St. Louis Music Blog

​On Saturday night at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, '90s pop band the Boorays is playing a show to commemorate its twentieth anniversary. A good history of the band can be found here, although Roy Kasten neatly summed up the band in this week's paper like this:

Like few bands from the early '90s rock scene in St. Louis, the Boorays sounds timeless -- or as timeless as its obvious R.E.M. and dB's influence permit. You could say the quartet got lucky with sources, or you could just recognize the talent of principal singer and songwriter Mark Stephens, who has never sounded quite as comfortable, confident or free as when aided by the precise rhythm section of Andy Thomson and Bob Kaemmerlen, the garage guitar of Mike Hellebusch and the whole band's keen, airy harmonies.

The band goes on at 10 p.m. (The Helium Tapes are headlining, Tight Pants Syndrome is opening.) Three of its members kindly took the time to answer some queries about what they're up to and how to snag their remastered music. View these quotes -- and snag some tunes -- below!

MP3: The Boorays, "Somethin' Sweet"

MP3: The Boorays, "Girl Repellent"

MP3: The Boorays, "Stop Drop-N-Roll"

Why are the Boorays doing a reunion show now?
Andrew Thomson, bassist/vocalist: Well.... we are kind of downplaying this aspect because it puts an exclamation point on how, um, experienced we are, but it does happen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first time we played out.
Mike Hellebusch, guitarist/vocalist: After all these years, the band still loves its music and our friends and families continue to talk about the influence of the band on them and how much they enjoyed attending our concerts and listening to our music.
Bob Kaemmerlen, drummer/vocalist: We really miss the music. As the years roll forward, we forget about sleeping on people's floors out of town and spending all day in a van together. The music is still pretty important to us.

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews the Hibernauts' new album, Velvet Suit.

Suit opens with the slow-grower "Make Me a Son," which unfolds with plaintive piano chords, some George Harrison-inspired slide guitar and a string section. Where the Hibernauts of old couldn't wait to get to the hook or unload a big fat chorus, the song displays twin traits of patience and destruction: After a steady build to the coda, everything -- even those pretty violins -- gets loaded into the shredder. However, the next track, "Intermurals (sic)," takes the band right back to where it started: It's a frenetic, supercharged indie-rock tune with a fixation on the whims and vagaries of college coeds. The style isn't a bad place to call home; the song's stop-start dynamics and an especially pliant bass line make it comfortably catchy. However, it sets the stage for an album which vacillates between new elements (slower tempos, an extended arsenal of sounds) and old ones (Strokes-y rhythms, from-the-hilt vocals).

Read the rest here. The band's CD release show is this Saturday, November 21, at Off Broadway. The Blind Eyes and Gentleman Auction House are also on the bill.

MP3: The Hibernauts, "Intermurals [sic]"

Annie Zaleski

Dex Romweber, July 2008 at Off Broadway

​This one's flying a bit under the radar, unjustly so: The almighty Dex Romweber Duo is performing at the Fox Hole at Atomic Cowboy tomorrow night, making good on drummer Sara Romweber's July 2008 promise that they'd come back. Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost, the Dirt Daubers and Whistle Pig are also performing.

Romweber was one-half of '80s favorites the Flat Duo Jets. Recently, he landed on Bloodshot Records, which released this year's Ruins of Berlin., an album with guest appearances from Neko Case, Exene Cervenka and Cat Power. As for the Duo's live show, like I said last year:

The Dex Romweber duo specializes in music plucked with the soul and faith of a Sunday morning revival, a fluid mix of blues, surf-rock, rockabilly, proto-rock & roll and garage.

Check an MP3 below.

MP3: Dex Romweber Duo, "Picture of You"

Beach House made quite the impression earlier this year at its sold-out Billiken Club show. The dreamfuzz act, which signed to Sub Pop earlier this year, will be releasing Teen Dream on January 26, 2010. The new song below has a fantastically creepy wavering keyboard line underneath Victoria Legrand's breathy vocals and the shimmering guitars, giving it the feeling of a nightmare instead of a tranquil daydream.

MP3: Beach House, "Norway"

Tonight, Tilts -- the band fronted by Andrew Elstner of Riddle of Steel and featuring ex-Shame Club members Ken McCray and Andy White -- is playing its first show at the Firebird. Caporetto and Engine Orchestra are also on the bill. The band's MySpace describes its sound like this:

The Immigrant Song meets Dukes of Hazard while listening to Brown Sugar in the General Lee somewhere in the year 1984. So sexy.

