Doomslang’s Prophecy (from https://www.facebook.com/pages/doomslang/154786956312)

Petunia failed me again. Petering out on the road, I was forced to pull over. She has a penchant for embarrassing me as soon as I see anyone I know. She knows what she’s doing. So, I had to roll my busted bike up to Bar None to the welcoming committee of wise-cracking cigarette smokers lining the entrance.

“Hey fellas,” fell sheepishly out of my mouth as I stumbled around trying to tie her up to the parking meter.
A short greeting turned into a long reminiscing about the BeyHeyDay of Bey’s with the crowd outside, as they used to all gather in almost the exact same formation outside of Bey’s, which set the tone for the night. Nostalgia was in the air.

1. “What we need is a newer venue! There’s a lot of talent in Columbia, we just need more places to showcase it!”
2. “Yeah man, you know that [insert unfeasible location in 5 pts or the Vista here] is for rent, all we’d need to do is save up a little dough and we could really get some big acts coming through!”
3. “We just need people to commit, man, money’s no issue.”
4. “Yeah, somebody should totally do that.”
5. “Totally.”

Ahh. The boilerplate “Columbia’s Music Scene Needs [Blank]” conversation. I could hear it over the din of the bar as I strolled in much like a favorite song of yesteryear you hear on a charming old jukebox, reminding you how it excited you long ago, when, now, a gradual disillusionment mars its effect. We’ve all heard it before, and no matter how feverish the rhetoric or frenzied the delivery, the conclusion usually comes to “Somebody should totally do that,” followed by a beat and then an order for another round of drinks.

Bracing myself for round one, I found myself at the bar next to a young man with a straw hat, slouching over a glass of booze, quite reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting. After a very subtle and gradual triple-take, I realized I actually knew this fella.

“Josh McCormack! Doomslang, man, it’s been a second.”

I first knew him from rare appearances at Bey’s, back when I hosted an open mic, and always appreciated his hat choice, the straw hat replacing a fluffy Russian cap that donned his dome in winter. Back in the day.

Of course, nostalgia. As Don Draper said, it’s the pain from an old wound, a pain best complimented with a sweet Mint Julep. Reminiscing as we sat at the bar, we discussed the majesty of Tim and Eric, Louis CK, Neil Hamburger, Lost, The Wire, and, of course, the local music scene. Artfully dancing around the stock conversation, we shared stories of success and failure in our music scene, and, from someone who has only been in Columbia for a few years, I learned quite a bit about the previous generations of music to come through.

Of course, other than a slick hat collection, Joshua McCormack also has a slick song selection he’s been recently polishing for us. Having played with his group Cassangles, he turned towards his solo project, doomslang which also serves as his moniker. Just recently, he released three songs of varying style, Problem Child (Slight Return), Dawgie Lullaby, and Nerf Hospital. Playing alongside a perfectly mixed-in Logan Goldstein (of local homies extraordinaire Pandercakes) on the latter, the tracks contain a range of instrumentation, but still douse you with a syrupy gravy boat of Absinthe in its sparkling haze, through which you can barely make out the ghost of Elliott Smith’s silhouette softly singing a lullaby as he rocks a sleepy baby Danny Elfman (Scissorhands era) to a deep slumber.

I don’t know if I made it clear enough, but these songs sound like the deepest sleep. Finding a suitable instrumentation and level of effects to fit his voice, doomslang puts forth a solid foray into the dream world, particularly with the first track’s twinkling Omnichord, an instrument featured in my favorite episode of Adventure Time (I Remember You), also played by the love of my life whom I met in Dunedin. My favorite track has to be Dawgie Lullaby, for its humble beginnings that evolve into a lofty vocal orchestration reminiscent of a stripped down version of Bright Eye’s symphonic break in Digital Ash’s “I Believe in Symmetry.”

If you like dreams, (not like our actual, absurd, subtly sexual, mostly silly dreams, more like the soundtrack to Hollywood dream sequences), then give doomslang a listen. You’ll find yourself staring wistfully out of a raindrop-studded window in no time. Sometimes it’s just what you need.

