Dirty Impound

Bryan Elijah Smith makes incredibly affable music. One is quickly struck by what good songs they’re hearing and how well handled, too, yet there’s nary a whiff of mainstream stink or premeditation. Instead, one encounters a lively craftsmanship-minded music that’s contemporary but with sturdy roots dipping into much older traditions, crooning, “It’s hard to write a folk song that’s honestly in tune…It drives me wild/ It drives me insane.” Smith genuinely sounds like he’s after something fresh, new, real, and true on his latest offering, One More Time, which is filled with tunes that attach quickly, an array of radio-ready takes on love and life that hum with deeper character than the mainstream generally offers. The primary backing of Smith’s band The Wild Hearts – Jeff Miller (banjo, vocals) and Jay Austin (fiddle) – swings and sways, stoking the romantic elements in his lyrics, as multi-instrumentalist Smith plies guitars, bass, drums, ukulele, harmonica and more. The album is also produced by Smith, who increasingly reveals an impressive studio savvy that’s full without being fussy, the arrangements riding infectiously below his husky, appealing manly voice. What his new album makes clear is Smith is one to watch, the sort of fellow that could easily be opening for dyed-in-the-wool singer-songwriters like David Wilcox and Greg Brown, or just as ably, the likes of Brett Dennen, James Blunt and other current chart tappers, and quite likely stealing the show from the headliners if he did.

We grabbed Bryan for a few minutes to chat about making music.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

“I consider the circumstance/ and mold it into sound/ and whatever the trappings are/ I’m bound to shout it down.”

These tough, knotted lines open the roaring good self-titled debut album from Boston-based Ghosts of Jupiter, which seizes and holds one firm, a bold, musky sound that recalls the halcyon days of double gatefold vinyl and perfectly weathered denim and suede. That said, these Ghosts are cut a little leaner, forgoing 70s bloat for taut, meaty musicianship grounded in marvelously melodic frameworks. Heck, a lot of this set is radio ready if radio weren’t such a seething sinkhole of suck these days – we’d all be WAY better off if Ghosts of Jupiter were the yardstick for rock airwaves instead of Nickelback.

The album, released November 8, builds seamlessly, growing more interesting and throwing off expectations as it moves towards its final stand in softly burning fields where blackbirds fly overhead and the shoreline wind catches us with a snap – evocative stuff to say the least. And yet, it never feels cerebral, giving into animal instincts musically in a way that makes one wonder if Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott left some pale boy children around Beantown before he took his bow. Nate Wilson (lead vocals, keyboards), Johnny Trama (guitar), Adam Terrell (guitar), Tommy Lada (bass), and Thomas Arey (drums) are part of real rock’s new phalanx, shoulder to shoulder with The Black Keys, Rival Sons and The Raconteurs beating back the teen-focused twaddle that passes for rock in the mainstream.

We grabbed Nate Wilson to discuss Jupiter’s orbit.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

In prepping for this lil’ conversation with Jake Orrall, one half of rising underground classic rockers JEFF The Brotherhood with brother Jamin Orrall, I put on the band’s latest long-player We Are The Champions (released June 21 on Infinity Cat Recordings) to see what it stirred up. And then I played it again…and again…and again…six times in a row in total. More than any coherent thought, JEFF stirs up feelings, energy and an uncontainable wildness. This pair are pure rock beasts and their output is increasingly varied, a pleasant devil-may-care attitude infecting the all-over-the-damn-place nature of We Are The Champions, which shrinks not even a little at the Queen reference inherent in its title. They aren’t the polished creatures Freddie, Brian and the boys represent but they’ve got similarly sized stones and befuzzed hooks aplenty. JEFF The Brotherhood rattles cages willfully and successfully, even if underneath it all there’s just the usual girls, parties, fights and remorse that haunts most rock, rebellious by nature but without a stated platform. Whatever they’re on about, it goes straight to one’s head and permeates into the rest of one’s red meat soon after.

