| CD REVIEW TSM/SLW Promotion Special March 2011, part 2: Saul – The Big Eyes Family Players – The Rockford Mules – To Cast A Shadow |
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TSM/SLW Promotion Special March 2011, part 2: Saul – The Big Eyes Family Players – The Rockford Mules – To Cast A Shadow As promised, the second TSM/ SLW Promotion special for the month of March, 2011. With a lot less info available on the bands, the articles are not as long as usual, but I guess the offering is agreeable enough. Without further tip-toeing, let's get on with the stuff. ----------------------------------------------------- From Sioux City in the NorthWest of Iowa comes the trio of musicians (lead singer/ bassist Blake Bedsaul, guitarist/ backing singer Zach Bedsaul, and drummer Todd Poland), known as Saul since 2004. Honing their skills for about three years, the band took a turn for greener local pastures when they released their self-titled debut EP in 2007. The EP got many positive reactions, including being heralded by Kris Todd of The Daily Reporter from Spencer, Iowa, whom wrote (in a June 2007 article), “Saul are among those few Iowans striving to transcend their dreams into music”. Further accolades came from Sioux city's radio station Z-98, who named Saul as “Best Regional Band Of 2008”. Still under their own steam, the band managed to sell over one thousand copies of their debut EP, and has toured as far East as Oshkosh, WI and as far West as Las Vegas, NV, hitting towns everywhere in between. For the release of the Embrace The Sun EP, Saul signed to Sioux City's Blind Boy Records, an independent label which plans to bring the band's music to a wider audience, and a wider range of talent to the area. Intentions for 2011 are to triple record sales, tour consistently across the US (the band is actually gearing up around this time to start out on a Spring tour), and getting more and more radio stations to play the band's music (to date, there's over 50 of 'em). Closer to home (our home, that is), a feature on Saul was published in UK's Fireworks Magazine. So, what's so special about this trio to warrant all this attention? Stylistically, the guys play a somewhat weird Grunge with nice close vocal harmonies (not surprising, as the singers are brothers and have a somewhat similar voice). “Weird” Grunge? Yeah...you see, although the distortion effect pedal doés get pushed in occasionally for more power, the guitar sound is more ethereal (with a touch of echo) than rough 'n' raw. All serving as to not drown out that vocal sublimity, I guess! At any rate, it works well...as you will be able to check for yourselves by listening to the 2 songs posted at (www.) myspace.com/saulband (on the band's facebook page, you get an additional CD release announcement). My only negative comment after listening to the album for quite a few times, is that the vocal novelty quickly wears off! 85/100 ----------------------------------------------------- And now...for something completely different! No, nót a chapter transcript of The Monty Python Show, although we wíll remain in the country of William Shakespeare! Why mention the infamous poet? Well, simply because I suppose he would've liked the somewhat sedate Acoustic Folk displayed by this “collective” of musicians, revolving around James Green and David Jaycock. Originally, TBEFP was named Big Eyes, and founded in 1999 by Green as a solo project to mess around with acoustic sounds. The project soon progressed, and other members joined, eventually releasing their debut mini-album Big Eyes Music in 2000 on the Pickled Egg record label. Meeting with critical acclaim (usually complimentary about the band's love for Eastern-European traditional music, Folk, and modern Classical music), the album also gained bigtime fans such as Radio One dj John Peel, whom went on to play several of the band's songs on his program. Still through Pickled Egg, followed the band's debut full-length Clumsy Music in 2001 and sophomore album Love Is Gone Mad in 2002. In between, Big Eyes also shared a 7-inch split with Empress, which was released through Jonathan Whiskey. After a short break for the band, David Jaycock came into the fold for guitar and harmonium duties. Having already been a guest on the band's second album, he was the logical replacement for the band's recently departed first guitarist. In March 2003 followed the acclaimed EP I See Creatures, again a Pickled Egg release. Big Eyes continued to tour as a full band until late 2003, but then decided to stop live activities. However, Big Eyes then came back on tour with a stripped-down line-up of just James and David, performing on acoustic guitars, not only with reworked older tracks, but also with new material. In the spring of 2005 the now studio-based Big Eyes released their last album We Have No Need For Voices When Our Hearts Can Sing, an album which saw them experiment with more adventurous string arrangements and wordy singing. To reflect the collaborative and ever-changing line-up of the band from then on, James and David decided to change the band's name to their current one. The first release under that name was the 2006 full-length Do The Musiking, an album which counted contribution from several known musicians, among which James Yorkston, Jeremy Barnes, Rachel Grimes, James William Hindle, and Suzy Mangion. With Yorkston, the band released the early 2009 collaboration album Folk Songs (featuring traditional British material) on Domino Records. AsTBEFP (and again on Pickled Egg) James also released the full-length album Warm Room later that same year. Outside of the band several members of Big Eyes have gone on to join or form other bands. Jaycock is also a member of Manchester-based Psych-Rock act Bingo Jesus, and he's already released two solo albums. James, along with two early members of Big Eyes was also part of French Farce Pop act Plouf! He also released his first solo album in 2004. But...back to TBEFP...music of which (along with a more elaborate story) you can find in the “Releases” section at the band's own (www.) big-eyes.co.uk. But that's all material off the previous albums, and for a coupe of tracks off Family Favourites, you can turn to myspace.com/thebigeyesfamilyplayers (there's also a couple of tracks from the collaboration with Yorkston there). If you're into weird Folk music with strings as well as your usual acoustic guitars and harmonium, maybe you should check this music out. Mind you, there's somewhat of a melancholic touch in each and every one of the tracks on this album. 