Judging by the below MP3s, Tilts loves Van Halen ("It Helps") and Queens of the Stone Age-caliber stoner sludge ("Give Me Some Of Your Loving.") The latter song is particularly ferocious.

MP3: Tilts, "It Helps"

MP3: Tilts, "Give Me Some of Your Loving"

The new album from UK Canadian electro-femmes Dragonette is in heavy rotation at A to Z HQ. Like neo-new wave peers Ladyhawke, Fixin' To Thrill cribs the best bits from the Gossip (danceable grooves), Yeah Yeah Yeahs (attitude) and Britney Spears (poppy electro). RIYL Robyn, Cyndi Lauper, all the acts mentioned above.

My pals over at Buffetlibre passed along their discotheque-ready remix of new tune "Easy." Check it out -- maybe it'll lift the spirits on this impossibly rainy, grey day.

MP3: Dragonette, "Easy" (Buffetlibre Remix)

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In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer interviewed Cobden, Illinois, resident Stace England. The singer-songwriter's latest project is an album called The Amazing Oscar Micheaux. As Schaeffer says, "Micheaux was an African American filmmaker whose work was, in part, a response to D.W. Griffith's infamous 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation. Micheaux's work was mostly forgotten until recent discoveries of long-lost prints made it possible for film scholars to reassess his contributions to American film." Couple this with Greetings from Cairo, Illinois -- an album about the state, released a few years ago -- and it's safe to say that England is emerging as one of the finest modern historians/songwriters.

View England's take on that, info about his performances this weekend and snag an MP3 -- all below.

El Perro del Mar
Where: The Gargoyle
Playing With: Peter Bjorn and John
Sounds Like: "The 2009 release Love Is Not Pop furthers Sarah Assbring's deconstruction of pop and indie-folk forms -- the melodies linger, the grooves float, the themes sigh -- but a sonic laboratory of dubby delay and electronic glimmer and glitch catalyzes her songs. Mood pieces such as "Let Me In" and "It Is Something (to Have Wept)" -- the latter featuring a lyrical assist from writer G.K. Chesterton -- languidly unfold and gather malevolent momentum, like a carefree club hop devolving into icy, down-tempo, noir remixes." (link) -- Roy Kasten
RIYL: Lykke Li, Ladyhawke, Dragonette
Video for "Change of Heart"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews the Helium Tapes' second CD, Ghost Wave. He has this to say:

Singer and guitarist Sunyatta Marshall throws down the gauntlet every chance she gets -- and although her vocals on the previous record were always sufficient but often indistinct, there's no missing her here. On the opening track "Falling Behind," Marshall rises above the rumbling drums, loping bass line and snaking guitar notes. There's never a lot of menace in her voice, but when coupled with the ominous instrumentation, it sound like she's staring daggers at you through the speakers. It's a spooky, beguiling introduction to an album that uses power-pop smarts to ensnare listeners with songs about burgeoning desires, potent kiss-offs and soaring reveries.

Read the rest here. The band's CD release party is this Saturday night at Off Broadway. Karate Bikini and Bulletpop! are also on the bill.

MP3: The Helium Tapes, "Give You Chase"

King Khan & BBQ Show
Where: Off Broadway
Playing With: Those Darlins, Jesse Irwin
Sounds Like: What Keegan Hamilton said here and here.
RIYL: Chuck Berry, Black Flag, psych-rock/garage-soul
MP3: King Khan & BBQ Show, "Third Ave."

Local producer/artist Splitface released an instrumental EP, The Autumn, yesterday via Indyground Entertainment. DJ Mahf and Calc2 also appear on the mini-album. Take a listen to the DJ Shadow-esque title track below -- dig that trip-hop, downtempo vibe -- and download the entire EP here.

