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• Gotye

Beat Jab offers reviews in prose poetry form from 2011 Eugene & Marilyn Glick Indiana Emerging Author Award winner Micah Ling.

Gotye
Making Mirrors
Eleven
★★★★

If you don’t know Gotye, start here. After all, music videos seem to be a dying art, and this one is pretty great. This song is pretty great. It was recently featured on Spotify as a top played track; that’s how I found this band. But I couldn’t quite pinpoint why I liked the sound so much. A friend mentioned that the sound is like The Police; hell, Wally De Backer even looks like Sting. Gotye (pronounced gore-ti-yeah) not only has a sound that has you reeling from all things you love about great bands that are no more, he also has incredible lyrics—stories and characters that you’ll relate to. “Somebody That I Used to Know” is cutting: both sides of a familiar argument. But you can be happy to these songs or angry to them—they tend to work with your mood. (Except “State Of the Art,” which is always just kind of hilarious, and awesome). The songs are all pretty short…the kind of album you might listen to a few times before really hearing it. At the same time, each song is unique; “Smoke and Mirrors” rocks the percussion. You can space out to this album, bum around to it.

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• Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten
Tramp
Jagjaguwar
★★★★

Sharon Van Etten is the real deal, and Tramp is the first great album of 2012. It’s the album we waited for through dark winter days, and Tramp delivers on every promise made by Van Etten’s maddeningly short, cheekily titled debut album epic. You may have heard Van Etten deals in heartache. But blessedly, Tramp is devoid of whining. Van Etten avoids melodrama while spilling secrets and dreams and sadness that lesser artists would coat in cheap histrionics. Rarely are such powerful, poetic lyrics elevated so much by an artist’s voice. “You’re the reason I’ll move to the city or why I’ll need to leave,” she sings on early standout track “Give Out.” Her strength is writing lines in the present tense while imbuing the words with the seasoned voice of experience. It’s like she’s done what we’ve all wanted to do at one time or another: go back and relive some terrible experience with the chance to change the things that made it hurt so much. Her songs transport us backward in time. They give us options. And more often than not they remind us that changing those moments would fundamentally change the people we are today.

More Beat Jab.

This latest edition of Note for Note takes on both traditional and protest folk.

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White Lightning Boys - Barefoot Nelly
Crooked Creek Records

★★★½

Here is a folk group so rooted and knowledgeable about what they do that even a collection of mostly obscure covers seems like an album of original material. Dealing almost exclusively in Appalachian country folk, this Bloomington band's songbook features tunes by Ralph Stanley, Bascom Lunsford, Carter Stanley, and Norman Blake alongside Dylan, Guthrie and Townes Van Zandt centered around empty pockets ("Hole In My Pocket"), broken dreams ("The Ballad of Hollis Brown"), murderous outlaws ("Law and Order"), misty mountains ("For the Love of the Mountain"), and home brewed moonshine that creates just as much trouble as some of the women they claim to love ("Mountain Dew"). At first glance, their music is as unassuming as front man Barry Elkin's mandolin, but their instrumentation, including Dan Bilger's bristling fiddle, is as worn in as the blue jeans they wear. Yet their true prowess rests in their harmonies, which are so warm and captivating you'd think these guys were experts, probably because they are.

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Brent Bennett with Randy "Ranch" Wuertz - American Stories
Crescent Star Recording

★★

This Hoosier singer-songwriter goes on about the down-and-out common man and paints portraits of broken dreams, broken homes and empty relationships. While he's got the right to pity the union worker, the heartbroken nobody or the schlub who pays $20 for love (just like the lead character in the tasteless ode to strippers, "Fallen Angles"), his dull and limited vocal capabilities make it next to impossible to care about the characters he's created. What's a sharp lyric amount to when it's delivered with next to no conviction? The single most convincing moment comes on "Elkhart", with the refrain "Life slips away like a hole in a tunnel." It's a shame it also describes listening to this record.

Jon is also the founding editor of the pop culture blog PopTometry.

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• Dallas Green of City and Colour.

City and Colour, The Low Anthem
Egyptian Room at Old National Center

Indianapolis was lucky to have two incredible bands perform at the Old National Centre on Wednesday: Rhode Island's The Low Anthem, and Dallas Green, who performs under the name City and Colour, from Ontario.