Kicking the pedal, holding the clutch, releasing it as soon as I hear the engine rumble slightly, simultaneously giving it just a little throttle, hearing some rumbling, switching on the fuel injection lever, giving it more throttle, I finally saw my baby girl come back to life. The 1980 Pepi Sport has the engine of a fuggin lawnmower, but I love her.

As she roared to life, and I go and pat Josh on the shoulder, promising to give his songs a listen. I reflect, ever so briefly, on the pitfalls of nostalgia. Perhaps we should be more concerned with the now, as opposed to a time we can never reclaim? After all, those in constant reverie never get shit done. But as Petunia zipped down Saluda St, I thought of her as a relic of the past, a product of nostalgia, that still had some kick in her. Pondering this, I cross the intersection to get to the base of the hill, where she promptly farts out on me again.

Bobdamnit.

With his last two albums, Kiss Each other Clean and Ghost on Ghost, Chapin, SC native Sam Beam has shed almost all of his singer songwriter stereotype. That’s to say, if you were a fan of The Shepard’s Dog and releases previous to that, and went into a coma in 2007, woke up in 2013 and went to see Iron and Wine live, all you might recognize is the beard and the warmth of Beam’s voice.

Instead the newer material from Iron and Wine harkens back more to the music that influenced Beam growing up. Ghost on Ghost is more Paul Simon than Nick Drake. In 2007 when asked why the more upbeat sound of The Shepard’s Dog Beam replied “I couldn’t get much quieter so it was the only direction to go. And I didn’t fancy the idea of putting the same record out over and over again.”

Ghost on Ghost is another step forward in the Iron and Wine catalog with at times a more funky sound on tracks like “Singers and the Endless Song” and a modern jazz feel on “Grace for Saints and Ramblers” before moving to very Paul Simonesque patter of the prechorus and chorus.

Beam notoriously started out on a 4 track tape recorder, with very lofi demos. But in reality, who didn’t? Most musicians just don’t get overwhelmingly famous and pigeonholed for those early demos like Beam did. The growth of his musical career appears light years away from where he started. Now over ten years later, he’s working with a talented host of musicians including members of Sex Mob, Jazz Passengers, Bob Dylans band, Tin Hat Trio, and jazz drummer Brian Blade.

This group of songs from Beam, with this group of musicians has tapped into a sound that flows through popular American music of the 60′s and 70′s, the music that’s engrained in all 38 year old American songwriters. It’s not easy for songwriters to change their sound dramatically, but it makes it easier when you’re going back to something you know well, with some great musicians at your side.

It’s not only the music that harkens back, but lyrically speaking, Beam references South Carolina several times throughout the album.  A place he hasn’t lived since his late teenage years. Ghost on Ghost flows with comfort, never rushed, never anxious, exploring new areas of jazz and funk at times.

While the second to last song “Lovers Revolution” might be the most experimental of the bunch, the last song “Baby Center Stage” is the most close to the Iron and Wine people are familiar with. The pedal steel guitar in it sounds more Elton John than Waylon Jennings. The melody more James Taylor than Tom Waits. A beautiful way to ease out an album that just took listeners on a ride through jazz in popular music.

Enter To Win

Vinyl Containing CD

Handwritten, signed lyrics for “Grace for Saints and Ramblers”

Album Poster

Winner will be contacted via 4/19/13

Click the picture to purchase the 7 inch EP.

Unconvinced that a simple bowl of Syou ramen would do anything to calm the belligerent hunger sprites in my stomach, I shoveled a fish-paste cake into my mouth.

“What did I just eat?”

“Kamaboko.”

“…?”

“A fish-paste cake.”

Before I had time to conjure up a facial-expression with which to react to that news, the door’s bells jingled and, entering stage right, was an old-time friend of mine, Desirée Richardson, with her boyfriend/bandmate Logan Goldstein, both with a determined gait towards prospects of noodley delight.