MP3: Splitface, "The Autumn"

The Mumlers

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The Mumlers
Where: Pop's Blue Moon
Sounds Like: Macabre garage-soul steeped in swampy blues and scratchy 45 RPM records.
RIYL: The Nevermores, King Khan & BBQ Show, Tom Waits, anything on Anti- Records
MP3: The Mumlers, "Coffin Factory"

Benjamin Wahiche/myspace.com/juliepeel

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Julie Peel
Where: Off Broadway
With: Joe Purdy
Sounds Like: The crispness of autumn. Songs from Peel's debut, Near the Sun, sigh with winsome acoustic guitars and soft-glow percussion -- and are the perfect gentle accompaniment for her husky alto voice.
RIYL: Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Joni Mitchell, Land of Talk
MP3: Julie Peel, "Unfold"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews HUMDRUM's CD, Individual Man. He had this to say:

If you were to break a certain folksy dictum and judge HUMDRUM's CD by its cover, you'd be right to assume that space is the place for this local quartet. The artwork for Individual Man features a hand-drawn image of an astronaut adrift in the cosmos, and the track list features titles such as "Hide and Seek in the Universe" and "Outerspace [SIC]." But for all the celestial reveries, vocoder freakouts and ambient soundscapes - the band cheekily thanks their delay pedal in the liners -- HUMDRUM's music is solid, two-guitar indie rock. While the band certainly pulls from space-rock heroes (and possible namesake) Hum, other prominent touchstones include Weezer's garage-pop, Spacehog's effervescent rock & roll and even the Foo Fighters' power-chord crunches.

Read the rest here. The band is doing an in-store at Vintage Vinyl on Thursday, November 12, at 8 p.m.

MP3: HUMDRUM, "Kaleidoscope"

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AFI
Where: The Pageant
With: Gallows
Sounds Like: Post-everything -- hardcore, punk, electro, rock, pop and goth. The band's new album, Crash Love, rails against the emptiness of fame and shallowness of modern culture, and features some of the catchiest, tightest songwriting of its career.
RIYL: The Smiths, Misfits, Alkaline Trio
MP3: AFI, "Ziggy Stardust" (David Bowie cover)

Liz Linder/myspace.com/thenewcollisions

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The New Collisions
Where: The Gramophone
With: Team Relevance
Sounds Like: The Boston band specializes in effervescent synthpop full of pitter-pattering beats, zippy keyboards and sassy female vocals. Fans include producer Anthony Resta (Duran Duran, Missing Persons) and Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes, with whom the band has worked.
RIYL: Au Revoir Simone, the Go-Go's, Blondie
MP3: The New Collisions, "I'm Losing"

Head on over to Daytrotter today, where the featured spotlight artist is Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three. LaFarge dropped by the Rock Island studios and performed *four* unreleased songs. Congrats! His latest album, Riverboat Soul, is also available -- but for now, only if you buy one at a LaFarge concert. (It'll be in stores and on iTunes in January.) Check out three new studio songs here.

www.myspace.com/brazosbrazos

​Brazos/White Denim
Where: Firebird
Playing With: Troubadour Dali
Sounds Like: White Denim is equal parts Scooby-Doo-esque psychedelic textures and stoner-rock skronk. (Zoinks! They aren't interchangeable.) And as for Brazos, Roy Kasten says: "With a sound somewhere between the jazz-rock fusions of Tim Buckley and the freaked-out folk of Neutral Milk Hotel -- all stacked acoustic guitars, impetuous percussion and meandering pianos -- Brazos dares listeners to dip into a bracing, deep and sometimes turbulent stream of consciousness."
RIYL: Black Angels, Earl Greyhound, Primal Scream (WD); see above (Brazos)
BTW: White Denim is also appearing at Vintage Vinyl at 5 p.m.
MP3: Brazos, "Day Glo"
MP3: White Denim, "I Start to Run"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews Strawfoot's How We Prospered. He had this to say:

From the start of Strawfoot's second full-length, How We Prospered, it's clear that the ramped-up bluegrass band has lightened its mood. Where its debut album, Chasing Locusts, was scorched by fire and blackened with brimstone, Prospered finds no small amount of joy in the dark folds of its Gothic Americana-inspired songs. The disc kicks off with the jaunty, banjo-driven "Broken Crown," which careens along with fiddle and guitar solos and a knee-slapping rhythm. Singer Marcus Eder has grown into his high-pitched, occasionally pinched delivery, and he inhabits these songs rather than merely performing them. Gone, too, are many of the Civil War-era string band affectations that saddled parts of Strawfoot's debut record; this time around, the band isn't shy about mixing influences, as on the raw, electric guitar-led "Invisible Man."

Read the rest here. Strawfoot's CD release show is (appropriately) on Halloween at Off Broadway. The Monads and Campfire Club are also on the bill.

