Viro Records: Press

Top 10 Austin CDs of 2008
Written by Dante Dominick

#10 MARCIA BALL – PEACE, LOVE & BBQ
Alligator Records – Released 4/8/08
Marcia Ball: Peace, Love & BBQThe only record on the list to include a duet with Dr. John (“I’ll Never Be Free”), a song that almost by itself guarantees at least this #10 spot. Even more telling is that Dr. John isn’t “guesting” on Ball’s recording as musicians often do; no, the good voodoo Dr. is hanging with one of his few peers on a song he approached Ball with. But alas, there is more. A lot of Ball’s trademark piano boogie, Louisiana bayou jazz, and Texas blues Enough to put Ball in a good spot to earn what would, surprisingly, be her first Grammy (she is nominated for “Best Contemporary Blues Album”). Peace, Love & BBQ includes “Party Town,” a nod to the permanently fun-loving spirit of New Orleans, as well as the tugging, Katrina-themed “Ride It Out” and “Where Do You Go?” That’s the blues; that’s life. Highs, lows, and getting back on board.


#9 BAND OF HEATHENS – BAND OF HEATHENS
BOH Records – Released 5/20/2008
Band of HeathensIt’s hard to think of another band that released two live CDs before heading to the studio to record their debut studio album. It’s also hard to imagine another band that so aptly deserves all the Little Feat and The Band comparisons so frequently heaped on the Band of Heathens. When news of the debut came it meant, if nothing else, the band (which includes three frontmen who came together loosely as a songwriting swap at Momo’s) had finally started to see itself as more than a side project—something everyone else saw long before they did. Upon its release it was clear the anticipation was well worth it. Coincidentally, the self-released, Ray Wylie Hubbard-produced debut also wound up at #8 on the Americana Music Association’s list of most-played albums of 2008 as reported by radio stations nationwide.



#8 THE BLACK ANGELS – DIRECTIONS TO SEE A GHOST
Light in the Attic Records – Released 5/13/08
Cementing the notion that drone rock is a genre, The Black Angels carry The Velvet Underground on an acid trip into the new millennium. Directions to See a Ghost was the follow-up to the breakthrough Passover (2006) that blazed the trail for the recent resurgence of psychedelic rock dominating many Austin music venues. Despite trimming from a six-piece to five members, the sophomore full-length came out fuller, a sonic echo of droning rock culling from the influence of the 13th Floor Elevators and Jesus and Mary Chain while riding the spirit of Native American dancers and voodoo snake charmers.

#7 ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO – REAL ANIMAL
Alejandro Escovedo: Real AnimalManhattan/Back Porch Records – Released 6/24/08
In what many (austin.com agrees) have called Escovedo’s greatest in his career, Real Animal finds Escovedo able to perfectly weave his ‘70s punk band days with his later, and more well-known, adult contemporary career. Often framed as a career retrospective, it seems fairer to say this is the best slice of right now that just about anyone in the Americana scene has come up with in recent memory: straddling raw, indie angst with seasoned, tempered roots-rock. Real Animal also produced perhaps some of Escovedo’s best “hits,” including “Always a Friend,” which Bruce Springsteen covered in concerts (with Escovedo joining) and “People,” which Escovedo performed live at the Democratic National Convention.


#6 JAMES MCMURTRY – JUST US KIDS
James McMurtry: Just Us KidsLightning Rod Records – Released 4/15/08
Running with a narrative thread in honor of his father, Larry McMurtry, Just Us Kids is another chapter in the hard-to-put-down book that is James McMurty’s musical canon. At its core is the Crazy Horse styled roots rock, with just enough grunge to give this Americana its bite. This turns into a full-on gnashing with a number of songs whose lyrics take aim at evil-doing politicians (“God Bless America” and “Cheney’s Toy” most notably). Protest songs counted though, McMurtry’s true lyrical calling card is bringing names and faces to folks mired in day-to-day life in the outskirts of flyover America. Though sitting at #6 on our year-end review, Just Us Kids found itself at #2 both on a USA Today Top 5 list and the Americana MusicAssociation's most-played list.

#5 GRUPO FANTASMA – SONIDOS GOLD
Grupo Fantasma: Sonidos GoldAire Sol Records – Released 6/17/08
The only album on our list to earn a Grammy nomination, Sonidos Gold is a bit of an underdog to win in the “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album” category. Of course, if there was a “Best Bad Ass Latin Funk Orchestra” category, Grupo Fantasma would win hands down. The 10-piece band borrows a groove from Fania, the ‘60s Spanish Harlem record label that pretty much invented salsa, as well as a grind from the Godfather of Soul, and a subtle knack of sampling borrowed equally from hip-hop and psychedelic ambiance. Of course, these are music critic sound bytes. What most folks notice is the driving rhythm and horn-heavy bombast of Latin dance music. It caught Prince’s attention, who might have helped Grupo’s chances by taking them to some mighty big stages in 2007.