Deciding the polite thing to do would be to continue to force massive amounts of ramen into my face, knowing the sacred importance of the ramen purchasing ritual, I waved Desirée over once they had finished ordering. Never having met Logan, I introduced myself and we slowly revealed to each other

1. A common interest in music, and
2. A common interest in eating delicious ramen always sooner than later.

I had heard of local Columbian Pandercakes, (also containing Joel Floyd and Phil Soellmer) and remembered being taken aback by the purity and freshness of sound from their online tracks (Paint By Numbers EP)- sounding a bit like Of Montreal if they wrote a song for the Katamari Damacy soundtrack, punctuated by bright driving lights, synth lines, and female vocalizations and occasional giggles from Des.

We got around to discussing their current projects when they mentioned they were going to release a split with other Columbian notable Pussy Wizard, the Toro Y Moi guitarist’s solo project, whose name derives from an effort to not be suffocated by the fumes of seriousness that can be toxic for acts who want their work to be considered as austere and no-nonsense as, say, Bob Dylan’s conclusive body of work. Jordan Blackmon, his less mystical moniker, has been raising eyebrows with this project, not only due to it’s provocative and curiously magical name- publications like Shuffle Magazine  have interviewed him, and Paste Magazine’s excellent “12 South Carolina Bands You Should Listen To Now” featured him as lucky number six.

Both Pandercakes and Pussy Wizard have been signed with local label Fork and Spoon recently, and to announce their addition to the F+S family, they have decided to release this split 7”, and I couldn’t have imagined a better pairing.

The two songs, “Compassion Fatigue” and “I Dunno (Translucent Blue)” are so cohesive, they feel like the same species of animal, and yet they feel like they’ve evolved on two different planets, Pussy Wizard’s with a stronger gravitational pull, while Pandercakes’ was a bit lighter. It’s almost as if they took two songs from the same album and Pussy Wizard’s got tarred while Pandercakes’ got feathered.

They both feature driving beats and circular chord progressions, relatively laid back vocals, and have an instrumental break towards the end with awesome and often under-utilized instruments (not to mention bird calls, wind chimes, or dirty guitar on piano.) All in all, it greatly excites me to hear sounds like this coming out of Columbia, and I look forward to where this might go. Fork and Spoon are really playin’ Nick Fury here with their current line-up of bands.

Before I released Des and Logan from their prison of societal etiquette of putting up with everything I wanted to ask them about whilst chewing a mouth full of noodles, I asked when we would see a live performance from Pandercakes. They shared a look that told me it was still pretty far off, and Logan essentially made the point that they didn’t want to cross into the danger-zone of overexposure.

This is a point that I agreed with. Overexposure plagues many bands, especially the facebook warriors who fill my notification feed day in and out with event invites and page invites, tricking me into Pavlovly seeing the red “notification” notification and thinking I was actually contacted by a person interested in social interaction.

However, as a personal note, I think that there is a balance that needs to be struck. While it’s always best to hold some cards to your chest, don’t hold ‘em all- I still want to play poker with you! I say this from a place of love and admiration for the music of Pandercakes- we should see more of you and from you! Even a stripped down acoustic version of a song would be so fuggin sexy, you don’t even know. Gotta garner momentum!

But, now that they are under the wing of Fork and Spoon, I’m sure I’ll be able to get my fix to a modicum of my amphetamine-addict standards. For now, this split is certainly a great offering, and enough to establish their second foot in the door of the ever-diversifying Columbia music scene.

Oh, and the noodles were so good I almost exploded. I’m not even gonna tell you where this place is on Gervais, so that I can fill my guts with dat bombin’ ramen all by myself. Every day.

P.S. Got a total Boehner for the album art, as well as the overall aesthetic of the release. The blue hue for the (Translucent Blue) side was a nice touch! Get a feel for all of that with my shitty record player through those short vines, and be sure to get a closer look at the art and other songs of both bands on their respective bandcamps, linked above.

-Pedro LDV

Lead single “Cirrus” is a pretty straight forward house track, with plenty of Bonobo’s trademark organic samples.  “Know You” is another personal favorite; it builds and builds before breaking out into a bass heavy groove.  This is not to say that Green has abandoned his signature style; far from it.  As a whole the album has a mysterious quality, as if you are crossing into the mystical world of Bonobo.  Like his previous full length, Black Sands, many of the songs here are heavily informed by contemporary UK bass music.  Stand out track “Emkay” seems almost like an evolution of “Eyesdown ft. Andreya Triana” from BS, and a wonderful serving of classy bass music.  Strings, drums, and sub bass flow together seamlessly, while vocal samples slide along for the ride.

