By Rebekah Goode-Peoples
Published on June 23, 2010 at 1:41am
Whenever I eat sweet and sour bean curd, I vacillate between wanting to drink Thai iced tea and, well, beer. I usually end up going for the sweet, creamy taste of a cool Thai iced tea. So, I guess it is no surprise that I find myself attracted to the pretty pop sound of The Sour Notes, band name notwithstanding.
In their current incarnation, The Sour Notes are a six-piece from Austin Texas. It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty
The album is essentially a mix tape of musical impulses, and, although the band has garage/punk roots, their playful pop tunes ring the most true. The first track “Beyond Recognition” starts off in Postal Service territory with the computerized drums tingling and thumping behind the Shinsy male lead vocal and crystalline female harmonies. But the sound quickly goes a-rockin’ with “Do-ers and Say-ers,” somehow melding Sonic Youth energy with the accessibility of Versus. The album slides along this continuum—sometimes dabbling with a taste of Band of Horses, like in the track “It’s the Hair That Makes the Dress Chic!,” and throwing in more than a sprinkle of locals The Goldest, like in the track “Familiar Presence”—without establishing a clear sonic home base.
It’s all good, but the drum machine and simple lyricism enlivened by wacky dissonant keys of “One Word Emotions” and the pleasantly emotive “The Distant Knell” are pure pop dessert.
Let’s call it sweet and sour. Pick your pleasure.
Rating: AAA
By Michael Barnes
Published on May 20, 2010 at 1:41am
Regular readers of this column know that my favorite local album of late was Alpha Rev’s “New Morning.”
But I could make arguments for almost all these fine entries in the A List readers poll for Best Local Album from the Past Year.
The Sour Notes won with “It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty,” reaping 42 percent of the vote.
Shearwater skimmed into second place with “The Golden Archipelago” at 25 percent.
Veteran Bob Schneider held his own with “Lovely Creatures” at 11 percent.
Critics’ darling White Denim squeezed in 6 percent for “Fits.”
Roky Erickson and Okkervill River — a killer combo — was not far behind for “True Love Cast Out All Evil.”
Taking 4 percent or less were Harlem (“Hippies”); Brownout (“Aguilas y Cobras”); Balmorhea (“Constellations”); Brazos (“Phosphorescent Blues”) and Strange Boys (“Be Brave”).
By Charles Stepczyk
Published on May 8, 2010 at 1:41am
Since Austin, Texas band The Sour Notes first formed in 2007, they’ve gone through several line-up changes before settling on their current 6-person line-up that consists of some of the town’s most talented musicians. They just added Kelly Dewitt (Wild Fictions and Sterling Stitches) as their vocalist/key player and Erin Mikulenka on synths (Team Fabrication, This Microwave World). They also have a new drummer – Taylor Steinerg. But, amidst all these line-up changes, the band remains consistent in its vision, and has taken this opportunity to expand its sound far beyond what it had been previously.
“It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty” is the third full-length release from the hard working six-piece, 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.
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By Erika Gradecki
Published on April 6, 2010 at 1:41am
When The Sour Notes’ fourth release, “It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty”, arrived in my mailbox, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Just reading the title of their band made me chuckle, but as I popped the CD into my walkman (yes, I still own one, and it’s a more than 10-year-old Sony), I was pleasantly surprised by their sound.
The Sour Notes formed in 2007 in Austin, TX, spearheaded by lead vocalist and guitarist Jared Boulanger, and has released three other albums to date: “The Meat of the Fruit” (2008), “Received in Bitterness” (2009) and “Never Mix, Never Worry” (2009, short EP). Since their formation, the band, which also includes Chris Page (who seems to play everything from guitar, keyboard, organ and synthesizer – talents shared also by Boulanger himself), Travis Hackett (drums) and Brandi DiPietro (bass), has toured all over Texas, as well as major cities such as Baltimore, Philly, New York, Boston and Nashville. The group also played at last month’s SXSW 2010 festival in Austin, which is an annual event that includes media, film and music artists.
“Beyond Recognition”, the first track off their current release definitely caught my ears, as Boulanger’s calm, gentle voice seemed almost soothing after a hard day’s work. It’s a voice that seems hard to believe would ever turn angry (but of course, we’re all human). The spoken-word-like song features a cool synthesizer beat in the background, while Boulanger belts “…it was your cold dim basement, it’s my flooded home. It was the look that I thought you reminded me of…”
What’s great about music is that it’s left to interpretation by the listener. Anyone that writes a song knows that the meaning to them is personal (and at times can be universal in translation), however, the listener can take it as they hear it. This is true for “Familiar Presence”, as it sounds like a song about cheating: “…This time it’s no surprise that there’s somebody else cuz you run your mouth like it suits you well, like its life or death.”
Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing sour about this band.
For more on The Sour Notes, visit www.thesournotes.com.
By Travis Ekmark
Published on April 1, 2010 at 1:41am
THE SOUR NOTES IT’S NOT GONNA BE PRETTY
The Sour Notes may have started out as essentially a bedroom project, but over the past two years they’ve blown out in every direction, adding members and tossing off more than two releases per year. Up till now, the albums have lagged behind the singles, little blow-offs that have gone in interesting directions, but that only hinted at what the band was tru;y capable of. It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty pulls everything The Sour Notes have ever done and synthesizes it into an album that is incredibly good. Pretty is spacey, catchy, lyrically complex, and deep as a well. Songs like “Do-Ers and Say-Ers” and “Familiar Presence” sound like nothing the band has done before, but more definitively Sour Notes than they’ve even been. With Pretty, The Sour Notes have finally found a sound that’s entirely theirs, and they are at the top of their game. Grab it now before their next album drops. Word is that it’s already in the can.
