Album Review: Sleeping Bag Debut LP via Joyful Noise Recordings
Indianapolis’ Joyful Noise Recordings inked Bloomington based band Sleeping Bag in July and released their self-titled LP this month. The moving and shaking that it took to produce this album reflects the foundation that these tracks proclaim. It’s not perfect, and at times it can be redundant. Sleeping Bag‘s influences are readily apparent, and as a young band, they are still attempting to carve out a unique sound. Although innovation is lacking I think this melting pot is what makes their album more than tolerable and often down right fun.
Thoughts on Sleeping Bag:
- Slime – Good kicker. 90’s power chords. I immediately search for a current comparison. Diamond Rings fills the gap
- Sunroom – Simplistic vibe carries onward
- Rental – This song would rule on a jukebox
- Acer – Is Albert Hammond Jr. playing this riff?
- Beside – Giddy up!
- Desker – This song would do alright in Casbah.
- Minus – Thicky thick bass line.
- Ben – Acoustic shoots, vocals shine
- Someone – Bros went Lo-Fi with this one.
- Scone Zone – Lacking feeling
- Another Time – Do! Do! Do! Do! Do!
Buy Sleeping Bag’s latest release on Bandcamp. http://sleepingbag.bandcamp.com/. It is YOUR opportunity to support local music.
Written by Brett McGrath
Album Release: Hotfox – You, Me, and the Monster
You, Me, and the Monster the debut disc from Indianapolis band Hotfox was released by Roaring Colonel Records on Friday. To celebrate, the band threw a launch party and played a set at Earth House Collective showcasing the new tracks. Muncie acts The Bonesetters and Slothpop rounded out the bill.
One recurring thought kept rattling around my brain while watching Hotfox’s set: Damn, these kids are babies. But their youth worked to their advantage on Friday and may continue to do so into the future. These kids are too young to know any better. Too naïve to realize they should be intimidated or nervous. They owned Earth House on Friday night.
That being said, You, Me, and the Monster proves that Hotfox is as capable of producing a balanced, successful record as they are creating a balanced, successful setlist. “Mountain Tiger”, “Tombstone Teeth” and “The Dollar Theatre” are my takeaway tracks from the album, but the disc is strong start to finish. Do not sell these guys short based on their youth. After all, angry teenagers once served as the foundation for rock n roll as we know it.
During Hotfox’s last song I stepped outside Earth House for a cigarette, waiting near the exit for friends who would soon be joining. Moments later, guitarist Duncan Kissinger burst through the doors, walking at a frenzied pace down New York St. as if he had just conquered the world. I wanted to reach out and say, “Whoa bud, you are going to have a lot more venues to conquer and fans to win over. Remember this feeling and then duplicate it every night you play.”
For more on the band, check out their Facebook page. All videos were obtained via The In-Store. Stay tuned for Brett McGrath’s footage from Hotfox’s rendition of new track “AK-47.” Click here for the official video of “Mountain Tiger.”
Video/Album Review: Givers ‘In Light’ & Tiny Desk Concert
Full confession, I am a fairly recent convert to the indie music scene. I have always been a music junkie, but I didn’t delve deep into this genre until about a year and a half ago. I was spoon fed on sixties folk rock and classic soul: Crosby Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, Beach Boys, Motown and The Staples Singers. Not a shabby start.
By the time I began to listen for myself I had moved toward the jammier side of the post 90s rock scene. That path led to retracing their influences down through funk, blues, southern roots and traditional music. Along that path I developed a strong appreciation for jazz and improvisation—particularly that of the New Orleans region.
For the last year or two, my palate has enjoyed the taste of rigid, three-minute music that The Strokes helped to spawn a decade ago. There is a beauty that lies in that simplicity and raw emotion. So long as an organic aspect remains in there somewhere, a natural or primal sound, I’m typically a listener. One thing I have missed though, is that aspect of improvisation, an interplay between planned and unplanned.
Enter Laffayette, Louisiana’s Givers, and their debut LP In Light from Glassnote Records. No songs under four minutes. I find myself returning to this album as often as any 2011 release. Though I find the disc a touch over-produced, read—it sounds too good at certain points. Any worries of whether or not Givers would hold up to the live litmus test swiftly vanished after viewing their recent Tiny Desk Concert via NPR Music:
In Light is pure fun. As evidenced in the above video, these kids can sing. Vocalists Tiffany Lamson and Taylor Guarisco compliment each other flawlessly. “Meantime,” the first track from the Tiny Desk performance plays quite differently on the album. Their song features a guitar solo that will have traditional indie fans yawning. But the video proves how effective the track becomes after watching them pour their hearts out for the NPR staff.
Givers has drawn comparisons to Vampire Weekend and other Afrobeat-influenced acts. And the release is much heavier on percussion and powerful drums than this performance indicates. However, if anyone comes to mind for me, it’s actually Rusted Root. A tighter, more serious and worlds more talented Rusted Root.
Their live show is most assuredly going to have the crowd’s feet shuffling. If this video does not do justice to any of the band’s strengths, it’s that it short sells the fact that much of the album would play just as well in a dance club as a jam band festival. That’s why I think Givers will be a hit for as long as they stay together. They play to the core emotion of too many differing audiences to fail.
Thought on Tracks 