[music]
Light up The Pine Hearts don’t bring you down If Screeching Weasel wrote bluegrass-Americana songs, it might sound something like The Pine Hearts. The Olympia, Wash., band, who just recently played in Missoula, has a new album that weaves together spirited anthems about holding on despite the troubles of the world, about being in love with someone even though they’re leaving forever. Maybe it’s singer Joe Cappocia’s slightly nasal vocals that makes him seem a little punk rock, despite the fact that Distant Lights is an album overflowing with banjo and mandolin. Or it could be that the youthfulness of this group gives them an extra kinetic kick—fans of the feisty boys of Old Crow Medicine Show, for instance, will likely fall in love with The Pine Hearts. Unlike some Americana bands that stress the ways life has hardened them, The Pine Hearts still seem hopeful despite the heartbreak. Even with laments such as, “The world used to be on a string. Who slipped this noose beneath my chin?” from the track “Last Man Standing,” there’s a sense that every-
one will be okay if we just loosen up the knots of our day-to-day a little bit. (As Ben Weasel says, “Let the sunshine in, I know it’s fucking hard.”) The first track from Distant Lights, “Don’t Let the Stars Bring You Down,” is the catchiest of them all. It’s the least cynical song I’ve heard in a while, about science and religion and how if we never crack the code to what the universe means we can still enjoy the mystery. Love this band. It’s my new soundtrack to these long, gray winter days. (Erika Fredrickson)
Code Orange Kids: Love Is Love/Return to Dust The Code Orange Kids are the best band from Pittsburgh, Penn., you‘ve never heard and if I made top-10 lists they would rank numero uno for 2012. Attach whatever moniker you want to the foursome’s aggro sound: post-hardcore seems most fitting, but I suggest FistCrashDeathKickFire. The opener, “Flowermouth (The Leach),” begins with drummer/vocalist Jami Morgan belching out screeching vocals alongside ratty syncopated bass notes. Total grindage ensues and the band slams through five different changes before resting on a quiet repetitive riff that could lull a geeked-up tweeker to sleep. In the span of two minutes and 26 seconds the group is able to make
Max Hay: Another Flea Another Flea, the first studio album in seven years from globe-trotting troubadour (and Helena native/former Missoulian) Max Hay is an interesting ride. Hay flirts with reggae, country, bossa nova and folk styles throughout, with varying results. The title track sets up a rollicking groove with bluesy harmonica embellishments, and the slow country drawl of “What Happened” fits Hay’s baritone nicely, bolstered by elastic electric guitar lines courtesy of Jason Guthmiller. “Dogbite Moon” excels as a subtle, Tom Waits-y ballad, but gets overpowered in the second half by high-gain guitar, and the messy musical commentary on “Timmick Graw’s
one want to take fists to every sad clown painting on the planet and then lovingly restore those paintings. “Nothing (The Rat)” takes a turn for the heavier and manages to be something more than a jock-metal jam with, once again, big, sloppy bass bombs and a subtle slow-down near the end. I have but one minor complaint: The overall production is a bit too cherry. It’s clean almost to a fault. But so fruitin’ what? These youngsters (average age: 19) know how to build heavy, gorgeous, bombastic tracks without cloying musical clichés. Speaking of clichés: These kids are not all right; they are unreal. ( Jason McMackin)
Goatee” gets bogged down by unintelligible sound effects. The horrific slide whistle ending of the Zappaesque “Career Objectives” is played for laughs, but the novelty quickly wears thin. Most musicians are best experienced live, and Hay is likely no exception. While his latest album sounds like he may have had too many studio toys to play with, live videos of these songs indicate they translate well to his one-man show. Listening to Another Flea may leave you confused, but if you can appreciate off-kilter musical endeavors, you’ll enjoy seeing him the next time he comes around. (Jed Nussbaum)
The Living Sisters: Run For Cover The Living Sisters—who are not sisters but, as of press time, remain in good health—are justifiably proud of their voices. The precise harmonies on “Can You Get to That?,” from their EP Run for Cover, which releases on Jan. 8, are vivid and aggressive in the mix, hovering between the headphones at a distance roughly three inches behind the listener’s frontal lobe. They sound good, but it’s the rhythm that makes the track great. Kick, tambourine and claps lag indolently behind the beat, with a barely audible bassline to anchor it all. The result is a study in pixie soul, like if Tegan and Sara went to Bible school in-
stead of Wellesley. Also there is Caucasian blues guitar of the lip-biting variety. This is presumably one of the “country elements” promised in the promotional materials, and it worries me. It is the only pat component in an otherwise inspired arrangement, and it doesn’t belong. Still, if such touches prove to be the predictable features of an otherwise inspired covers album, the listener will come out way ahead. Playing other people’s songs is fun. The Living Sisters have fun playing “Can You Get to That?,” and the head bobs along accordingly. (Dan Brooks)
missoulanews.com • January 3 – January 10, 2013 [19]