Something Like Sound

When classes ended at the Colorado School of Mines in May of 2009 we got a wild idea: let’s curate a compilation of our favorite local acts and give it away for free! Over the span of 6 months we managed to gather a group of songs that reflect the diversity and quality of the Denver music scene. It is my hope that everyone can find a track that they enjoy on this compilation and discover something wonderful and new. Please support the artists who contributed by purchasing their music and attending their concerts.

Track List

1. The Photo Atlas – “Jealous Teeth”

2. The Epilogues – “King Arthur”

3. Dualistics – “Last Call”

4. The Heyday – “Come In Or Stay Out”

5. Red Fox Run – “Remembering”

6. Young Coyotes – “When I Was In The Fire”

7. Houses – “We’re Alright”

8. Hello Kavita – “Sunday (It’s A Chrome Tide)”

9. Rob Drabkin – “Sweet Things”

10. Danielle Ate The Sandwich – “Handsome Girl”

11. Paper Bird – “St. Louis”

DOWNLOAD COLORADO SOUNDS

The Hi-Dive was abuzz with well-wishers and friendly faces on Friday night as Hello Kavita took the stage to celebrate an album 9-months in the making. The night played through with a variety of “feel-good” tunes and stellar performances.

Up first was It’s True!, an Omaha-based group with a strong grasp of dynamics. At certain points there was nothing except soft, beautiful melodies, however, within the same song grand crescendos swept over the stage and out into the crowd. Unlike most bands who shift quickly from quiet to loud, It’s True! managed to do so with a certain grace that was charming.

Hometown heroes Houses took the stage to further warm up the cozy room. Ripping through nearly every one of my favorite songs from their Spring and Summer EPs, they managed to pull off a solid set without a proper sound-check. Perhaps my favorite tune was a new song called “Scone.” As the set closer, this song started out very much like any other Houses tune, then dropped down and built up into an amazing climactic ending.

If you haven’t read my review of To A Loved One, go do that before reading this. As Hello Kavita started played through their set, each of the songs from that record came to life in a new and transcendent way. While the recorded version of To A Loved One maintains a certain warmth, its live counterpart embodied a heartfelt and moving form that cannot be recorded (even on analog tape).

As the set closed out, singer Cory Teruya invited Houses up to the stage for a lively rendition of Neil Young’s “Alabama.” It was probably one of the best things I’ve seen (and heard) in quite some time. Something Like Sound will be giving away one copy of To A Loved One at some point in the near future (once I can think up a non-lame contest)…

When I woke up this morning I had to drag myself out of bed. The grey (or gray?) skies and cold weather almost had me convinced that staying in bed would have been a better choice. After finally mustering up the courage to face the day I checked my email. To my delight there was one in there from friend of the blog Eric Peterson (of Houses, Roger Roll, Old Radio, and every other band in Denver). From his message:

The gist of it is that I’m working with my friend Jennifer Brookes on a collaborative art project called tangled; we weave.  Each week, Jenny will take about 180 photographs and string them together into a stop-motion piece.  Completely independent of her, and under a pact of secrecy, I will compose a thirty-second piece of music.  Every Tuesday, we show each other what we’ve made, combine them into a video, and post it to our website.

I watched the first one and was impressed by the haunting beauty of it. They’ll be putting out a fresh one each week  and there’s an RSS feed for that, and a podcast on iTunes as well. Watch “One” below.

Patrick Beseda // Photo By Tim Weilert

Welcome back to school! If you’re reading this there’s a good possibility that you’re at the lovely (and notorious) Colorado School of Mines. While you were off drilling for oil or designing yet another SolidWorks model, we were busy going to concerts, conducting interviews, and reviewing the best new music that Denver has to offer. Here’s some of the highlights from the 2009 Denver summer music season.

• Interviews! We got tons of them: everybody from Bad Religion, Lucero, and Big Head Todd & The Monsters to local favorites such as Danielle Ate The Sandwich, Paper Bird, Rob Drabkin, The Heyday, and Dualistics. Also, most of our interviews are in video form for your entertainment.
• Festivals! With access to the summer’s hottest festivals, be sure to read up on the Westword Music Showcase, Mile High Music Festival, The Underground Music Showcase, and Warped Tour.
• Reviews! Just scroll through a couple pages to see all the records we listened to this summer. Most of our favorites were local acts, sure to make it big soon.
• A compilation! Just when you thought there wasn’t anything else, we’re dropping this on you. Coming soon (hopefully September 4, to coincide with the Celebration of Mines), we will be releasing our first compilation of local acts on the newly formed OrediggeRecords.
• A contest! Be our 200th follower on Twitter and win!

