Marmalakes ‘Wells’
Chase Weinacht and company have released a little tidbit for everyone in advance of the full-length album they are about to record. Over the course of three outstanding EP’s, we’ve come to know Marmalakes as folk trio with moderate tempos and thought-provoking wordplay. This new single is still a showcase for Weinacht’s extremely articulate lyrics, but “Wells” features some of the most upbeat, poppy music Marmalakes has ever produced. There is a wordless chorus that screams “radio hit” with the way it fuses indie-pop tendencies with the group’s well-established folksiness. The production is top-notch, highlighting a gorgeous bass line and even accentuating the sizzly cymbals in one of the song’s slower moments. It’s a great song that is really well produced and should make us excited for the group’s full-length debut.
– Carter Delloro
Mother Falcon – ‘Dirty Summer’
Mother Falcon’s new single aims for the poppier side of this symphonic group’s repertoire and hits square in the bull’s-eye. Leading off with stabbing horns backed by an anxious rhythm section and complemented by a melodic chant, the song’s opening moments are anything but inauspicious. When the vocals come in at about the minute mark, they do little to calm the rhythm’s frenetic pace and soon find themselves caught up in the same manic revelry. ‘Dirty Summer’ builds in intensity as the dueling singers overlap, intertwine, and intersect each other, while sections of horn, piano, and string doppler by in the background, as if heard from the side of the road while riding along the highway with the top down. It all culminates with a call back to the beginning moments of the song as the layers dissolve and the melodic chant returns, ushering us over the horizon to some summer destination yet to be discovered.
‘Dirty Summer’ is just the first volley to be fired from Mother Falcon in 2013. The group has recorded their second full-length album and is planning to release it this summer and tour extensively beyond the confines of Austin as well. The only catch is that they need the help of their fans to do it, which is why I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their Indiegogo funding campaign. With less than 2 weeks to go, they’re still shy of their goal and with a pledge of only $10 netting you their previous LP and EP to boot, it’s a steal.
– Brian Audette
Max Frost – ‘White Lies’
Max Frost is an overnight sensation in the blogosphere. The Austin native has blown up over the course of the last two weeks, after ‘White Lies’ hit number one on Hype Machine’s weekly music charts. It’s received accolades from all over the place, including such highly respected music blogs as Pigeons & Planes, My Old Kentucky Blog and The Music Ninja. And like that, Frost is in talks with labels to put out his full-length some time later this year.
And with ‘White Lies’ it’s not hard to see why. It’s immediately accessible and completely of-the-moment. As other reviewers have noted, it’s like a dancier Gnarls Barkley, a more hardass Broken Balls, a more electro-infused Mayer Hawthorne. There’s soul, R&B, electro-pop and more in this infectious track about infidelity that begins with a simple acoustic guitar riff and quickly grows into a bedroom-pop tour de force. And with over 5,000 spins a day on Soundcloud since its release, it’s evident that the song is growing on people rapidly (though admittedly about 3,000 of those were me yesterday…and the day before). Keep an eye on this one, Austin.
– Carter Delloro