Paper Route

It’s quite the pill to swallow, imagining a heavy-synth, protools-loving rock band from Nashville signed to Motown Records. But with dueling falsettos and complex harmonies, the influence of early Motown greats Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder amd The Temptations are obvious.

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I have a new favorite band…

Thursday night I headed to Hiro Ballroom to check out the Cazals. I was introduced to the British Pop/Punk band from a good friend from London who runs the Laissez Faire Club and have seen them live a few times over the years. Thursday’s event was sponsored by The Hours, which is a record label/marketing initiative much like RethinkPopMusic.

The Cazals have recently released What of Our Future which is accompanied by an incredible video of Somebody Somewhere directed by Andre’.

I met Andre’ on Thursday and must say that he is as modest as he is talented. I mean, the single cut that loops around the block, the shadow on the animation and the changes of size as the torso-less character approaches the camera is quite cheeky.

Nevertheless, the true stars of Thursday were Fires of Rome. This band to which little is known, absolutely blew me away. The Bowie inspired lead singer belts lyrics “strings of your vagina,” with intensity as he seamlessly plays both rhythm and lead guitar along with complex piano arrangements. The set transitioned from Bowie to Zeppelin and from Queen to The Clash while maintaining a great level of ingenuity and originality. Check out the M83 remix of “Set in Stone.”

Remember the Silver Pathfinder

Have you ever stolen your friends car and drove around town? Have you ever stolen your friend’s silver Pathfinder, drove around screaming, “Remember the silver Pathfinder” as you threw random objects out the windows? Did said friend wake up the next morning and find a yellow boot on the wheel?

Reckless abandonment and sheer wit is quite exhilarating. And when I did such asinine things as mentioned above I felt great. With a Bear Hands show, it all comes back. I spent Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning with said band and as they tore through their set a Mercury Lounge and one thing was certain… these guys are great. Drunk, off key, laying on the stage or spitting into the crowd; Bear Hands can do no wrong. Or maybe they do everything so wrong that it just makes sense.

A band with a pure punk background and pop songwriting abilities puts them in the odd paradigm Jimmy Eat World mastered and soon forgot. But with Val (bass) taking center stage and Dylan (guitar/vocals) lurking in a dark corner anything is possible. Case and point: Val once started taking himself a little too seriously and without missing a chord, Dylan stepped up licked his face and returned to the dark.

If you want some serious description of what they sound like go somewhere else… here’s a video