The Beauvilles are a Florida-based group that have been heating up stages across the country with their blues-rock-jam songcraft for nearly a decade. In fact, if you live in the Sunshine State, and haven’t somehow stumbled across the Beauvilles, you apparently have been quite content with hiding in the safety of your own home. Brasky caught up with Shawn Beauville, the once-and-for-all frontman of the group, and he offered some insights into the music biz, the religion of music, and why Florida holds a special appeal for their kickass brand of rock and roll.
Brasky: Recently we’ve decided it was due time to start covering some regional music, and our first thought was ‘Gotta get the Beauvilles in on this.’
Shawn Beauville: Rock and Roll.
Brasky: It certainly seems as if The Beauvilles have been busy lately, logging seven shows at SXSW alone. That seems to be the requisite way to get noticed these days: head to CMJ or SXSW, play until you bleed, get signed. How many separate gigs at an event like that do you think it takes to get people talking?
SB: We really were not playing that many shows in that amount of time intentionally, I think they set us up to do so many shows to keep us busy so we stay out of trouble. With any ‘industry’ music event the main allure is that you have a captive audience of industry, media, and general music lovers who made the trek there from all over the world. But both CMJ and SXSW are drastically different than their legends tell at this point. Both have become media frenzies, with music writers and the like trying to figure out what the labels are pushing, and occasionally stumbling upon a band that no one has ever heard of.
For us, we don’t really have any secret motives of becoming famous or anything, if we are invited and it seems like a wild time, we will travel cross country to be there, especially to Austin and NYC; both cities and the people there have been really kind to us in the last year. As far as getting people talking, I think one show alone can do that, I would rather have one true lover of the music that we convert at a warehouse party than a packed club of trendy people who would forget about you tomorrow. But I don’t really think much about this sort of thing, I am just a guitar player.
Brasky: Indeed. Your rock and roll sensibilities have been compared to the likes of Robert Plant and Jack White…what sets you apart from the ‘iconic’ version of a rock star?
SB: Iconic means different things to different people. There are certain musicians that I love and still listen to on vinyl when I am back home. T-Rex, David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, the Byrds, Eddie Cochran, Otis Redding, Nico & the Velvet Underground, and of course Led Zeppelin and may more from that era all represent a particular kind of music that was as uncompromising as it was authentic. I think now more than ever, people need that sort of music. But, I have no real perspective on what I am actually doing at this point or how we are viewed… If you are in the middle of a river and may drown, you stop thinking about how you look trying to keep above the water.
Brasky: According to your biography, you list music as your religion. Who do you think is the sitting pope of the church of music?
SB: That’s a really funny question. At this point, probably Willie Nelson. He seems to have the cleanest soul out of all of the legends left alive.
Brasky: You’ve been playing around the bay area for as long as anyone Brasky can think of (except maybe Mike Tozier)… What keeps you in Tampa?
SB: I grew up in suitcase city in northern Tampa, and in and around the historic district of Ybor, which until recently was a pretty damn dangerous place. I was lucky and didn’t wind up in jail or worse. At first I was a painter, and then a glassblower, and involved in some of the undergrounds arts collectives that started to spring up at the time. I had a few great loves that lived here. I left and went out west for a little while and wandered back, met some musicians that were set to tour, signed on, almost got a big record deal with them, didn’t, got offered to move to Austin and join an act on a major label that had a hit single, chose not to because their music was horrible… when I recorded my first EP in 2005 all the band lived here in Florida, we were living in a house that was recently demolished, and it was our recording studio, with vintage guitars and such piled everywhere, when we were invited to perform for the Grammy foundation because of it, we couldn’t believe it. There was a time around then that I thought about relocating, but right before I got to the point to pull the trigger, I would be offered some sort of opportunity, and I would be back on the road or back in a studio or back on an airplane. And yes, I still live here, I sleep here most of the time, but that doesn’t mean that it is limiting. And in reality the sort of music that I do, it wouldn’t help me to be in LosAngeles, I can’t remember the last time I heard a good band come out of LA.
Also, I like soul food. You can’t get soul food in Los Angeles or New York.
Brasky: Yeah, I seriously doubt Los Angeles can put greens on the table that would impress anyone from the South. One last question: You’ve already kicked off the festival season with an appearance at Harvest of Hope in St. Augustine… anything big on tap for the summer?
SB: We do have a summer tour that is getting worked on. How far out we are going to go, I am not sure… we have already been tapped for CMJ again in New York this coming October, and the PlaySTL festival in St.Louis for September, so we may be doing a southeastern tour for summer and then the East coast in September-October behind our upcoming record. I have been trying to get the agent to book us at only house parties for a tour, just to get our heads straight. We love playing these big stages, but it is more fun to be packed into a crowd. No separation between the audience and us. That’s rock and roll.