Bonobo’s use of vocals has always been one of his strong suits, and this album is no exception.  “Heaven For The Sinner ft. Erykah Badu” is another standout, and in my humble opinion is a better use of Miss Badu’s heavenly voice than her collaboration with Flying Lotus last year.  Two different tracks feature the vocals of Szjerdene, another British R&B talent ala Andreya Triana, but even the un-credited vocals samples are mesmerizing.  “Sapphire” is another lovely bit of stylish sub bass, and the subtle vocal work ties everything together.

You can buy The North Borders here: http://bonobomusic.com/ , or on iTunes.

05 Drove Me Wild

There seems to be a misconception out there among musicians and critics alike that making a pop album is taking the easy way out, therein lessening the quality of the music. This is simply untrue.

With their new album Heartthrob Tegan and Sara shed their music industry pigeonhole of being a Canadian indie rock duo, and show off their ability to explore other areas of the music spectrum. It’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Tegan and Sara could teach a class in the ability to branch out. In 2011 the duo released a live album of songs played acoustic, proving their raw talent, as if there was any doubt out there. And in 2010 their fans were introduced to remixes from their 2009 album Sainthood. It could have been some sort of mastermind management fan conditioning, or it could be a lot simpler.

On first listen to Heartthrob I didn’t notice a difference in sound. I didn’t listen to the album with expectations of any sort, I just started spinning and listening. And I couldn’t stop listening and loving songs like “Drove Me Wild” and “Love they Say.” Since reading reviews around the web, everyone seems obsessed with how “pop” sounding it is. Like they haven’t been writing songs about love and relationships for the last 18 years…like they haven’t based their entire career around pop melodies. In 2007 their album The Con featured a power pop lineup, adopting members of Death Cab for Cutie, The Rentals, and AFI. So it’s not a shock that 6 years later, and 18 years into their music careers that they’d want to have a little fun experimenting with synths and leaving the guitars in their cases for the most part.

Hooking up with Greg Kurstin is the most defining key to this album. His producing credits and songwriting credits read like a long list of who is who in popular music these days, ranging from Ke$ha to The Shins and 3Oh!3 to The Flaming Lips, Kurstin has a knack for pop music. So, if he can turn such no talent ass clowns like Ke$ha and 3OH!3 into listenable artists, the ceiling should be high for the people he has the chance to work with that are actually talented. Heartthrob is a testament to that. It tugs at heart strings, it’s light hearted, it’s fun, and it’s musically smart and addicting. Listen to Heartthrob loud and proud, you won’t be able to stop.

Photo by: Sara Bee Photography
Editing by: Mitch Wetherington

01 Hit It

Dixiana, the follow up to Southwood’s first self-titled EP,holds the essence of modern southern rock while maintaining undertones of blues and folk. They dig even deeper into their roots, past, and hope for the future to produce meaningful lyrics over captivating instrumentals. Their soul comes across even more clearly in the new tracks than in the older ones, the band having become more comfortable in their element and confident in their identity.

Southwood’s versatility is one of the most impressive characteristics that, as a band, they embody. From the upbeat, party track “Hit It” to the somber nostalgia of “Rambler’s Son,” the EP takes us through many emotional highs and lows. It starts with a jig and ends with a slow dance, relating stories of love, sadness, life, and reflection in the span of six songs. “Twice” is romantic, keeping a steady rhythm of blush-inducing sweetness and silky-smooth vocals. The guys let their inner rebels shine with the revenge track “Gunnin’,” full of angsty guitar licks and cymbal crashes, each note coated with frustration and determination. Taking an interesting turn, “This Life” brings hope to life by reminding us to appreciate the life we’ve been given—monotony and rough patches are irrelevant in the greater scheme of things, so appreciate the little things that remind us of our luck. The title track “Dixiana” is a song of the “sway-from-side-to-side-with-a-lighter-in-the-air” variety, one that makes you feel proud to be from the South… that is, if you’re actually from the South. It’s Southwood’s very own “New York State of Mind.” Similar to what they did with their self-titled EP, the band decided to end Dixiana with “Rambler’s Son,” a stripped down ballad reflecting on mistakes made and dealing with the resulting consequences but refusing to be ashamed of the past. This song rounds out the journey for the listener; you’ll be itching to hit the replay button before the EP’s even over.