MP3: Strawfoot, "Churchyard Cough"

Apologies for spacing on this last Friday. Here are two MP3s from the band Surtsey. Although based in Cape Girardeau, the trio has started earning more gigs in St. Louis as of late. (In fact, the next one is Wednesday, November 4, at Cicero's with It's All About the Benjamins and Sink the Bismark.) Surtsey's tunes are wise beyond their years, full of toasty-warm acoustic guitars, faded piano, molasses tempos and Joseph Bassa's sonorous, sometimes-somber vocals. Unlike other groups of its age or style, however, Surtsey makes sure its songs are mature and well-structured -- and its aim is sincerity, not fame at all costs. Get the Broken Beds EP now.

MP3: Surtsey, "I Am In Your Name"

MP3: Surtsey, "How Time Sorts Things"

Enough to do this weekend for ya? Goodness...

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D. Rider
Who: The new band founded by Todd Rittmann of post-rock pioneers U.S. Maple. Think brain-bending percussion, diffracted found sounds and sinewy guitars.
Where: Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center
With: The Conformists
RIYL: Cheer-Accident, Bowie's weirdest moments, experimental jazz-rock-skronk hybrids
MP3: D. Rider, "Touchy"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews Pretty Little Empire's Sweet Sweet Hands. He had this to say:

Pretty Little Empire trades in sweet acoustic melancholy, a kind of slow-drip dream-folk that skirts the edges of twang and pop. Singer and guitarist Justin Johnson leads the quartet with a tremulous voice that has both a lonesome quaver and an inviting timbre. His singing style is eerily reminiscent of the Rosebuds' Ivan Howard, and both singers use the magnetic force of their voices to draw the listener into sometimes righteous, sometimes heavy-hearted songs. Theodore's Andy Lasher contributes lyrical, intersecting trumpet lines to standout "Good Morning Early Riser" and uses his bowed saw to add Theremin-like ambience elsewhere on the disc. And like Theodore, Pretty Little Empire loves the sound of dusty, creaking spaces, but chooses to leave them barren and let the echoes resolve unadorned.

Read the rest here. Pretty Little Empire's CD release show is this Monday night at the Firebird. The Sham and Blood Pony are also on the bill.

MP3: Pretty Little Empire, "Good Morning Early Riser"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer wrote a feature on Old Lights. (Photo above by Jennifer Silverberg.) The band's limited-edition vinyl LP, Every Night Begins the Same, is available today on St. Ives. (Order here.) Schaeffer describes the band's sound thusly:

Old Lights' ascent is first and foremost a product of the band's songs. Built around piano and guitar, a typical live set will touch on jangle-pop, ramped-up folk songs, Brill Building-era standards and a few moments of heart-on-sleeve clarity. As a singer, Beeman pushes his high, sweet tenor without straining it, knowing that the band's easy-to-swallow sweetness belies the emotional heft of his lyrics

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MP3: Old Lights, "Losing My Mind"

At the moment, Beeman and bandmate/girlfriend Kristin Dennis are in Cottage Grove, Oregon, recording with Richard Swift. (In fact, they happen to be next-door neighbors.) He says he hopes to record two albums with Swift in the time they spend in the Pacific Northwest -- and stresses that Old Lights is not broken up. In fact, he had some kind things to say about the members of Old Lights' live configuration...

The Union Electric -- the band featuring guitarist/banjoist/vocalist Tim Rakel, guitarist Glenn Burleigh and drummer Eric Von Damage -- was kind enough to send over a mastered version of "You've Been Served." This will appear on the band's first 7"! It's quite a menacing punk-folk drone; Rakel sounds like someone you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. I dig. Catch 'em doing the song live at the following upcoming dates:

Saturday, October 17, at the Schlafly Tap Room (with Campfire Club)
Thursday, October 22, at Mangia Italiano (with Bridgeton Air Defense)

MP3: The Union Electric, "You've Been Served"

Yesterday, Pitchfork posted news and downloads from Phaseone's new mixtape, White Collar Crime. Like his other releases, this is free (nab it here). Enjoy some downloads at that Pitchfork link!

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews Abi Robins' Conversations with Myself. He had this to say:

[Abi Robins'] first full-length, Conversations with Myself, won't knock you down with volume or mind-bending musical and lyrical prowess, but will engage by asking a fair amount of tough questions and disclosing a few hard-won life lessons.At first blush her songs are pretty and unassuming, and a slightly bluesy undercurrent accompanies the folksy strums and sweet vocals. Despite the limitations of this girl-and-guitar configuration, Robins and her cohorts fill out her songs without obscuring their heart. The double-tracked vocals on "The Drive" are slightly staggered, lending the tune a fittingly bipolar effect. An electric piano and some quick-wristed drumming give "If the Shoe Fits" a nice bounce, and the punchy backdrop gives Robins a little spring in her step.