March was a relatively slow month for groundbreaking releases, but nonetheless we were able to sift out some quality music — so here we are. This month’s most iconic release was probably Plastic Beach by Gorillaz, an idiosyncratic album that was either: a) ironically ironic (secretly regarding itself as a masterpiece) or b) simply lame. Contrastly, Peepers by Polar Bear came in under the radar but proved to be a wonderful showcase of musicianship quite worthy of our ears. Also winning favor were Warp veterans Autechre, dazzling us with what we think is one of their finest collections of sonic intricacy.
This month’s report includes streaming samples for you, hoping to draw out each album’s spirit more adeptly than our clumsily-chosen words. So read on and we’ll see you next month, as we get started cooking up reviews on buzz-generating releases from musical maestros MGMT and Caribou, among others.
Described ambiguously as ‘post-jazz’, the London five piece Polar Bear are talented musicians that bring a refreshing blend of jazz, alt-rock, funk, and big band together into one big dinner-date of an album, ‘Peepers’, their fourth overall. With tracks ranging from frenetic messes that sound like a disassembled jigsaw puzzle, to down-tempo 1940s style lamp-post leaners, to the delicious title track ‘Peepers’, which sounds as if Cake, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Jaga Jazzist all jammed out with James Brown, this album has many corners and pathways to explore. If what you have read so far hasn’t piqued your interest, then I am not sure what else to tell you. Listen to this album just for the rhythm section – you will find a clinic of world-beat, funk, and jazz breakdowns devious enough to satisfy anyone old enough to enjoy absinthe. Polar Bear – Peepers by theleaflabel
Oversteps, the 10th album from this titanic production duo, opens with the very slowly developing “r ess”, which gradually blossoms into a thick storm of ominous ambient whitewash, dashed with abrupt synthy bursts that land like lightning strikes. This sets the tone for the album, transitioning seamlessly into “ilanders” (track transitions on this album make for a good “album experience”) which soon bursts into a wall of buzzing, overdriven synths. Dark, vibrating ambience – akin to the style of Datach’i – is a theme throughout the album, flowing over and around the surgical percussive work that is Autechre’s distinction. Oversteps may be the most ambient album from Autechre to date, which may make it a bit more palatable for listeners unfamiliar with the aesthetics of experimental IDM music. Fans of Autechre will have no difficulty recognizing the world class sound design that we look forward to with each new album. Footnote: We’re rating Oversteps ahead of 2008′s Quaristice
Permalight is a slight divergence for this quintet of California indie rockers, serving up plateful of happy/songy tracks that may surprise you with their cheery hooks. We think it’s important to note that Rogue Wave has gone on the record expressing that their interest was to create something fun and danceable with this album. Given that this style was their intention, we think they accomplished their goal and created something worth your regard. While flirting with pop constructs, few of the songs really behave as you predict, keeping the listening experience engaging. Not every song is peppy, with a few acoustic serenades that add some variety to Permalight.
This is a Ted Leo album through and through, which, for those not indoctrinated to his stylings, means that one can expect high-energy call and response pseudo-political anthems interspersed with geographic references, happy little hammer-on guitar solos, lyrics ascending to falsetto range, and a few moments of slow-it-down palm-muted lyrical revelation. So what I am trying to say is that Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ new album is like Fugazi mixed with the Beatles. All in all The Brutalist Bricks is a great avenue for new fans to get interested in Leo’s ever-growing oeuvre, but it will simply solicit a satisfied nod from fans already wowed by classics like ‘Hearts of Oak’ and ‘The Tyranny of Distance’. Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – Even Heroes Have To Die by Royalty Central Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – The Mighty Sparrow by teamanda
Less than a year after their out-of-nowhere coming out party, jj is back with another studio album, their first with American label Secretly Canadian. The Swedish duo raised eyebrows with last year’s jj no 2 (if you’re wondering, jj no 1 was a single), managing to introduce listeners to a unique blend of dreamy pop whim with soulful, reverb-heavy female vocals that call to mind Imogen Heap (less heapy), as well as the female lead from tour partners The xx. jj no 3 seems to carry the momentum successfully, just quirky enough to never get boring, offering a few surprises along the way. The album name is not all that is short – most of the tracks are about 3 minutes and there are just 9 of them. But considering how quickly they turned this around, we’ll cut them some slack. This music is really creative (in that quirky Scandinavian kind of way) and we think you should try it out and see what the buzz is about.
