Pontiak
RIYL: The Black Angels, Dead Meadow, Brightblack Morning Light
Performing: December 2 @ Mohawk
Pontiak
are three brothers from Virginia, who play “post-stoner,” psychedelic
sludge rock that’s been compared to a Sabbath, the Doors, Floyd and
Harvey Milk. Their latest full-length, Sun on Sun was recorded
in a log cabin in their Blue Ridge home state in four days and later
released on Thrill Jockey Records (home to free jazz icon Fred Anderson
and post-rock pioneers Tortoise and The Sea and Cake).
“Sun on Sun” is like a nightmarish reimagining of Cooder’s Paris, Texas soundtrack, a hellish trek through a psilocybin desert where the heat
makes you hallucinate. Largely instrumental, the track unfolds with
workman like precision, Van Carney’s vocals disaffected and
uninterested. Churning bass tones, acid rock organs and reverb heavy
guitars fill out the rest of Sun on Sun.
Shot by Miguel Delgado
Live performance of Whispertown 2000's "Old Times" from their Swim LP filmed live at the Epiphany Theater in Chicago, Il on Sept 19th, 2008.
Music video for Pontiak's "White Hands" off the album Sun On Sun. Released in 2008 by Thrill Jockey Records.
See Pontiak play Mohawk on Tuesday, December 2. Get your tickets at the door.
As I mentioned in my Day One recap, the 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest brought some incredible punk, hip hop, indie, electronica, and comedy acts to Waterloo Park in Austin in early November. The result was a mouthwatering buffet of an assortment of musical genres to satisfy our appetites. The stellar lineup had a fair balance of local and national talent and I was lucky enough to have the honor of interviewing a number of the artists in the Austinist media tent at the fest. The Austinist and Roxwel teamed up with Transmission Entertainment to conduct 54 (has to be some sort of record!) interviews in two days – most of the individual interviews are still being edited and will be available on Roxwel's site in due time, but we can offer a couple of early, sneak-peak recaps -- Day One and Day Two. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy some action from my Day Two at Fun Fest below!
On Sunday, our initial afternoon interview schedule was light so the Austinist and Roxwel early birds decided to take a walk to the Indie Stage. Til We're Blue Or Destroy really seem to be finding its feet of late and although I wasn't able to stick around for the set, I did watch them investigate a few songs during their soundcheck (pictured above). I have seen this band live quite a few times on Red River St. and the multi-faceted collective and its novel compositions seem to be getting better and better with time. Ume has been receiving rave reviews as well and Lauren Larson is a true rock star on stage. I took in quite few of Ume's crunching rock ditties before making my way back to the media tent.
Directed by Jake Davis
Video for The Hold Steady's "Stay Positive" from their LP Stay Positive out on Vagrant Records.
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Deerhoof, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Crystal Stilts, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Midori Hirano – Klo: Yuri
released October 14th on Noble Japan
Report Card: B
Midori Hirano feels like what happens when all the nerds in school get together and try to make pop music. It might not always be pretty, sometimes it’s just plain awkward, there are instances of pleasant surprise, but in the end, at least they’re giving it their best shot. And Klo: Yuri, Midori Hirano’s sophomore release, feels like the progressive culmination of all this, as its gathering of music theory books and computer savvy results in an academic and sometimes brutally modernist approach to post-classical music. And if you ignore the fact that Midori Hirano is a well-educated and worldly Berliner from Japan, picturing her as the leader of a band of clumsy Americans isn’t a huge stretch.
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