Video: Houndmouth “Penitentiary”
Without a doubt, one of my favorite 2012 discoveries has been Louisville’s Houndmouth. The band recently dropped their debut, self-titled EP via Rough Trade Records. This week Houndmouth shared the official video for their steamroller of a single “Penitentiary“, directed by We Listen For You‘s Zach Hart. Watch below as Houndmouth plays narrator in the story of a young couple wrestling with the decision to turn criminal in the face of financial ruin.
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Written by Rob Peoni
Band to Watch: Pure Bathing Culture
I first caught wind of Portland, Oregon’s Pure Bathing Culture through an Octopus Windmill post back in June, and was reminded of the two-piece through yesterday’s post on My Old Kentucky Blog. The duo is comprised of Vetiver guitarist and keyboardist Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille, respectively. The group is set to release its debut, self-titled EP on November 19 via London record label Memphis Industries.
I’ve long been a fan of Vetiver‘s work, and my excitement over this new side project doubled upon the discovery that Richard Swift had taken the band under his wing. The multi-instrumentalist, producer and personal hero has maintained a busy schedule in 2012: engineering Jessie Baylin’s Little Spark and Pleasure Center EP, gigging on keys with The Shins, and guiding The Mynabirds’ ship on Generals. Swift served as producer on the four tracks that will make up the Pure Bathing Culture EP.
Under Swift’s tutelage, Pure Bathing Culture has churned out a handful of 80s-infused pop gems. The dreaminess of PBC’s Miami Vice backdrop makes it easy to overlook the seriousness of the lyrical content. The band’s most recent single “Gainesville” deals with the death of a friend in a motorcycle accident in Peru. The strength of the band’s stripped down performance of debut single “Ivory Coast” in the Beardy Session underscores the fact that this material will hold up in any setting. Compare and contrast the video with the studio rendition below.
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Written by Rob Peoni
Vintage Track: Binder Quintet ft. John Tchicai “Vasvirag”
The Binder Quintet was a Hungarian jazz ensemble whose lone celebrated work came in the pressing of their 1983 radio broadcast with alto saxophonist John Tchicai. The group’s style blended native folk influences with American free jazz of the late 1950s. Their recording of “Vasvirag” has been included in Volume 3 of the Spiritual Jazz series on London’s Jazzman Records. According to a suspect online translator vasvirag is Hungarian for “old maid.” However, there is nothing stale or outdated about the play of the musicians at hand.
Discogs credits Károly Friedrich and Mihály Dresch with the dueling, dissonant harmonicas heard at the outset of the song. Their play recedes to make way for a driving undertone on upright bass and piano. Overhead Tchicai inserts broken, muffled notes on alto sax, at times taking on an animalistic tone. His play creates a visceral tension in the music that is only heightened by the primal howl and guttural growl featured in the background of the song’s latter half. Spiritual Jazz 3 is set for release on CD and vinyl on September 3.
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Written by Rob Peoni
Thought on Tracks 