It List: Monday 3/12/07

Shearwater/Pattern Is Movement/So Many Dynamos/Johnny Blackmouth (UTD located @800 W. Campbell Rd. in Richardson) : It's the start of an impossibly busy week for music in the state and this Radio UTD showcase is a good indication of just how busy it's going to be. Austin's beloved Shearwater have just signed to Matador, who are kind (and powerful) enough to rerelease their critically adored Palo Santo album. I'm sure Matador owner Gerard Cosloy living in Austin helps, which might lead to other Austin groups getting the privilege of releasing albums bearing that famous flag logo. I wouldn't hold my breath. So Many Dynamos are a midwestern indie pop band with the kind of ridiculously pleading Get Up Kids-style of singing that I thought had fallen out of fashion in the past three to five years. Maybe not in St. Louis. Pattern is Movement is pretty interesting since they weave their standard melodies over willfully complex backing tracks which makes for a sometimes jarring listen, but I wouldn't say that's necessarily bad. Johnny Blackmouth is a local group with a nice unvarnished demo quality to their music that kind of reminded me of the dry recording aesthetic of "Sugar On My Tongue" by The Talking Heads. The best show you're likely to see in the suburbs on a Monday night.

Dead Meadow/Chief Death Rage/Spindrift (Hailey's): Matador owns the Metroplex tonight with one of their star acts playing Denton besides the aforementioned UTD show. Dead Meadow are pretty tranquil compared to a lot of groups in the "Stoner Rock" genre, with some rather serene pieces of music that sound influenced by repeated listens of The Madcap Laughs or Oar. Of course, there were always quieter moments on Sabbath, Budgie, and even Blue Cheer records. Dead Meadow is also unique in that their heavier moments don't sound cartoonish and forced the way some of their bong-choked peers do. Spindrift sounds like a 60's desert cult addicted to Morricone soundtracks. Chief Death Rage are the perfect local band for this bill and they can hold their own with any national act.

Psychedelic Horseshit/Pink Reason/Stag Film/Brimstone Howl (Club Dada): Psychedelic Horseshit make this whole band description thing really easy. I love when genres are included in names. They sound better than I remembered and I really like the distorted organ sound in some of their songs. Pink Reason also sound pretty cool and are along similar lines with both bands being charmingly sloppy and psych influenced. Stag Film is a bass and drums duo with some decent riffs when the garage rock vocals don't get in the way.