85/100 ----------------------------------------------------- If here's one thing to say about Minneapolis-based quartet consisting of singer/ guitarist Erik Tasa, lap steel and normal guitar player Ryan Rud, bassist Craig Peck, and drummer Joel Habedank, it's that they're as much out of place as a penguin in Nicaragua! To use the paraphrasing of the band, their music draws “...on the earthy elements of Southern Rock and electric mud, infused with a '70s dirty denim sonic sneer...” (the latter possibly brought in by the use of this '70s/ '80s Fuzz effect pedal). In other words, a sonic boom far removed from the usually slick Minnesotan bands! Nah, one would place this band Down South without a thought! Somehow their geographical positioning has not been much of a hampering to the band's progress, as with their previous album From Devil's Spit To Angel Tears TRM not only managed to share the stage with the likes of Violent Femmes, Soul Asylum, and Lucero...appear twice at the North Vs. South Music Festival in Lawrence, Kansas...and got their music played on over 200 radio stations across the USA and Canada. Music by the band has been licenced to several television station networks and shows, including Criminal Minds (CBS), Bad Girls Club (Oxygen), The Real World and Extreme Challenge (MTV), and more. In other words, what we have here is a band on the up, and after having listened to the album several times (gosh, I even like the two acoustic tracks “Goodnight Sunshine” and “Son Of Hammerswinger”, and that overall calmer Psychedelic album closer “Don't Tell Then What You've Seen”...too jummy for words! - makes a change to hear Tasa sing in a different mode, but then he IS a darn god singer) I've decided to find out whether I can get me a copy of their first album! Yeah, year-list material folks, in spite of the short length of this article. So, if you're into '90s Stoner (alà Man's Ruin) and Southern Rock, check out the songs posted at (www.) myspace.com/therockfordmules. You won't be sorry, I tell ya! 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- The story of this Trondheim-based Norwegian band apparently starts in 1990, when 3 friends (guitarist/ backing singer Marcus Granlien, bassist Stian Dalsláen, and drummer/ backing singer Kent Helset) first came together in a basement to make the music they live and breathe for. Over he years they experimented with several styles of heavy music, and influence was found from the likes of The 3rd And The Mortal, My Dying Bride, Type O Negative, Satyricon, Anathema, Tool, Paradise Lost and of course Black Sabbath. If anyone sees a thread of Goth and Doom in all of that, he or she would be right! A couple of years back the trio's musical expression had landed firmly withing the domain of Melodic Doom/ Goth Metal, and the sound was completed with the addition of female singer Camilla Granlien in 2005, a date which marks the birth of TCAS. With Camilla, the band first recorded the 4-track 2005 Demo, and then the self-released 2007 full-length All Alone (with 9 completely new tracks, by the way), which got distribution throughout Europe by Indie Distribution and Plastic Head Distribution. Mixed and mastered by producer Rikard Löfgren and featuring artwork by Matthew Vickerstaff (known from work with My Dying Bride, Cradle Of Filth, and others), the album gained both national and international acclaim, and music off it was played on several radio stations (including UK's BBC Radio). The album also featured guest vocals on two songs by one Gunnhild Huser and when, for some undisclosed reason, Camilla ended her career with TCAS, it's with Huser that the boys continued on! In 2010 the band signed a deal with Italy's Kolony Records and then went to work on their sophomore full-length album with the help of producer Kristian Sigland (The Crest, Theatre Of Tragedy), whom also collaborated with Rikard Löfgren for the mixing of the album. For the artwork of the new album the band again turned to Matthew Vickerstaff. Guesting in the short (only 80 seconds in length) song “Betula”, you'll find Theatre Of Tragedy lead singer Nell Sigland. As can be expected from a Doom/ Goth band, the female vocals are occasionally balanced with male growls, but there's also screams and, surprisingly, spoken word and normal clean sung passages. Doom being the musical style, you can expect a lot of down-pace riffing supported by pounding bass and moody drum play, but Marcus succeeds in providing more than one song with a truly tasty solo as well. When checking for additional info on the band on the internet, I hadn't heard the album yet, and also I guess the lead singer change situation didn't sink in into my mind but well after (I was not really well, that day), so I forgot to compare vocal stylings between Camilla and Gunnhild when browsing through the band's page on MySpace (www.) myspace.com/tocastashadow. The thing is, there's only one track off the new album (album opener “Tormented”), and four off the debut. But if the album is sold through your trusted online sales outlets, those in need for it will find samples of all songs ready at the album's pages of Amazon, iTunes, Napster, or whatever other digital download the band/ label may find interest to work with. Do you know, there are those people who revel in the unfortunate events that befall other people? There's even those who cannot feel some happiness, unless they're spreading ill will all around 'em? And then, there's people who cannot be happy to a certain degree, unless they're in a state of melancholy of depression? Personally, I've grown into a more positivity-geared outlook on life in the last 10 years, but I never outgrew a feeling of empathy towards my better friends. Sometimes that empathy goes outside the purely friendship bonds, because when Gunnhild starts singing “When You Leave The Room” I cannot help feeling compassionate towards her. I can only hope the lyrics didn't come from stuff that happened in her personal life, and simply grew from that same feeling of empathy I sometimes suffer from! Oh, to end this little lament of mine (well, it IS in sinc with the band's usual topics, isn't it) I'll conclude by adding In Memory Of to my “Best Albums Of 2011”-listings. Also, no matter whether the band gets picked up by a bigger label (and therefore will no longer do their promotion through TSM/ SLW), I intend to purchase any following albums the band may create. In fact, I'll start by trying to get me a copy of the current one! 98/100 Tony. |