The evening of music began around 7:30 with The Low Anthem. While most opening bands get things going, stir the crowd a bit, and maybe entice people to jot down their name, The Low Anthem played like a headliner. In fact, when given the two bands, I wasn't quite sure who was opening for whom. The Low Anthem is poetry. They jumped from old stuff to their newest album, Smart Flesh. Their songs can make you ache and jive at once. "Boeing 737" is such an anthem of anger and hope. "This God Damn House" sums up what happens when people live together. These are master musicians who dance with their instruments and create sounds listeners just haven't heard before.

City and Colour took the stage around 8:45, opening with "We Found Each Other in the Dark." The crowd was instantly sold. The band didn't interact with the audience at all until three or four songs into their set, and even then, they just seemed to be doing their thing. But their thing was pretty great. "Grand Optimist," a rocking song with percussion you can't help but move around to, also arrived fairly early in the set.

Towards the end of the night, the band performed a call and response version of "What Makes a Man." At first it didn't seem like the audience was going to be able to pull it off, but by the end, the room was echoing that song in a way that did it justice. "The Girl" is a song that starts out slow and sort of transitions into a remix version of itself with a much more upbeat second half. Even though the show was sold out, it seemed like a private club - some secret event that everyone just happened upon.

Listen to "Fragile Bird" by City and Colour:

This week NUVO writer Grant Catton profiles Household Guns, an Indy-based alternativ-rock band getting ready to head into the studio to cut their second album this spring.

Who: Household Guns are Shawn Woolfolk (guitar and vocals), Ben Masbaum (bass and vocals), and Dave Hall (drums).

Where: Based in Indianapolis, however Masbaum is the only native Hoosier. Woolfolk is from L.A. and Hall is from the streets of Pittsburgh, Pa.

When: Formed in the Spring of 2010.

Recent Gigs: Broad Ripple Music Fest, Tonic Ball, Mustache Bash.

Next scheduled to play at the Melody Inn on March 9 with Chicago-based funk outfit Freddy T and the People.

Sound: Their debut album, Mano y Monarch (2010), is all over the place in terms of genre, but the tag ‘lo-fi’ seems to best encompass this band’s smoothly paced, moody, far-out vibe that relies on slow, rolling bass lines, repeating guitar riffs, and spacey sound effects underneath Woolfolk’s haunting falsetto. Live, however, they take on a more hard rock, in your face, vibe with lots of muscular riffs, piercing guitar solos, and drums which thunder with punk attitude.

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• Household Guns
• Things are looking up for Ben Masbaum (l) and Shawn Woolfolk...

Background: Though the band is only two years old, both Woolfolk and Masbaum are well steeped in the Indy music community. Woolfolk works for local recording label Joyful Noise Records and used to play with local acts We Are Hex, A Caesar Holiday, and Little Boots and Drusilla. Bassist Masbaum has played with Lafcadio, A Caesar Holiday—where he met Woolfolk—and currently works with Large Bee as well. This band is so well-connected they actually helped put together a secret concert called Incest Fest back in 2006 for musicians who were in two or more local bands.

Why You Need To Listen: The recent departure of guitarist Andy Rittenhouse left Household Guns as a trio for much of 2011. However they are in the midst of integrating keyboardist John Muylle (formerly of Everthus the Deadbeats) into the fold and are preparing for a studio stint this spring to cut a new album. The band is already full with Woolfolk’s lead-guitar chops, Masbaum’s bass, and Hall’s dynamite drumming, but the addition of Muylle brings a level of precision and classical music training that Masbaum says has already helped the band get better as a whole.

“As learned as (Muylle) is—with his musical theory background—he challenges us to step up our game,” Masbaum said. With that going for them, Woolfolk says he expects the new album to be much more of a defining work for the band than Mano y Monarch, which was “"sort of a hodgepodge of ideas".” After they get done recording, Woolfolk says they plan to go on a tour that will likely include a date in Brooklyn, N.Y. where they’ve already been invited to play a gig.

It seems like the stars are in line for Household Guns to create an incredible album. They’ve got the depth of musical talent and, with two years and an album under their belts, they’ve had time to mature as a band. Furthermore, the addition of a keyboardist should allow them to fully realize the kind of spacey alternative sound that marked their album.