Tim Weilert // Photo By Patrick Beseda

So consider joining the team and check out one of The Oredigger‘s informational sessions.

In lieu of some blatant pun about “hot new music” during the summertime, I’ll start the review like this: Houses is writing the soundtrack for Colorado in 2009. Ever since their Spring EP, released a couple months ago, everyone here at Something Like Sound has been eagerly awaiting the next installment. It’s been about a week and a half since we got the Summer EP, and I’ve had some time to process it; here are the highlights.

From the first riff on the first track, “Fairweather,” Houses comes out swinging. A classic ode to summertime, the blues of boredom, and the call of the open road, “Fairweather,” has been a fan favorite at live Houses shows since the group got its start. Jake is fairly certain “Me & Mr. Kelly” is a song about drinking with a kind old homeless man (even if it isn’t, the song does have a classy Beatles-feel to it).

“O Queen City” taught me another nickname for Denver, and “Holiday” is a song that plays well with afternoons in a hammock, watching clouds floating through the sky. The final track, “Circles & Squares,” is another fan-favorite from the live Houses show. The recorded version does the song justice with the same sort of driving beats, keyboards and guitars heard live.

In closing, Houses still remains my favorite local group for the time being. As with most concept projects based on the seasons, spring flowed and flourished while summertime became more laid-back and reminiscent of the joyful bliss that comes with the warm months. We can only wait until autumn.

Listen to “Fairweather” from Houses (via Westword)

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If Saturday got me down, Sunday got me back up again. Although the clouds hung low in the sky and menaced us throughout the afternoon, the tired, hungover patrons (and bands) of the Underground Music Showcase refused to let it dictate how the day was going to go.

Upon arrival Jake and I headed down to TS Board Shop for The Pseudo Dates, a great upbeat group. Their set can best be described as a lively combination of punk, surf, and a touch of 80′s pop. It certainly put a smile on my face (both with their music and singer/bassist Suzi Allegra’s punk-rock sense of fashion).

From there I decided we had to see Hawks of Paradise. I had seen this group open for Akron/Family on St. Pattie’s day, and remembered it as a pretty good set. Well, their set at the UMS was definitely memorable (musically, their brand of rock music played well with the upbeat attitude I was forming). What came as a bit of a surprise was the end of their set, when they announced, rather nonchalantly, that the preceding songs were their last… ever.
Edit: I read on Reverb this morning that they might not actually be breaking up, way to go guys.

Jake missed the Houses set at the Hi-Dive on Friday night, so we stuck around the C*****s outdoor stage (that’s right, I’m independent, none of this sponsor-toting crap until I see some dollars rolling my way from you Cartoys). What I said about their Friday set can pretty much be applied to their Sunday set (especially since they were very similar, both were quite enjoyable and had fairly well sized crowd attendances).

1090 Club

Achille Lauro

We stayed a little longer at the outdoor stage to see friends-to-the-blog, 1090 Club. Their set was solid, but I felt a little bad because the crowd really thinned out (next time, Denver, next time support this band). Although I soon found myself walking over to catch Achille Lauro. I must say, they have a unique way of doing things: half the time they’ve got their synths and patches going, the other times they’re playing like a traditional 4-piece. Taken as a whole, I was definitely not bored, and had to stay on my toes to keep up with what was happening next.

After a quick stop by Persian Gourmet for some delicious falafel (my new favorite food; take note everyone who wants to buy me dinner), it was back to the main stage for what was shaping up to be an incredible set from Everything Absent or Distorted. Although this was another band that I had seen earlier in the festival, that certainly did not take any of the thunder out of their set.

Armed with a healthy variety of instruments (3 guitars, 1 bass, 1 accordion, 1 banjo, 1 drum-kit, 1 trombone, 2 keyboards, and various other random noisemakers), EAOD played one of the most ruckus sets I have ever seen; perhaps the word that best describes it: swashbuckling. A whiskey-fueled frenzy of energetic sound, EAOD did not go quietly into the night. As they finished their set, they decided to play another song, a cover of The National’s “Abel,” a fitting temporary closing (until they officially call it good in November).

