White Lies as their sound resonated from some far off stage of some venue on Red River Street. They, essentially, officially closed the fest for me, and as December rolls on by, I find that the London trio, heavy on my playlists lately, is set to close the year for me now too. As I readied up this post, I worked on the frame above noting how much I really disliked the lack of creativity in their promotional shot. Glancing at it again though, I see that it actually works as a perfect illustration of their sound. There you have White Lies - three darkly-dressed figures in a well-lit tunnel of white. A bit of dark shadow in a bright, white tunnel is, rightfully, what you have with White Lies. With vocals provided by the deepened, hollowed voice of Harry McVeigh, White Lies gets that characteristically dark impression, but the overall sound, the overall feeling you get from listening to these guys isn't some frightful, dark conviction. No, instead there's an unexplained source of lightness to their music that has you feeling more up than down.

Various songs from White Lies (all songs are right click - save as):
Death
Lose My Life

Learn more at their site.
Be their friend!


Otherwheres - Lawrence over at Covert Curiosity gives us a glance into Matador's Casual Victim Pile - a compilation of Austin artists (and two from Denton)...

Otherwheres - Be sure and head over to You Ain't No Picasso and give a hello to Matt, who's now six days into his Mixmas series...

Otherwheres - Party Ends' John previews the DJ Car Stereo (Wars) and Neiliyo event at Emo's going down on Thursday night. Let us know if you're planning on heading over to sport your favorite holiday sweater...

I was a bad blogger the night I saw Fanfarlo and completely forgot to bring a camera with me. Consequently, this will be one of my more "pictureless" retrospectives, but I'll try to inject more descriptors, depictions and details than usual to inject some pictorials into your mind eyes. Walking in from the cold and into a dimly lit room, a blue haze lay over like a fog in the studio-like cave of a room that is the Independent. A lack of heating and the stark, mist of blue made it seem just as chilly and outdoorsy as any outside venue, and in this frosty, blue environment - this cave of the Winter Miser - we were welcomed by a poem read by...Santa Claus. Well he looked like Santa Clause during the off-season, but nonetheless it was Kris Kringle - he was a of a certain proportion and had the big, white beard; he even had a bag, granted it was sort of a grocery bag. The more I looked at him, the more I thought they seriously picked a hobo up off the street to read that poem, but you know what? It's December, and the fat man ushered in the arrival of Fanfarlo, a gift I would never mind gettting. As far as I'm concerned, the man was Santa Claus.

Our early Christmas present took to stage in the dark, only half of the band walking quietly to their positions. After a quiet intro, the trio on stage grew into the touring sextet that is Fanfarlo, and with this full power they were quick to jump into favorites. With only one full-length to their name, it's no surprise they dipped immediately into Reservoir. Translating from an album to a live performance, Fanfarlo is as you expect them to be, and at times I found it hard to remember that the band was right there performing right in front of me. Their sound is just so right, so perfected. With Simon Balthazar behind the mic, he crooned his way through a fun, lively set, the other members adjuncting the rest of the odd sounds we love so much in their music - mandolin, trumpet, clarinet, handclaps, stomps. To see all this live after hearing it bustle out of headphones or speakers is a sight that slapped a smile on my face. I caught myself smiling quite a few times that night - smiling when the band would, smiling when I noticed the crowd was ear to ear, smiling at just being there, feeling their music run through me, warming me up. By this time, they're well out of Texas, but we're just the beginning. Fanfarlo's set to head to a lot more places in a tour that's generous with locations - be sure to check them out and warm your night up!




Various songs from Fanfarlo (all songs are right click - save as):
Luna

Check out the rest of their tour dates at the Fanfarlo site.
Be their friend!

Labels: Retrospective, The Independent

mp3 Crystalised
mp3 Basic Space

Rightfully ushering in the month of December here on Both Sides is the snow flurry sound of Efterklang, and rightfully ushering in the sound of Efterklang is a preview of their upcoming release, Magic Chairs, due out in February. If I remember my Danish If I Googled correctly, Efterklang comes from the Danish word for remembrance or reverberation, and it couldn't be any more appropriate. For such an ambient sound, there's a powerful effect that lasts and mulls you over and over. Listening to this Copenhagen-based group ends up being both a current and retrospective experience that culminates into an almost meditative experience that leaves you in a space that's just spacey and dreamy.

From Efterklang's Magic Chairs (all songs are right click - save as):
Modern Drift

From Efterklang's Parades:
Mirador

Learn more about Efterklang at their site.
Be their friend!