Key Tracks from Mano y Monarch: “So Far” — Woolfolk’s falsetto is at its eerie best in this spacey synth-ballad.

“Primrose Path“ — this wonderfully layered lo-fi gem has a great acoustic riff that evokes the sentimental brightness of fond memories.

Interestingly Enough: Woolfolk’s father, Andrew, played saxophone in the legendary soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, and as a teenager he auditioned as a guitarist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also, despite the name, none of the band's members are gun aficionados, nor do they actually have any household guns.

Listen to "Primrose Path."
Primrose Path

Bashiri Asad has paid his dues in Indianapolis. Over the past few years the singer has been a regular fixture in clubs across the city, as both a solo artist and as lead vocalist for Xenobia Green. No stage has been too big or small for the singer. You might catch Asad playing an intimate gig at the Chatterbox, or spot him opening for Musiq Soulchild at the Vogue.

Either way, it's Asad's ability to maintain a consistent level of excellence in all projects, combined with his devotion to classic R&B sounds, that have earned him a position as one of the preeminent voices of soul music in Indy.

Asad's latest work, an independently released six-track EP, finds the singer in peak form. While I wasn't totally captivated by every song here, the high points are substantial enough to earn this EP a big recommendation.

"In the Air" starts things off on an interesting note. The spoken-word track finds poet Tasha Jones rhyming over a vocal chorus from Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight." "Loving You" recalls the classic Spinners hit "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love," while adding on a cascading gamelan-like gong riff.

EP closer "The Space Between" is the clear standout here and it's Asad's most fully realized work yet. Everything comes together in this tender love song, the songwriting, the production and Asad's confident, mature vocal performance. It's not hard to imagine this song making major waves in the neo-soul scene.

Below: Asad's video for "The Space Between"

This week's Note for Note features a Star Trek tribute band and some surf rock enthusiasts that share a knack for the thematic, as well as guitarist Patrick O'Connor.

Five Year Mission - Year Two
★★★½

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This Indy-based collection of Star Trek aficionados is hell bent on giving each episode of the original series its own song. Year Two, a 17-track album that's as sprawling in length as the interstellar territory explored by Kirk and the gang, is a continuation in their assignment. While initial expectations of eight minute epics and weirdo sci-fi synth are understandable given the subject matter, this nerd-rock quintet are just as interested in pop-punk and surf guitar as they are in futuristic deep space exploration. "Arena" is as energetic and catchy as anything They Might Be Giants came up with, "The Squire of Gothos" pays homage to brand of mariachi punk Green Day dabbled in before finding politics, and top track "Space Seed's" easy going pop flair is so strong melodically you would think these kids have every Fountains of Wayne record memorized (along with the periodic table). Add a star to the rating if you know whatever the hell a Gorn is.

The Madeira - Tribal Fires
★★★

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Jon is also the founding editor of the pop culture blog PopTometry.

This installment of Note For Note features mysterious recordings from a Naptown jazz legend, and a "Best Of" from a long-defunct New Palestine studio which shed light on the history of Hoosier music.

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Wes Montgomery - Echoes of Indiana Avenue
★★★★

Salvaged from a collection of tapes obtained by a collector and restored by a team of veteran jazz producers / historians, little is known about the music which makes up Echoes of Indiana Avenue. Likely recorded over a period of three sessions, including two live stints, around the time of Montgomery's signing to Pacific West Records in 1958, the music shows a budding virtuoso well on his way to the success he would later find over the next decade. Montgomery's guitar work is sublimely nimble and calmly zigzags its way through the arrangements, and at times seems to dissolve behind the other equally notable musicians - which include his brothers Monk and Buddy, who contribute bass and piano respectively on "Straight No Chaser". Yet the unsung hero is pianist Earl Van Riper who sets, and at times carries, the mood in the album's second half where all of the live recordings are found. His work on "Take the 'A' Train" is every bit as quick and fluid as Montgomery's, and his spacious use of chords on "Misty" gives the other instruments room to wiggle. But Montgomery resumes control on the improvisational finale "After Hours Blues," where he unleashes a barrage of staccato notes so confident yet understated it sounds like hollow gunfire. Talk about killing them softly.