“My mind’s not right”

-The National

At this point I was truly tired. The combination of my fatigue and the incredible set from EAOD had me convinced that it would be best to end  on a high note. Stay tuned for a proper “Reflections on the UMS” post, complete with suggestions for next year’s festival.

Saturday was different. Not to say it was better or worse than another day, it was just gray (or grey, depending on how geeky you are). It almost felt like a different festival all together, the cloudy/rainy skies certainly had me feeling a bit more mellow than normal.

Upon arrival, Jake and I checked out the full-band John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, but left soon after, because I had just seen John on Thursday (and the songs, while being full-band, were the same ones he had done solo-acoustic). We wandered over to South Broadway Christian Church to catch Elin Palmer & Kal Cahoone, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not another Palmer set (having seen her the night before), but an entirely different experience.

We continued wandering and soon found ourselves at the TS Board shop watching Bastards of Young finish their set, then ran in to Virgil from Suburban Home. He introduced us to In The Red, and their drummer Matt Glasgow (who Virgil claims is the “Tallest Drummer in the World”). After listening to some of their hardcore-punk-rock, it was time for something completely different.

Having seen The Wheel the previous night, I was eager to catch Joseph Pope III. Yet again we found ourselves mellowing out to his folksy guitar-based songs. Next up was Dressy Bessy, a band with lots of energy and danceability (although, as Lance from The Flat Response pointed out, the crowd wasn’t in to it, so things fell a little flat on that end).

As things at the outdoor stage finished up, it was time for one of my faves: Danielle Ate The Sandwich. The Hornet got pretty crowded as people crammed in to the limited space to hear Danielle play her unique ukulele songs. It was a thoroughly enjoyable set, complete with a few covers (I think I heard some Hall & Oates, and maybe some TLC). Danielle was her normal charming self and kept the crowd’s attention, even between songs.

It was out into the rain again to get down to Indy Ink for Mike Marchant (of Widowers). I knew that we were in a good place by the other people who were there watching (I’m pretty sure I saw some of Bela Karoli, and most of Houses, more on that in a bit). Mike’s songs, although mostly “slow/sad,” played well with the weather, and his more upbeat tunes were well appreciated. At the end of the set he invited his band mates from Houses to play “We’ll See The Sun,” and I can’t think of a better way to end a set.

By this point, I was beat. Staying out until 2am for two nights in a row makes even the young (and presumably strong) pretty tired on the third day. So we called it a night and headed home.

I really should title this post “Julie Davis: The Hardest Working Musician in Denver.” I swear, everywhere I went last night I couldn’t escape the bassist/lead singer from Bela Karoli. Turns out she started the evening with a solo set (I didn’t catch), then I witnessed her playing with Dan Craig, Bela Karoli (obviously), and The Wheel. Kudos to you Julie, it takes a real trooper to do what you did. Ok, now on with the review.

To begin, I took it a little easier today. I rolled in to the Baker neighborhood around 7:30 and tried to catch some of the Josephine & The Mousepeople set at Indy Ink. The bit that I stayed for was enjoyable, but the non-traditional space suffered from 2 things: Deafening the people in the front and obscuring the view of everyone else (other than that it was great). From there I wandered over to the Hi-Dive (which seems to be a black hole to me, I am continually drawn towards it, with no hope of escaping). I caught some of Dan Craig‘s set, then stuck around for Elin Palmer. Palmer is absolutely charming, from her eclectic instruments (pictured is a traditional Swedish folk-instrument), to her soft voice and songs in Swedish, I must say I enjoyed the set.

Next was Bela Karoli, with special guest Ian Cooke. As the night continued, the Hi-Dive seemed to get more crowded and hot with each set. I don’t believe they had to turn people away, but there was certainly not a spare place to stand for this avant-pop group. The set was solid (as usual), but the addition of an extra cello and a keyboard really rounded things out.

I overheard someone say “There’s only one band in Denver, but it has all of these different manifestations.” Agreed. About half the people from Bela Karoli were on stage to perform with The Wheel. It seems like every time I see The Wheel, their sets just get better (I attribute this, in part, to the fact that they’ve gone to a full-band lineup).