We grabbed singer-guitarist-songwriter Jake to discuss the Brotherhood.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

It’s finally happening to me
The thing I just had to believe
It will be seven years in June
I knew my time was coming soon

Throughout the glimmering, seductive self-titled debut (released May 24) from Seattle’s Motopony, the sense of the possible looms, hope and promise perhaps fleeting but manifest despite all the water under the bridge and detritus collected on our banks. It’s also a freakin’ catchy rock joint, full of icy charm, slinky riffs and one of the most intoxicating new vocalists to hit in a spell. Diversity is the rule, but each shape-shifting segment is infused with sincerity, cleverness and a lean musical sensibility that’s rich but never bloated. This is a band carving out their own sound, even as they faintly echo some choice antecedents like Aztec Camera (“King of Diamonds”), early Brian Eno (“Seer”) and Dr. Dog (“I Am My Body”). Motopony is on the way to something and their searching is absorbing and passionate enough to make one want to grab their satchel and join them on the road to…wherever.

We caught up with lead singer-songwriter Daniel Blue to dig into the band’s zeitgeist (and y’all can catch the band on a pile of newly announced dates in September and October).

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

San Francisco’s The New Up infuse the term “modern rock” with visceral presence, moving it many yards away from just another corporate record label sub-division header and pointing it arrow straight towards the horizon.

The hustle & bustle of contemporary life jostles inside their music. One feels the rush of things, the creeping cynicism of the now struggling with hard-won faith in things larger and more truth-packed than what we see with today’s eyes. There’s more than a little of the zeitgeist tapping character one encounters in Radiohead and Muse to The New Up, though this S.F. quintet oozes more raw sensuality than either of these forebears, merging classic rock’s wide-legged strut to contemporary sharpness.

While still primarily known out west, the band has toured nationally several times, building a budding DIY network around the U.S. with likeminded young bands, exhibiting an active engagement with all aspects of what it takes to get a new group in front of fresh ears. With The New Up there’s always multiple hands reaching out, seeking connections, even as they keenly pinpoint all the fractures out there.

In terms of pure musicianship and forthright charm, it’s hard to beat ES Pitcher (vocals, guitar), Noah Reid (guitar, vocals), Hawk West (flute and automation), Dain Dizazzo (bass) and Drew Bertrand (drums), who collectively ooze cool whilst attacking their songs with a pleasant possession, their craft a cause they pursue with knowing grins and irrepressible energy.

While last year’s Gold album showed the band moving into ever-more mature territory, the feeling with this bunch is there’s still way, way more to come. It’s for this reason and many others that Dirty Impound asked The New Up to play at our one-year anniversary party at the Boom Boom Room this Saturday, June 4th. We snagged lead singer ES Pitcher for a brief chat before the show.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

U.S. Royalty are a very likeable band, but their near-instantaneous charm can’t be easily traced to obvious ancestors. Instead, one picks up on a primal rock rightness and sincere affection for pop moves that strikes to rock’s fundamental appeal.

Their debut, Mirrors (self-released on January 25) is youthful and exuberant, artfully cynical and nakedly hopeful. The quartet – Luke Adams (drums), Jacob Michael (bass), John Thornley (vocals, keys) and Paul Thornley (guitar) – scrape off the barnacles and clichés to reveal the kind of rock one can pat their foot on ecclesiastically. The mood shifts frequently, but always with purpose, moving headlong, eyes locked on the horizon ahead. Mirrors is pleasurable whirlwind that will get you singing along before you’ve even figured out what the songs are about. Once it has settled in, it’s even better. Working with engineer Gus Oberg (The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr., Bloc Party) and Justin Long, Mirrors hums along like a good movie whose twists and ultimate conclusion can’t be guessed until they arrive, and then it all makes perfect sense.

Formed in Washington, D.C. in 2008, U.S. Royalty is on a swift creative rise that recalls the superlative inducing early salvos of My Morning Jacket and Dr. Dog, each band’s that stubbornly carved out their own territory while simultaneously extending a welcoming hand to anyone willing to come along with them.

