The Quest For The Best Atlanta Music Of 2008
No Face @ The Drunken Unicorn (12/3/08)
I’m just finishing up my best Atlanta music list of 2008 and I figured I would talk about a few of the contenders I hadn’t discussed yet this year. When I make my suggested show listings each week, I try to look into as many acts as I can that I don’t recognize playing The Earl or The Drunken Unicorn because their booking is so consistently high quality. I stumbled across an Altanta band I had never heard of called No Face and really loved the couple of songs I heard. I went to see them earlier this month at the Drunken Unicorn, and unfortunately it was very disappointing. Luckily I bought their album before they played, because their album and their live show are as different as night and day. All of You Mean So Much To Me‘s strengths are absent from their 3-piece concert setup with uninspiring drumming and bass playing completely drowning out the soft vocals and occasional guitar playing from Chandler Kelley, the obvious brains behind the operation. It’s a shame, but I won’t hold it against his excellent record that I highly recommend getting. The carefully crafted instrumentation perfectly accentuates Kelley’s endearing song-writing, and there seems enormous potential from this ATLien if he can put together a stage act that rivals his splendid studio work.
No Face : If I Found Somewhere To Live
Fag Static
If screamy vocals are an impenetrable fortress between you and enjoying a band, than you should probably skip over this. If you can get beyond that, or even better, get on the vibe with them, this album is incredible. I had never got around to obtaining a copy of this until a few weeks ago, but I have been thoroughly jamming it ever since. Fag Static include half of the retired Atlanta band Blame Game. Fag Static is now actually a dead band as well, as the BG kids continue to jump around from project to project (Keep your ears out for Sunglasses and a Thy Mighty Contract record). So, before this album becomes just another buried treasure of this city’s scene, get hip to it:
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun
Last weekend when I was out in East Atlanta, I ran into a couple of the members of the now defunct Atlanta band Parade. They had come from the Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun show that I had totally forgot about and they highly recommended the band, so I bought both of their records(both came out this year). Upon listening to them, I discovered there are an enormous amount of parallels between Parade and TTMTTS. TTTMTTS is almost a bit too reminiscent honestly, but packaged in a more accessible, dance-rock-dance sort of way. While their songwriting may not be quite as tremendous as Parade‘s yet, their execution is rather impressive. They certainly seem to have all the makings of a successful band in this city.
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : The Lightning Exhibit : Terrain
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : Hurry Up And Wait : Never. Always. Good.
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun myspace
Expect my best Atlanta albums of 2008 list by the end of the weekend.
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 27, 2008 at 4:53 am
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Atlanta Album Preview: Fag Static
Awesome Ficcanaso album cover art
Fag Static is one of the multitude of projects that have popped up since the at-least-temporary-demise of the Blame Game. If you are unfamiliar with BG, you would do yourself a disservice to not go and look deep into their catalogue because they were a serious force to be reckoned with in the ATL. Fag Static has their first LP about to drop called Ficcanaso and it will be available August 26th. Both this release and the Thy Mighty Contract album are coming out with support of the Room 10 Collective and Ficcanaso will be out on Vagina Flambe later this year. While we all eagerly anticipate getting our grubby hands on it, here are a couple of tracks to keep us pacified for now:
Fag Static : Ficcanaso : Off But On
Fag Static : Ficcanaso : Growing Now
Serious intensity! You can catch them live this Saturday night at The I Can Fly House.
- Posted by Davy Minor on July 9, 2008 at 5:35 pm
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Atlanta Album Preview: Thy Mighty Contract
Supergroups can range anywhere from terrible (Velvet Revolver) to ridiculously awesome (Loose Fur, Swan Lake). So far from what I have heard of Thy Mighty Contract, made up of members of Atlanta institutions such as Blame Game, Fag Static, The Orphins, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You, and Narcolepsy, they are definitely leaning in the awesome direction. I think one of the coolest things about this collective is how well each different sound seems to compliment the others. Their self-titled album should be available later this summer, but until then, you can catch them tonight at WonderRoot. Here’s a track from the forthcoming record to jam:
Thy Mighty Contract : Partners In Crime
- Posted by Davy Minor on July 8, 2008 at 6:25 pm
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Live Review: Deerhunter, No Age, Fag Static (9/27/2007) Drunken Unicorn
I had no idea who Fag Static was before seeing them at this show, but apparently they are sort of supergroup of Atlanta bands, most notably Blame Game. They setup their equipment in front of the Drunken Unicorn stage on the ground and the crowd circled around them. If i were to look up the term “post-rock power trio” in a music dictionary, i imagine that this band would be the definition. They were very impressive and I would highly suggest checking these guys out when they return from the mini tour they are currently on.
No Age played next on the stage. The dynamic duo put down a good show, but i wasn’t super impressed. i’ve been having a bunch of issues with two-pieces this year, and i understand its cool to see so few people put together so much sound and all, but it still didn’t engage me enough. I do plan to look into these guys more though because i’ve really enjoyed the studio work I’ve heard from them and i would still recommend seeing them live.
After some hipster comedian told abortion jokes, Deerhunter took the stage as a five-piece, including former member Colin Mee. According to Pitchfork, Colin has atleast played a few shows with them after this but is not officially back in the band yet. Before playing, they got every light inside the venue turned off except the front cans doing some strobe action. This lighting effect was really cool becasue at times it was completely dark and it felt like you were in a cave or something. The set was a straight balls-to-the-wall noise blast that offered little of Bradford’s stage antics. I loved this set because it was so loud and powerful and very different then the previous times i have seen them. Unfortunetly technical difficulties have lost all of the pics I took of the night(and the Animal Collective show the night before >:( ) except a couple from my camera phone.
- Posted by Davy Minor on October 3, 2007 at 1:14 pm
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