By Audra Schroeder
Published on March 5, 2010 at 1:41am
, Cowabunga BabesLamberts, Friday, Mar 5
This local layer cake will go straight to your hips, in a good way. The sweet country ballads of Monarchs creep up on you, courtesy of rare songbird Celeste Griffin. The recent release of the Sour Notes’ It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty marks big things for the Austin fourpiece; the pop confections are easy on the ears, but they’ve got the chops to cover Jawbreaker. Openers Cowabunga Babes have returned from tour, ready to get their Kinks off.
By Quentin
Published on February 26, 2010 at 1:41am
WATCH Psychological Thriller Video
If this music video doesn’t slap a huge grin on your face, then you have no soul…..There, I said it. The Sour Notes have been making some noise in Austin for some time now and are finally getting some much deserved recognition. They’ll be playing a ridiculous amount of shows @ SXSW (6 shows!) while currently working on their 5th album, Write What You Know, expected to release later this year. Here’s “Do-ers & Say-ers” from their latest, It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty.
Artist: The Sour Notes
Song: Do-ers & Say-ers.mp3
Album: It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty
By Liz Levine
Published on February 19, 2010 at 1:41am
It’s difficult to categorize Austin’s The Sour Notes beyond “a rock band” because they throw in so many styles and bits of sound that half the fun is having initial notions dispelled. Singer/songwriter Jared Boulangeris not afraid to entertain variety and find room for any musical idea however short, and he seems to have found kindred spirits in band members Chris Page, Travis Hackett, and Elaine Greer. Their melodies and structures are time-honored examples of catchiness and accessibility; it’s their use of these elements that’s unique, playfully experimenting with sounds and layering with no reserves.
By Paul Zimmerman
Published on February 11, 2010 at 1:41am
Based in Austin, Texas, The Sour Notes consists of members Jared Boulanger (singer/songwriter/guitar/bass), Chris Page(guitar/piano/synthesizer), Travis Hackett (drums/percussion) and Elaine Greer (vocals/organ/synthesizer). They’re known for experimenting in many different musical genres accompanied by female guest vocalists.
The band first formed in 2007, and soon expanded to include Elaine Greer, who added depth to the band’s vocals. It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty is the third full-length release from the hard working quartet, which released in Jan. 2010. The band has already accomplished the ever-difficult task of winning over the critical eyes and ears of the musical haven of Austin, Texas, and are now pushing themselves into the national spotlight.
The tunes are noisy, swirly and sound like they’ve blown through sheets of distortion to get to you. It’s good stuff that’s as dreamy as it is rough. Entertaining stuff then.
Download: Doers and Sayers
By Ryan Ray
Published on January 27, 2010 at 1:41am
The Sour Notes are an Austin band who have arguably released more material in the last couple of years than any other local band. What makes the large discography for such a new band (3 LPs and a 7″ to be exact) even more impressive is that each release was put out on the band’s dime. Anyone who has been involved with a band currently shopping a label knows how hard releasing material on your own can be. Don’t tell that to leading man Jared Boulanger. He Originally started The Sour Notes in Houston, TX as a moniker for what was essentially a solo project. Shortly after his debut in 2008, Boulanger began bringing some friends on board to a form a new band that could tour and play live shows together locally and nationally. 2010 has seen the band release a new LP It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty with a follow up already planned for later this year. Now, recently returning from another east coast tour, the band has a welcome home show planned for Thursday night at Mohawk. The up and coming locals will be playing along with Zest of Yore and The Demigs.
By Laurie Gallardo
Published on January 27, 2010 at 1:41am
It’s a great triple bill of local peeps this Thursday at the Mohawk, each throwing down their own blend of pop styles – power, indie, psychedelic, electronic…you get the picture. Austin band Zest of Yore runs in the catchy, power-hook vein with a Guided By Voices/Robyn Hitchcock vibe; Denton and Dallas/Fort Worth music scenesters The Demigs move more into the rock side of pop; and Austin quartet The Sour Notes (featuring singer-songwriter Elaine Greer) tosses some dance rhythms into the pop mix.
This is all good, and all good for you. Catch these bands Thursday night on the indoor stage at the Mohawk, 912 Red River. Get there around 9:30 or 10-ish in the PM. Check it all out.
By Austin Powell
Published on January 22, 2010 at 1:41am
In bowling terms, the Sour Notes just notched a turkey: three significant, successive releases in just over a year. Latest LP It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty rules the roost – dense, sincere indie pop for the Garden State generation. “I’m not afraid to say that this album will be the best record I’ll ever put out,” admits singer-songwriter Jared Boulanger. “That’s kind of disheartening to say, but we’ve gotten progressively louder and thicker in the sound and faster paced. It’s like everything that we tried to do previously came together on this album.” Originally envisioned as a solo vehicle, the Sour Notes has ripened quickly since Boulanger moved to Austin from Houston in 2008, coinciding with the release of the band’s debut EP, The Meat of the Fruit. The quartet just finished a two-week East Coast tour that was filmed for a documentary, and a third full-length is already in the can, though Boulanger plans to hold off on its release for a while in hopes of gaining some more national attention. “I like to think that I’m writing little pop song scores to movies,” relates Boulanger, who shares a house with multi-instrumentalist Chris Page. “Most of the songs are themed after specific movies in the Criterion Collection. I get totally wrapped up in the feeling of what I’m watching and let that dictate the music.” The Sour Notes light up Mohawk on Thursday, Jan. 28, with contemporaries the Demigs and Zest of Yore.