With Dixiana, Southwood has reaffirmed the already strongly seated notion that they are, without a doubt, one of the best bands in the Southeast. It strongly exemplifies each of the member’s talents. Mitch Wetherington sings in no other key than awesome, and is supported flawlessly by Henri Gates’s vocals and lead guitar, Christian Wood’s bass lines, and Craig South’s unshakeable rhythm on the drums. Dixiana pushes all the right buttons at the perfect frequency. Satisfaction is expected, and Southwood most definitely delivers.

This top 10 list shows diversity, from Modern Man’s drone, to the childlike wonder that Those Lavender Whales capture in song. From Parlour Tricks edgy rock tunes, to Heyrocco’s youthful hazy wonder, and Can’t Kids raw energy that bursts through with Soda City pride, to Latenights’ debut, an ode to loud melodic rock and soaring guitar solos. With Honor the Father The Restoration dig up SC history, hidden for its heinous nature, like a dirty family secret kept mum from future generations, and reconstruct it into a beautifully dark album, a warning and reminder of the filth in the soil where our roots are buried. Elim Bolt burst onto the music scene in late 2012, setting blogs a-buzz and quickly gaining popularity with their stylish vintage rock n roll. And last but not least, Co., with their album Dear America, where Brian Hannon reflected on his roots before showing his hand, one erect middle finger to America.

#1 Shovels and Rope-O’ Be Joyful

#2 The Restoration-Honor the Father

#3 Elim Bolt-Nude South

 #4 Heyrocco-Comfort

#5 Those Lavender Whales-Tomahawk of Praise

#6 Parlour Tricks-s/t

#7 Latenights-s/t

#8 Can’t Kids-Brushes Touches Tongues

#9 Co.-Dear America

#10 Modern Man-Eyes No

1. Now, Now - Threads
   
   
2. Passion Pit - Gossamer
   
3. Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls
    
4. Lovedrug - Wild Blood
    
5. Rayland Baxter - Feathers and Fishhooks
   
   
6. Shovels and Rope - O’ Be Joyful
   
   
7. The Rocketboys - Build Anyway
   
   
8. Paper Route – The Peace of Wild Things
   
   
9. The xx - Coexist
   
   
10. First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar
    
    

2012 Superlatives:

It wasn’t until early 2011 that Johnnie Matthews, frontman of Elim Bolt and former bass player of Sequoyah Prep School, made his recording début. With the final moments of Sequoyah’s album Spells, Matthews confronted the music industry head on with the track “Suits”. The track was stripped down, and timid beside the confidence and comfort of Justin Osborne’s voice on the first 10 tracks. But even as that track built upon itself, and Sequoyah concerts gave Matthews the chance to perform live, something started to happen. A shaky voice turned into a vibrato. Timidness turned into confidence and everything started to shape up from there.

The seven songs on Elim Bolt’s first record Nude South, are truly a debut in many ways. They tell the story of a young man and his departure from a rural South Carolina town and relationship struggles that go hand in hand with maturation. While Nude South is also a fitting title, a self titled record could have been equally, if not more fitting. Matthews is after all the man who bolted from tiny Elim, SC. You’ll have to look up Effingham, SC to find out much about Elim. It’s more of a community in spirit than a destination on a map. Tiny Elim takes its name from one of the places the Israelites camped during their exodus from Egypt.

Nude South opens with “Only You”, giving your first taste of reverb and a full dose of Matthews voice right off the bat. It’s unique, most closely resembling Roy Orbison, but is supported throughout the album by Amber Joyner’s voice that meshes tightly. They blend together so well that that you may not notice both voices with a casual listen. It’s a similar formula to what Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews did with The Everybodyfields, but with Elim Bolt, Joyner never takes the lead.