Finally it was past midnight and things started to dissapate slightly. However, I had waited all night to see my favorite local group, Houses. When I listened to their Spring EP, I was hooked: flowing melodies and feel-good tunes. Andy Hamilton & Co. were not the ones to dissapoint that night, as they played through a number of new songs (from their forthcoming Summer EP, out August 7). While I loved the Spring tunes they played, the Summer stuff was even better. Tighter guitar parts and dancability have been added to the Houses mix: let there be much rejoicing. By the time they finished it was past 1:30, it was time to go home.

Thursday

John Common (Michaelangelo’s Coffee & Wine Bar, 7:45 pm): One of Denver’s more infamous musicians, John Common is always up to something. Whether it’s the People’s Kazoo Orchestra, or a John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light show, he’s sure to surprise you.

Maxwell Hughes (The Irish Rover, 9:15 pm): I remember seeing this guy’s guitar slap-style at open mic nights up in Fort Collins when I was in high school, it’s really quite entertaining to watch and listen.

Everything Absent or Distorted (Hi-Dive, 11 pm): Since the recent news that these guys are calling it quits soon, be sure to catch them while you still can.

(ok, now you have to choose, I’m going to suggest 2 different sets that go down at the same time)

The Photo Atlas (3 Kings Tavern, 11:55 pm): I’ve always been a big fan of TPA, mainly because they combine my two favorite things: peanut butter and chocolate dancing and punk rock.

Langhorn Slim and the War Eagles (Hi-Dive, 11:55 pm): Just added to the line-up as the main headliner for Thursday, these guys are sure to pack out the Hi-Dive (even if it is a Thursday night).

Friday

Hello Kavita (Indy Ink, 8:15 pm): Ever since the Westword Music Showcase, I’ve been itching to see these guys again. I think they’re Denver’s answer to Wilco, without the ridiculous costumes that Jeff Tweedy is wearing these days.

I just realized the rest of the bands I am going to suggest are at the Hi-Dive, take no offense other venues.

Elin Palmer (Hi-Dive, 8:45 pm): Beautiful folk tunes are what Elin Palmer is all about, listen to her set from the Westword Showcase at The Flat Response to know what I”m talking about (click here).

Bela Karoli (Hi-Dive, 9:30 pm): What’s not to love about avant-pop-chamber music? This is another group that everyone needs to see more of, and here’s your chance.

The Wheel (Hi-Dive, 11 pm): This man is on a roll (no pun intended), but seriously… The Wheel just won at the Westword Awards, and always manages to improve on their live show.

Houses (Hi-Dive, 11:55 pm): We just heard this week that Houses finished recording the Summer EP, so here’s to hoping for hearing some of that sweet tunage during the UMS (they’re also playing 5:15 pm on Sunday in the Goodwill parking lot).

Remember, for tickets (which are uber-cheap) and a full lineup, hit up www.theums.com

“Why is the Spring EP only 21 minutes long?!” lamented my fellow writer and music aficionado Jake Rezac a few days after we received the debut release from Denver’s newest music outlet, Houses. In fact, for about a week after we first started listening to Houses, the Spring EP was the only thing we listened to (with maybe an occasional break for some Achille Lauro). About two weeks later we found ourselves at the Westword Music Showcase, watching Houses perform live, our admiration grew even more.

What is it about this band that is so captivating? Initially we tried to identify influences: maybe some some classic rock? Wilco? Death Cab? No. Tags wouldn’t work, no matter how hard we tried to pigeonhole this group, we always managed to pick up on something new, something fresh.

With regards to the Spring EP, concept albums based on the seasons have been done before, but not like this. For a 6-song record, this EP packs the same amount of theme and quality that most musicians try to contain in full length records with twice as many songs. From the slow-building instrumental opener “Beach Song” to the anthemic “We’ll See The Sun,” Spring will quickly become your favourite season.

Perhaps the best song on the record is the sing-a-long “We’re Alright.” This track combines the catchy lyrics and vocals of lead-man Andy Hamilton, with a buildup that proceeds to showcase the musical talent of the entire group. This song, like the entire EP, has an incredible replay value, with the listener not quickly becoming bored with either the words or the music.

Houses has a MySpace and their EP is available on iTunes. Expect to see the Summer EP some time soon.

Listen to “We’re Alright” here, and download the track at Westword’s MP3 Freeloader

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