#4 ELECTRIC TOUCH – ELECTRIC TOUCH
Justice Records – Released 8/26/08
Electric TouchThis power-pop quartet took the summer festival circuit by storm in 2008 with prime slots at Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits—and they earned all these slots before recording a debut CD. That’s what one blow-everyone-out-the-water gig in Austin can do. Elements of Queen and Bee Gees, and heavier doses of The Clash and The Beatles are evident, but Electric Touch ratchets up the intensity so high that these influences are left behind as they blaze forward to the frontier of indie rock. Nottingham native Shane Lawlor (who crossed the pond to Austin with IV Thieves) adds electro-pop keys to the mix of leather-clad garage rock with guitar-windmill swagger. Ringing in at 33 minutes, seven of the ten cuts on Electric Touch would be the big hit standout on most any other album, aided by rousing, sing-along choruses and perfect harmony production.

#3 SHEARWATER – ROOK
Matador Records – Release Date 6/3/08
Shearwater: RookThe only downfall of this recording is it packs so much haunting beauty and delicate grace, that it might almost be best lost for lengths of time, so each time you do revisit, it stuns you yet again. Opener “On the Death of the Waters” sets the tone, beginning with Jonathan Meiburg’s falsetto cantor, enchanting a listener into a numbing bliss—much like the mythic Siren singers—leaving us unaware of the impending tempest, an instant crash of feedback, French horn, and cymbals that takes us crashing against a crag of sea rocks. Meiburg, who left Okkervil River early in 2008 to focus entirely on the onetime side project of Shearwater, helms what is easily the most undefinable album on this list. Each song is its own mini epic, composed with such arcane instruments as pump organ, hammer dulcimer, bassoon, harp, glockenspiel as well as tuba, trumpet, clarinet, and more. As a whole, Rook is the closest to opera that indie rock has gotten thus far.


#2 WALTER HYATT – SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS, VOLUME ONE
King Tears Music – Released 1/18/08
Walter Hyatt: Some Unfinished BusinessWe decided to keep this album out of #1 on a technicality only, because the recording started in 1996, the same year Hyatt passed in a tragic plane crash. But it’s fair game for the 2008 list because this is all new, unreleased material. Hyatt cut the vocals and rhythm tracks before his death. His wife Heidi finally had the strength to finish them more than ten years later, enlisting the help of Jerry Douglas, Allison Moorer, Warren Hood, The Jordanaires, Carrie Rodriguez, and others to complete the arrangements and fills. Hyatt’s velvet voice is the bedrock, surrounded by elements of Motown, Americana, doo-wop, and shuffle. Some Unfinished Business gives no evidence of its piecemealed nature, sounding like one seamless—and ultimately timeless—outpouring of musical genius. The Volume One in the title hints at more to come, which would be a wonderful gift to music lovers. This installment closes with “I’ll Come Knocking,” a stunningly beautiful song. On its own, its power causes a speechless embrace for its entirety. Listening with knowledge of the back story is life-changing: Nobody’s tomorrow is guaranteed; give, and take, as much love as you can fit into every single day.

#1 DREW SMITH – DREW SMITH’S LONELY CHOIR
Viro / Fat Caddy Records – Released 9/5/08
Drew Smith's Lonely ChoirFrom the opening notes of staccato piano, ears perk up to this record with an inquisitive canine-quality. But we’re not listening to determine squirrel, cat, or intruder. Our senses are wrapping around pop melodies emerging from thin air, wondering how the trumpets, trombone, and banjo got in the yard. You can’t escape this album without thinking of The Beatles, Van Morrison, and The Kinks (especially the horn charts of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)). Though Smith would beg you to expand your musical mind to include Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman, who he immortalizes—along with the very act of geeking out to great records—in “Nilsson Sings the Songs of Newman.” While Smith wrote all the songs, and delivers with a commanding presence, a nod certainly needs to be steered toward Matt Russell, who arranged all the compositions masterfully along with playing all keys (piano, organ, Rhodes, Wurlitzer). If you ever get stuck on that proverbial island, any of the ten on this list would be good to have with you, but Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir will leave you felling good as much as you are satisfied. Read some more about Drew Smith here.

October 26th 2008 by Noel Nocciolo

Find Of The Day: Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir!

This is the best band you’ve probably never heard. I mean that with all of the love in the world, because every band starts out with only a handful of listeners outside of their hometown. I have to say, in my multiple occasions over the last few years at large-scale music festivals, there are very few occasions when I see something that blows me away before I’ve even had my morning (or afternoon…) coffee. Drew Smith gives me hope that good music, regardless of the label of ‘pop’ or ‘rock’ or ‘alternative’ exists in the twenty-first century. He put together a group of some of Austin’s finest musicians, hours of work, and dollars out-of-pocket, and released an album that not only is a work of art to view, but a work of art to experience in a stereo or in headphones. (CLICK ON THE LINK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE)

Houston Chronicle
By: Andrwe Dansby

One of my favorite albums to come out of Austin this year, Drew Smith's Lonely Choir immediately sets itself up as manna for music geeks. "Thought I'd phone with hopes you'd listen," Andrew Smith sings on Nilsson Sings Newman. "Found a record that will blow your mind. Nilsson sings the songs of Newman. Melodies old, and I swear that it will make you cry."

