Sunday, November 26th, 2006

Sunday Cleaning – Volume 57

Shotgun & Jaybird / Trying To Get Somewhere (Sappy)

Fun non-fact: The too-cute picture book bio for Shotgun & Jaybird claims the band gets their axe chops from many hours of playing Guitar Hero. Not that Trying To Get Somewhere is replete with guitar shredding, far from it – the latest from this Haligonian Sackvillian quartet, now boasting ex-Eric’s Trip and formerly Broken Girl Julie Doiron amongst their number, is decidedly rudimentary from a musical sense, but in a charming and heavy-handed Neil Young sort of way. And if you find that charming, you’ll probably enjoy the off-key, back porch warbling as well. Quintessentially Canadian in its own sort of way. They’re in town at Lee’s Palace opening for The Constantines on Friday.

MP3: Shotgun & Jaybird – “Two And Two Is Four”
MP3: Shotgun & Jaybird – “Come Back Slowly”
MP3: Shotgun & Jaybird – “Lovers Of The World Be On Time Tonight”
MySpace: Shotgun & Jaybird

Snowden / Anti-Anti (Jade Tree)

Strange thing about Atlanta’s Snowden – over the course of their full-length debut Anti-Anti, they crib from any number of indie and alt.rock influences from the past twenty years and yet none of them seem adequate or substantial enough to be good points of reference. But if you think this uncategorizability makes them especially fresh or unique, you’ll likely be disappointed – they end up sounding like fairly rote mid-aughts indie rock for the effort. By trying to blend so much into a single sound, they end up sort of like a music equivalent of V8 – looking and tasting like none of the ingredients on the label, but certainly not unpleasant for the fact and probably good for you. If I had to toss out some descriptors, however, I might say Interpol remixed for the dance floor, with the angst turned down, the groove turned up and the monotone vocals left exactly the same. There’s certainly more to them than this indicates, but if Snowden are V8 then Interpol would be the tomatoes. They’re at the Horseshoe this Friday with !Forward Russia!.

MP3: Snowden – “Anti-Anti”
MySpace: Snowden

By : Frank Yang at 10:21 am
Category: Uncategorized
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  1. 11/26/06 6:56 pm

     Charlie says:

    "if Snowden are V8 then Interpol would be the tomatoes."

    Best line I’ve read in a long time.

  2. 11/26/06 9:24 pm

     alan says:

    Shotgun & Jaybird are from Sackville, NB as opposed to Halifax in your last two posts.

    They put on a great show, the play between Shotgun Jimmie and Dick is hilarious between songs, and Spiral Stairs / Malkmus-ish during the songs. Great band.

  3. 11/26/06 9:42 pm

     Frank says:

    duly noted and corrected.

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