Brasky usually isn’t big on reviewing albums that can be purchased at Starbuck’s, but James Mercer (of the Shins fame) and Danger Mouse (of the Grey Album fame) collaborating on an album seems like a match made in heaven. The album received a considerable amount of press starting as far back as December, and it finally officially dropped in March. Taken wholly, it certainly is not disagreeable, but anyone looking for something more than the sum of its parts will be disappointed. A conspicuously placed first-track single (The High Road) then bleeds into a power struggle between the two artists for who can sound more like they belong in The Shins, with a side objective of rhyming some form of the word ‘light’ with some form of the word ‘night’ as many times as possible. The album is not without its high points and solid beats, but it is curiously even and ‘simple stupid’ the whole time through, with lyrical content aimed directly at disenfranchised twenty-somethings. Verdict: This music fits nicely in a Starbuck’s, where it will inevitably be played regularly until the next Fleet Foxes album comes out. 01 The High Road by wdazzle 04 The Ghost Inside by wdazzle
At best, The Winter of Mixed Drinks is… a little above average. The signature track, Things, is catchy, but honestly belongs on the radio instead of in my music collection. (It would get old. Quick.) This album possesses the elements of both generic and artsy indie rock, which leaves me with mixed feelings. It is appealingly light and airy, however, and seems to tell the story of moving on, seeking solitude, and ridding one’s self of worldly possessions. It doesn’t compare to their second album, Midnight Organ Fight, but to be fair, that album put the on them map and will probably always serve as a work of comparison.
While there were plenty of albums we reviewed and discarded this month, Gorillaz was the only one that distinctly disappointed. Perhaps we’re being too critical, but perhaps instead we’re just being honest with ourselves. An all-star collection of musicians toying with a beachy, whimsical theme is not quite enough for us to praise an album for “originality”. Gorillaz could have sold us an hour of silence and some brit on the corner of the Internet would be still be proclaiming the artistry of it. Check out Aaron’s commentary on the issue from earlier this month and learn a few reasons why maybe Gorillaz shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt: Gorillaz vs. Mark Gormley
Scott Hansen is a California-based musician (Tycho) and artist (ISO50) who collaborates on the iso50.com blog with: Jakub Alexander, who runs the Moongadget record label; Alex Cornell, who is a student at The Academy of Art in San Fransisco; Sam Valenti IV, the founder of Ghostly Records International; and Beamer Wilkins, who runs a software firm and creates electronic music instruments.
Hansen describes his view of design as, “the search for efficiency. Efficiency in conveying a message, efficiency of form. In this way I see some of my own work falling into the category of design, while some of my other work falls under the umbrella of illustration. With the more illustrative pieces my primary goal is to create something beautiful or striking in a visceral sense. These goals remain intact when I create a purely design-driven piece, but there is the added goal of minimalism and efficiency which constrains the process and limits the content. It is these constraints that force us as designers to reveal the core of the idea we are trying to express and to seek the most direct route to it.”
We unanimously agree at Brasky that Hansen’s music, style, and design is excellent, though he makes it clear on his blog that he doesn’t want anyone to take his work too seriously.
Features remixes by Manual, Lusine, and Hatchback. There isn’t much information about this album, but you can check out the review on Pitchfork, whose author rated it 7 out of 10. X
Recommended Track: Coastal Brake (Original)
A compilation album by Tycho, Dabrye, and Mux Mool, among other notable electronic artists. It includes 18 tracks and is available for free on Adult Swim. Cascade is among my favorite ambient/IDM tracks (in general), as are many other tracks on this album. X Recommended Track: Cascade (Live)
Perfectly summed up by Ghostly International (GI), “Adrift fulfills the somnambulant promise of its title, wrapping a chugging downtempo drum beat and gauzy guitars in aquamarine analog fuzz.” X Recommended Track: Adrift
Again, perfectly summed up by GI, “Hansen blends swirling melodies into vaguely triumphant arcs that crisscross between stuttering beats and vocal samples, creating rolling sonic landscapes that extend off into the horizon.” X Recommended Track:
The Disconnect
A quintessential ambient/IDM album, which is the re-issue of Sunrise Projector, but with additional tracks. I have fond memories of PBS being the first song that I listened to by Tycho; at the time I was hoping that his other music would be of equal quality (which, often isn’t the case for many IDM artists), however, not only was not disappointed after listening to other tracks, but I was also impressed. X Recommended Tracks: PBS Past is Prologue Send and Receive
Sunrise Projector (2004)
The original version of Past is Prologue, and is another early album that allowed Tycho to form a strong identity in IDM. X Recommended Track: Sunrise Projector (Nautilis Remix)
Perhaps one of Tycho’s sexier albums, The Science of Patterns includes songs that are sensual (with the implied sounds of rainfall and moaning) and ambient, but not too slow. As one of his debut songs, Dream as a Memory undeniably set the bar for later releases. X Recommended Tracks: Dream as a Memory Human Condition
The Beauvilles are a Florida-based group that have been heating up stages across the country with their blues-rock-jam songcraft for nearly a decade. In fact, if you live in the Sunshine State, and haven’t somehow stumbled across the Beauvilles, you apparently have been quite content with hiding in the safety of your own home. Brasky caught up with Shawn Beauville, the once-and-for-all frontman of the group, and he offered some insights into the music biz, the religion of music, and why Florida holds a special appeal for their kickass brand of rock and roll.
Brasky: Indeed. Your rock and roll sensibilities have been compared to the likes of Robert Plant and Jack White…what sets you apart from the ‘iconic’ version of a rock star?