The boozy, loser-y despair that prompts misguided certainty is all there. Those who treat music as study (and as sweetheart) always think she'll love it. And she never does. Who loves Nilsson Sings Newman? Nerds.

But that's OK. Smith and his Choir are nothing if not self-aware, and that's part of this album's charm. Smith plays contrasts with a mad scientist's devious glee. He does a great job pitting a bouncing Bacharachlike piano against a weepy pedal steel on New Year's Day. Strings and a banjo play nice together on NYC Song. Sloppy bop-ba-da's bounce nicely against brass on Diamonds.
(CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE)

Austin.com
By: Dante Dominick

Beatlesque is a term bandied about rather frequently. But how often do you think, “this could’ve been a Beatles album”? Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir is a modern day Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band right down to the brilliant packaging, the insert an elaborately cut, hand-drawing of a military band from a bygone era. Lest we get carried too far with a Beatles motif, there are times Smith seems more the progeny of Van Morrison (“Silver Pictures”), as well as some undertones of wispy-fiddle Americana (“NYC Song”) totally foreign to the Fab Four. But starting with the first staccato piano of opener “Nilsson Sings Newman,” it’s a thought that keeps sneaking in while listening to Drew Smith. The remarkably crafty song arrangements (a big nod goes to Matt Russell, who also plays all the keys), the enraptured songwriting and delivery, the highly varied instrumentation—it all adds up. Drew Smith and Matt Russell display intangible deft to orchestrate trumpets, trombones, fiddle, pedal steel, Rhodes, banjo, saxes into a sound simultaneously pop-hook catchy (for the here and now) and smart-art NPR-ready (for the critical immortality). (CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE)

Written by Tamara Dwyer
Published September 07, 2008

Sometimes lost in the roots-rock, alt-country sound that has come to typify Austin music is a handful of very, very good pop bands with chart-topping success, such as Spoon and Fastball. Such a band is Drew Smith's Lonely Choir. Smith is a self-described disciple of '70s pop, a sound that — on his new album — is freshly updated and beautifully delivered.

The opening track, "Nilsson Sings Newman", gets its title from an album on which Harry Nilsson sings Randy Newman songs. The song describes listening to a new album with a good friend and letting your troubles go, realizing that "things are only getting better over time anyway". It serves as the perfect opening for a studio album that continues the tradition of two of the most prolific singer-songwriters in American pop music: Randy Newman ("Mama Told Me Not to Come" and many more) and Harry Nilsson ("Everybody's Talkin'" and many more).

The lush songs flow gently from one to another, artfully arranged by Drew Smith's longtime collaborator, Matt Russell. All the songs are original compositions except "New Year's Day," on which Smith and Russell share writing credits. Friendship is a theme throughout many of the songs; "NYC Song" tells a tale of a sunny day spent with a good friend in the city, followed by the toe-tapping "Diamonds" with an offer to buy his baby the truth.

In "Silver Pictures" Smith channels another of his idols, Van Morrison, with rich saxophone backing the tale of a concert road trip and the illusions and disillusions of youth. Each song has a distinct sound and showcases different instruments; "Silver Pictures" is followed by dreamy pedal steel guitar and piano of "New Year's Day," balanced by Smith's rich voice. The tone of the album slowly shifts as we "Travel My Dark Road."

My favorite song on the album is "Follow Me Down." After humming it to myself for a few days, I took a cue from the opening track and listened to it with my best friend, who pronounced this tune as "Silky smooth pop with a hook I can't believe I'm not hearing on the radio." Another highlight of the album is "Are You Lonely," which is a full-on press of instrumentation and vocals which sound anything but lonely. The call and response vocals with "the lonely choir" give the album its name. When the band performs live, the entire audience sings along to this rousing tune. The entire album is marked by the subtle changes and variety between songs, woven together to provide a continuous flow of wistful optimism. The last song, "Home," closes the album with a short note of blissful happiness, fitting for a compilation dedicated to Smith's wife, Shelley.

The album was recorded in Drew Smith's hometown of Austin, Texas, a town steeped in an Americana vibe. Although many of Austin's finest musicians with that rockin' country sound contribute (including Kim Deschamps on pedal steel, Warren Hood on fiddle, and Dustin Welch on banjo and resonator guitar) this album does not share the twangy rockabilly sound of many Austin recordings. Fans of Chuck Prophet, Coldplay or Oasis might find Drew Smith's album resonates for them.
(CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE)