Theodore - Defeated TN & Songs for the Weary

Theodore hails from St. Louis, and their sound echoes the souls adrift in the American Midwest. Catching them live is a stirring experience, not being able to escape the bony grip of each song while being transfixed by Justin's vocals, which flutters between softly charmed verses and spirit wrenching lyrics from somewhere at the bottom of his lungs. JJ's lap steel brings the loneliness of the open country road into focus, with the only light coming from the headlights of the rare passing car. The occasional accordion influence almost shows you the little single room church off to the side between corn fields. Andy stands off to the side on the old bass fiddle, as country parlance would have it, and adds in the strong-backed support of the farmer of those corn fields, up before dawn, in bed most days by dusk. Except for those nights when the whiskey demons show up on the porch. Jason ties it all together, as the rake scrapes against the drum, with the ebbing flow of life at a slower, more honest pace.

Music reviews tend to be cut and dry with the "great sound, clean crisp vocals, strong bass lines, skilled guitar playing" nonsense. Bands like Theodore that fill your head with an image, a story, and take you on a trip with them in the passenger seat of a beat up '72 Ford pickup down the back roads, are the ones worth listening to. If you're into the sound, I really emphasize that you need to get both of these albums. Whether these guys stay a great secret on the scene, or they blow up to Wilco proportions, you'll listen to the entire album a couple times on the first go around and come back for more.

Defeated, TN has an amazing deep sound that really showcases what they're all about. The album is released on vinyl only, with an available digital download with the purchase of the record. But really, this is an album that's meant to be heard in the glory that is lo-fi, on a good old fashioned turntable. 9 tracks that give you the feeling of life and relationship in a real place on the outskirts of Carthage, TN. After giving the tracks here a glimpse, stroll on over to the Rock Candy review from St. Louis Today. The story behind the album is a moving tale in itself.

Defeated, TN Pt. 1
The Story


Songs for the Weary is the epitome of the sound that many americana slash folkish bands seek to emulate. Strongly reminiscent of the cosmic sound fashioned by Gram Parsons, it moves you on the inside, and connects you to the phantoms that are Theodore. For their debut album, it's a strong step out of the gate in a long overlooked genre. It's not about the polish or catering to images, it's about the sound. Which, the band did solidly on this release.

back from the war
home, tonight, I go

(samples are from the official Theodore site)

Theodore live @ The Space parlor

Say Hi / The Big Sleep show.

With a strong guitar sound driving them forward, Say Hi's melodies are sway inducing at the least, while the vocals lull you into a place where the lyrics just slide into your ears unnoticed. Their sweet, straight-forward sound will take you back to a distant memory of some trip north during the fall.

Their most recent disc, The Wishes and The Glitch, showcases Eric Elbogen's drifting, yet sometimes sultry voice. Northwestern Girls is a perfect example, followed by the familiar vocal and instrumental sounds in the track Shakes Her Shoulders, which have become easily identifiable with the essential indie-pop sound. Northwestern Girls, Toil and Trouble, Spiders, and We Lost The Albatross should easily be adored from this 11 track outing.



The Big Sleep is rightfully described as bedroom metal. Granted, it's from a bedroom that many of us only wish we were sleeping in, but the lax, yet strong guitar comes in and makes sweet love to your ears. When the vocals and rhythm show up, it's an auditory three way with you as the lucky recipient. The live show is best summarized as an angry night of passion set to skillfully crafted instrumentals with entrancing guitar work leading the charge. Each song being strong and throaty right up until the end. The last song of the set, crunched out by heavy chords worthy of Korg emitted a hint of sadness, like the end of any good relationship.

Bad Blood
Pinkies
Murder

Ready Fire Aim - As If It Were That Easy

In listening to my backlog of podcasts, I came across this fine gem, which led to reading/listening more about the band, Ready Fire Aim. Their sound is clean and electric, without being so synthy to make you feel anxious that Big Brother may be watching. It's a cozy sound all in all, like what you'd expect if Ben Gibbard replaced Dave Gahan from an earlier version of Depeche Mode, ala Music for the Masses/Violator era. (Or maybe more appropriately, the well mannered and polite offspring of Death Cab and DM.) Give it a listen, make some feedback.


Ready Fire Aim - As If It Were That Easy
Ready Fire Aim on Myspace

Briana Winter - Hide

Definitely a strong pulse of a soft spoken breed, Briana Winter's voice floats above her rolling guitar lines, and drift along rather introspectively. It's what's good about folksy indie rock, and that's why we listen to it. Strong voices over music that's sublime but has it's own sense of intuitive complexity. It may remind some of a newer Suzanne Vega from the prime years, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Hide (Right click and save as if you don't have an inline player such as Quicktime that will just play it when you left click the link)

Briana Winters on Myspace