So often in indie rock these days reverb is used as smoke and mirrors to hide flaws. Over the years it has been referred to as the “suck knob” or the “talent knob”.  It has the ability to smooth out some rough vocals. With Elim Bolt there is a difference. There is a need to capture the essence of the 50′s and 60′s heard on the roomy vocals of songs such as The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” or the notorious crooning of Jim Morrison on “Riders on the Storm”. Matthews’ voice fits comfortably in this niche, but at times on Nude South misses in the clarity department. With such poignant lyrics such as the chorus to “Farm Kid” where he sings “All I want to do is deeply love you, but all I seem to do is deeply hurt you” the listener desires more of the story, but understanding is a struggle.

While each song on Nude South is strong in its own right, songs like the hymnesque “Blue Jays” and the thumping “Bat Shit” stand out for being different. The production of the songs side by side turns into a wash of sound over the course of the listening experience. What the overall “sound” adds in the unity of the album tends to draw from the actual meat of the songs themselves. The aural numbness created by the wash of reverb is occasionally broken by soaring lead guitar parts and quivering organ leads that peek through at times and capture the listening experience.

Nude South is strongest when it is broken down to the core. Well written lyrics and careful melodies sitting on familiar chord progressions that serve as the vehicle for the message. And although the message isn’t as clear as it could be, the big picture is. We’re not in the country anymore.

Elim Bolt will perform at New Brookland Tavern Wednesday, November 28, 2012 with Modern Man and People Person.

By David Ballou

Steve Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, has been crafting electronic dreamscapes and beats for over a decade now. His music has a certain cinematic quality, and you may find yourself whisked away in a swirl of clicks and cymbals. If his previous album, Cosmogramma, took you to an alien world far in the future, then his newest work, Until The Quiet Comes, is a hot summer night on that planet.

I find it very difficult to discuss Until The Quiet Comes without referencing its predecessor. Both albums are true albums; songs bleed together, melodies and rhythms resurface and Thundercat, a Brainfeeder alum and frequent FlyLo collaborator, is everywhere. Both run about forty-five minutes in length, while inexplicably feeling much longer. You’ll blink and find yourself halfway through. The album begins with a whirl of keyboards, bells and cymbals, establishing a palette that will be drawn from frequently for the next twenty minutes or so. This atmosphere continues through the classic Flylo beat“Getting There” (ft. Nikki Randa). Our journey through Ellison’s dreamscape continues through a maze of polyrhythms, pianos and bass.

This atmosphere persists until running headlong into the massive, bass heavy “Sultan’s Request”. This track is a great example of dubstep and other heavy bass genres’ influence on hip hop production. “Putty Boy Strut” wouldn’t have seemed out of place on Pattern+Grid World, Cosmogramma’s follow up EP, and is a pretty good synthesis of everything Ellison has done up to this point in his career. Erykah Badu surfaces shortly after before disappearing to give Thundercat his shining moment on the title track “Until The Quiet Comes”. I dare anyone to not laugh at “DMT Song” (ft. Thundercat), the conclusion to the first half of the album.

The second half some of the most adventurous and, at times, unsettling music Ellison has ever released. The Radiohead influence is obvious, and recognized, with guests spots from Thom Yorke (Electric Candyman) and Jonny Greenwood (Hunger ft. Nikki Randa). The tension and drama of these two tracks resolves beautifully into “Phantasm” (ft. Laura Darlington), an otherworldly electro-ballad of sorts. I hate to say it but the un-credited vocal sample on “me Yesterday // Corded” sounds just like Justin Vernon. This track sticks out from the rest of the album, and not necessarily in a good way in my view. Ellison concludes much in the same manner that he ended Cosmogramma, with an other-worldly hip hop beat that really makes you wonder why Kanye West wasn’t in the studio with Flying Lotus, rather than messing around with all his friends putting together a really bad mix tape (obligatory rag on Cruel Summer).

Another masterwork from L.A.’s beat king? I’d say so, and while this effort has flaws that its’ predecessor didn’t, Ellison must be considered the undisputed modern master of the album as an art piece. What other artist can create a sound so futuristic and simultaneously comfortable? Now if we could only convince him to play some shows in the southeast.