Read the rest here. Robins' next show in town is this Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Maplewood coffee shop the Stone Spiral.

MP3: Abi Robins, "The Blue Waltz"

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Apologies to the band: I spaced on posting this MP3 last Friday, before its CD release show at Off Broadway. Here's a new song from John Henry & the Engine, "I Don't Wanna Know," which is the title track to its new vinyl EP. The band is playing the Bluebird Music Festival in Columbia this weekend.

MP3: John Henry and the Engine, "I Don't Wanna Know"

The Shaky Hands

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The Shaky Hands
Where: The Firebird
With: The Mhurs
Sounds Like: "If Mott the Hoople and Dr. Dog had a baby, it would be called Tom the Poodle, and it would sound like the Shaky Hands. The Portland band's no-frills, all-boogie presentation reclaims the spirit of the blues-jamming early '70s -- without relying on girl jeans and mustaches. On the group's fourth album (second on Kill Rock Stars), Let It Die, the fidelity is low, and the swagger is high, making gems such as the groovy "Caught in the Storm" and deliriously catchy, Petty-could've-written-that "Allison and the Ancient Eyes" sound more like lost gold than obscure indie-rock trinkets." (link) -- Jason Harper

Dinosaur Jr/Lou Barlow
Where: The Pageant
Sounds Like: "With grunge-era staples such as "Freak Scene" and "Out There," Dinosaur Jr. specialized in bittersweet compositions, where even the sad songs were love songs and even the love songs were sad. But they were no crybabies: An impermeable wall of screaming guitar concealed much of this melancholy. To the delight of fans, not much has changed over the past twenty or so years. The older songs still ring true, and the live shows are still a pulverizing avalanche of sound." (link) -- Jaime Lees
Other links: Lou Barlow interview

MP3: Lou Barlow, "Gravitate"
MP3: Dinosaur Jr., "I Want You to Know"

Monday, Schmonday: Tonight's a great night for music in St. Louis, if you're feeling adventurous.

First, at Off Broadway is a pretty dynamic quadruple bill featuring the Postmarks, Brookville, Pretty Little Empire and Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps. The latter act hails from Minneapolis and is fantastic; I fully expect the band to be opening for someone at the Duck Room or Pageant within the year. Take a listen to its August Daytrotter session, where its literate lyrics, Smith's evocative croon -- which has hints of old-time jazz and cabaret, a la Fiona Apple or Adele -- and solid songwriting are on full display. Dig Samantha Crain and Elizabeth and the Catapult? You'll dig.
 
Pretty Little Empire, meanwhile, is a newish local band making waves in recent months. thanks to Bon Iver/Fleet Foxes-ish acoustic murmurs, which are perfect for the early autumn chill. The band's debut album, sweet sweet hands, is due October 26, the same day as the band's Firebird release show.

The Postmarks -- although also perfect for this wool-sweater weather -- hails from Miami and specializes in winsome, wall-of-sound indie-pop. And last but not least is Brookville. Fronted by Andy Chase, the NYC act was great opening for Trashcan Sinatras in August and has a fabulous new album, Broken Lights, out now. RIYL: Go-Betweens, Ivy, Prefab Sprout, Talk Talk.

MP3: Brookville, "Great Mistake"

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews Syna So Pro's make two people happy (i.e. the solo project of Stella Mora bassist/vocalist Syrhea Conaway). He had this to say:

...she takes on a variety of instruments herself -- resulting in classical-inspired violin passages, skyscraping guitar chords and layered harmonies where Conaway is singing with herself. make two people happy is very much an album, meant to be experienced in sequence: These twelve songs are stitched together not with overt messages or recurring themes but with subtle, borderless dynamics, which give the disc a dreamlike quality.As befits someone coming from the swirling, amorphous world of shoegaze, the first few songs have so much gauzy, ambient set-dressing that it's hard to make out Conaway's words. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; the vocals melt into the rest of the instrumentation to create plangent sheets of sound.

Read the rest here. Syna So Pro's CD release party is this Saturday night at the Luminary Center for the Arts. Glass Waves and A Light Sleeper are also performing. Tickets are $10.

MP3: Syna So Pro, "Walk Away"