Floating Action - "Desert Etiquette" CD Review (Park The Van)

DOWNLOAD: Floating Action - "Well Hidden" (from Desert Etiquette)
DOWNLOAD: Floating Action - "Eye of the Needle" (from Desert Etiquette)
DOWNLOAD: Floating Action - "Live at the Grey Eagle" (Free Live Album)

Floating Action is the “nom de rock” of Black Mountain, North Carolina-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Seth Kauffman. Kauffman has a second disc, Desert Etiquette, coming out next month which contains ten tracks of low-fi hazy psychedelia which crosses over into country-folk, blues and gospel. The new disc is due out on Feb. 22nd on Park the Van Records and the band will be heading off on a full-band tour of the US this spring which includes a stop-over at SXSW.

Kauffman wrote the lyrics for the Desert Etiquette in two days and then recorded the album over a concentrated period of 48 total hours. Aside from one pedal steel recording on the closing track, every song on Desert Etiquette was written, performed, produced, and recorded by Kauffman himself. Kauffman’s friend and collaborator, Band of Horses bassist Bill Reynolds, mixed the record in a similarly off-the-cuff vein—live and spontaneously over two days, using a vintage Trident console.

This new batch of songs has the space, warmth and feel of a Laurel Canyon-recorded vintage record. The production is crystal-clear and you can hear every instrument – from the brushes on the drums to the sound of the glockenspiel to the Casio burbles. This is also the first disc that I’ve heard in quite some time where the positioning of your speakers is important as the different instruments seem to be spread out across the left and right channels. Desert Etiquette’s songs were recorded without ornamentation or embellishment—often using less than eight tracks per song—and the imagery of Kauffman’s lyrics shines through. There are some lonely and wistful moments on the disc but Kauffman embraces a variety of styles which runs the gamut from "Del Shannon style" rock songs (“Rincon”) to "Troggs style" garage rock (“Modern Gunslinger”). The variety of songs and their catchy, sing-along melodies keep the music fresh after repeated listens.

Kauffman likens the result to Floating Action’s version of Dylan’s John Wesley Harding. With its pared-down instrumentation, Desert Etiquette is distinctly human-scale, a melancholic elegy to the sublime, violent beauty of the American landscape that aims to “capture the feeling you get when you’re in Big Sur.” As Kauffman says, “We're southern band whose hearts are in the west coast.”

Floating Action Tour Dates
Feb 28 -- Denver, CO, Hi-Dive
Mar 04 -- Arcata, CA, Humboldt Brews
Mar 05 -- Sacramento, CA, Marilyns
Mar 09 -- Santa Cruz, CA, The Crepe Place
Mar 11 -- Los Angeles, CA, Hotel Cafe
Mar 12 -- San Luis Obispo, CA, Downtown Brew
Mar 13 -- San Diego, CA, Bar Pink
Mar 18 -- Austin, TX, Mi Casa Cantina (Park the Van SXSW Showcase)

Links:
Floating Action

The Spinto Band - Moonwink CD Review

There seemed to be a huge buzz in the blogs when The Spinto Band released Nice and Nicely Done but I just couldn't get into either "Oh Mandy" or "Brown Boxes" and I found the whole chamber-pop thing somewhat unsettling.

The band's sound has really matured over the past three years and Moonwink is a great set of infectious hyperactive/ADD pop tunes. I would expect this release to break big for the band and they have already moved from a Union Hall residency (capacity: 100) to playing Music Hall of Williamsburg (capacity: 550).

The first single from this release "Summer Grof" is available on iTunes and the band has also posted a video to YouTube. The frantic Self-Righteous Brothers/White Rabbits pace of this song will give you a good feel for what the rest of disc sounds like.



The band describes "Summer Grof" as "a vague tribute to the great comedienne Janeane Garofalo" and this single was released with a non-LP b-side, "Snowball".

Three of the new disc's eleven tracks are streaming on the band's MySpace page. One of the stand-out tracks is "Later On" which kicks off the disc. There is also a live video for this song on The Spinto Band's website where the band plays an "acoustic" version of the song using kitchen utensils and fruit.

Moonwink was recorded with Producer / Engineer Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Built To Spill, Billy Bragg, Mates of State) and Mixing Engineer Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Los Lobos, Cibo Matto, Paul Simon). Moonwink will be released October 7th on Park The Van Records.

The Spinto Band plays Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 18th with Frightened Rabbit and The Sw!ms -- Tickets are $15.00.

Tulsa @ Pianos, NYC - August 18, 2007

Tulsa, an exciting new shoegazer band from Boston, played the final night of their Piano's residency last Saturday night.

The musicianship of the band really impressed me as, for being just a 3-piece band, they were able to build a wave of sounds that was comparable to My Bloody Valentine or the mellower side of Jesus & Mary Chain. I have been listening to some advance tracks from the band's upcoming EP and the band captures a lot of this energy in the studio as well.

The band's live show has been getting great reviews from the press. Boston Phoenix recently hailed Tulsa as "the best rock band in Boston. Their combination of songwriting and musicianship and an eargasm of a sound rendered jaws unfunctional." The band has also gotten good write-ups from CMJ and Chicago Sun-Times.

The band's debut EP, "I Was Submerged", will be released October 9th on Park the Van. Check out the first video "Shaker" from this release (Director: Marshall Johnson).

Links:
Tulsa's MySpace page