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Various Artists - The Best of 700 West, Vol. 1
★★★★

The 700 West Studio, an unassuming house in New Palestine, recorded a plethora of demos for a host of bands from a diverse collection of genres during a ten year span before closing their doors in 1983. This 2004 disc, a collection of songs amassed by the studio, sounds every bit the hodgepodge you'd expect. R&B-now-called-funk, rock-now-called-classic, folk-now-called-Americana and experimental-now-called-prog are tossed in with a ballad, a hymn, a swingin' jazz number, a radio ad, an avant-garde instrumental, a protest song, and a Christmas jingle. Not everything sticks on this 80-minute long record, as time has not been good to genre pieces like "The Invincible," a Kanasas-esque song from a concept album by The Buccaneers. But, with 23 tracks, there are plenty of nuggets to be mined from this sprawling compilation. Iron Horse's "A Hard, Hard Year," a quaintly sad country tune, becomes the instant favorite for its simple use of melody and brilliantly understated percussion that keeps the tempo up, even when the lyrics keep the mood down. Melancholy not your thing? "It Will Pass," an I-believe-in-Jesus tune from J.D. Redmon, is an earnest, if cheesy, moment that's so sincere it can warm the soul of even the most ardent atheist. It certainly won over this non-believer.

Jon R. LaFollette is also the founding editor of pop culture blog PopTometry.

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• Fitz and the Tantrums

With a niche style and barely an album’s worth of indie recordings, Fitz and The Tantrums have made an impressive splash in their three years of existence.

The L.A.-based retro soul sextet has broken into radio, played the late night shows, toured with Maroon 5 (judge that as you will) and provided songs for primetime TV.

Now, booked to perform Feb. 3 in Georgia Street’s Super Bowl Village, the band faces a high-pressure moment. After 15 months of touring the U.S. and Europe, they’ve blocked out the next three months to record their sophomore album for fall release.

“It’s going to be interesting to see where we take it,” says Noelle Scaggs, co-vocalist and onstage foil for frontman/bandleader Michael Fitzpatrick.

“We’re going to have to write 40 songs before we can even get 10 for the album. You don’t want to fall into that pocket of being the band that could only do one album, so we definitely want to keep the same focus that we had on writing great songs that can stand on their own.”

The Tantrums began as a solo project for Fitzpatrick, a singer-songwriter who engineered with producer Mickey Petralia (Beck, Flight of the Conchords) and whose chance acquisition of a vintage organ inspired a batch of ’60s-style original tunes. With help from saxophonist James King, whose baritone blast still anchors the band’s wall of sound, he assembled a five-song 2009 release, Songs for a Breakup Volume 1.

When the EP sparked a buzz, Fitzpatrick enlisted some session veterans to play live shows and work on a full-length album, 2010’s Pickin’ Up the Pieces. The lineup grew to include keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna, drummer John Wicks and bassist Joseph Karnes, whose funky bounce recalls Motown studio legend James Jamerson.

And then there’s Scaggs, a singer and writer who spent the previous decade fronting a prog-R&B band, The Rebirth. Joining a new project with an already established sound presented a challenge for her.

“I was trying to figure out where I could fit, because I’m not a backup singer,” she says. “It’s just trying to find the balance between myself and him without interfering with what’s going on.”

Most of the band’s output has been recorded at Fitzpatrick’s home, using analog equipment and old school techniques to capture a classic ambience rooted in ‘60s pop, but filtered through the lush Philly soul of the ‘70s and perhaps even the New Romantic scene of ‘80s Britain. Fitz knows the tricks, Scaggs says, such as having her stand across the room from the mike and record multiple layers of vocals to create a huge sound.

“He has this magical way of making it turn out the way we had it in our heads,” she says.

Scaggs’ biggest impact so far has been on stage, where she dances, plays tambourine, counterbalances Fitzpatrick’s early-MTV persona, and generally enhances the group’s visual as well as sonic appeal.

“As we progressed as a band, that really became part of the show, that male and female dynamic,” she says. “It just took on this kind of Ike-and-Tina vibe.”

Also a fan of Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell tunes, Scaggs co-wrote the only duet on the first album, title track “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.” For the second album, she expects all the bandmates to add more of their own flavors.

“We have a lot of different influences that end up unconsciously getting melted into the pot,” she says. “I think with this record we’re really going to expand upon that.”