We got on the horn with John Thornley – a breakout singer with a strong, flexible, crush-ready voice – to discuss their debut and the ideas behind these new Royalty.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of The Beatles live residency in Hamburg, Germany. This is where they put their stamp on the music that inspired them to take up arms for rock’s cause, and it propelled them to their first phase of success as original artists shortly afterwards. They played Chuck Berry, Johnny Kidd, Lieber-Stoller and other root sources for modern music for four hours a night at the Indra Musikclub, resting briefly after dawn at a hotel called Bambi Kino.

Last year, a brave, pleasantly foolhardy group of contemporary rockers adopted the name Bambi Kino to play the same tunes that fired up The Beatles in the same venue in Hamburg. Comprised of Nada Surf’s Ira Elliot (drums, vocals), Cat Power’s Erik Paparazzi (bass, vocals), Maplewood’s Mark Rozzo (guitar, vocals) and Guided By Voices’ Doug Gillard (guitar, vocals), Bambi Kino is no Fabs tribute band. Instead, the quartet puts their shoulders into chestnuts like “Besame Mucho,” “A Shot of Rhythm ‘n’ Blue” and “Crying Waiting Hoping” and unearths the bright, intoxicating zest of these vintage numbers, doing pretty much what The Beatles themselves did – spelunking rock’s early heritage to make something immediate and worth rolling around in.

While performing in Hamburg, Bambi Kino laid down a studio memento of their rowdy residency at the Indra, which arrives March 29th on Tapete Records. Like the early tambourine and wooooh period Beatles, there’s a giddy, devil may care quality to Bambi Kino’s self-titled debut, an infectious whoop that helps one fall for rock all over again. The simplicity and basic quality of these songs sparks great performances from all four guys, and the results make one hope they’ll play a few U.S. cities before they bring this project to a close.

We snagged Mark Rozzo to discuss the band, their concept and what it was like kickin’ it Beatles style in Germany.

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We set the timer and snuggle in with our favorite new bands in the Impound’s version of speed dating with a killer-diller soundtrack.

Chris Robinson once sang, “Some like their water shallow/ I like mine deep, so very deep/ Tied to the bottom with a noose ’round my feet.” This lyric sometimes pops into my head while listening to Delta Spirit, who are an intense bit of deep water who actively tussle with death, God, creation, capital “L” love and other large concepts. There aren’t a lot of chirpy boy-girl ditties in this San Diego band’s oeuvre, but there are tales of Russian revenge, St. Francis and bleeding bells. When they do delve into romance it has a loft and beauty that touches on the best parts of what two people can do for one another, or alternately, what intense wrong humans are capable of. Broadly, there’s not a lot that strikes one as casual about Delta Spirit, yet their music is infused with the joy Noah must have felt when that dove returned to the ark with a twig in his beak – a small, green sign that the flooding days are over and dry land and sunshine are near.

Matthew Vasquez (vocals/guitar), Jon Jameson (bass), Brandon Young (percussion), and Kelly Winrich (multi-instrumentalist) create a sound that’s intense and alluring, often riding the current of Vasquez’s gorgeously cracked voice, slipping past our defenses and tenderizing us from within. Where their instantly striking debut Ode To Sunshine (2008) overflowed with energy and stomping intent, this year’s follow-up History From Below (released June 8) is a subtler, sturdier affair. Helmed by the band with longtime collaborator Elijah Thomson (Everest) and My Morning Jacket keyboardist Bo Koster, History wanders in lush psychological fields, often taking a gentle hand to heavy things and coaxing surprising revelations loose. Everywhere the band shows signs of growth, and that impression continues on the fab new Waits Room EP (released November 16), which features a couple new numbers, including a searing, raunchy version of “John Henry,” and splendid acoustic versions of History’s “Bushwick Blues” and “Devil Knows You’re Dead.” Taken together with Delta Spirit’s positively apostolic live presence, this band is simply one of the best things going today.

Read on to see what Brandon had to say in his chat with the Impound.
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