Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - "Introducing" CD Review (Suburban Home Records)

DOWNLOAD: Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground - "World's Entire"

It is hard to put any sort of musical genre label on the band Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground as, the minute you start to formulate such a label, the band changes direction. Their forthcoming disc Introducing (out July 26th on Suburban Home) is actually the band’s second and musically they jump through a smorgasbord of sounds which include orchestral pop, indie-rock and psychedelia, all of which is wrapped together by a Beatles’ (Sgt. Pepper era) style layered production. Regardless of however one wants to describe the band, their music is quirky, compelling and catchy.

Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground was formed by Kirk Huffman (vocals / guitar) and Kyle O'Quin (keys) in 2006 when their previous band, Gatsbys American Dream, went on hiatus. The duo brought in Huffman's friend Phil Peterson (cello / backing vocals) to form the core nucleus of the band but the live show lineup expands to up-to-a-dozen members on stage. While the band’s new disc is due out later this month, they have been playing a few one-off record release shows and Sound on the Sound described one recent performance as a “weird and wonderful show that included bikini clad burlesque dancers wearing gigantic animal heads, hallucinogenic projections, dance sex and its very own hype man.”

After recording a self-released cassette, Kay Kay first hit the national radar in 2007 with the release of the live CD/DVD, Live at the Pretty Parlor, that landed the band an appearance on “Late Night with Carson Daily”. This forthcoming ten-track disc (forty min.) is the follow-up to the band’s 2008 self-titled debut (Vinyl Collective / Suburban Home) and it stays remarkably coherent for all of its stylistic jumps. While the large number of members touring with the band may imply something of a rag-tag, freak-folk collective, the members of Kay Kay execute their musical twists and turns with razor-tight precision. The disc starts with the sweeping orchestral dream-pop number (“Sweet Strange Dream”; later returning to this style on “20th Century Boy”) and jumps from there into the 70’s freak-out stomper “You M*therfuckers”, which features P-Funk style backing falsetto vocals . Other parts of the disc touch on the breezy sounds of AM radio (“World’s Entire”), Paul McCartney inspired 70’s rock (“Diggin’”), alt-country swing (“I Hate You California”) and the slow-burning “My Friends All Passed Out” which sounds like something that could have come out of the Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo’s camp in the late 70’s.



Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground is in the midst of a coast-to-coast tour (which strangely skips NYC) and here are the upcoming tour dates:
JULY 23 -- DEKALB, IL, THE HOUSE CAFÉ
JULY 24 -- CHICAGO, IL, LINCOLN HALL
JULY 26 -- ST. LOUIS, MO, THE FIREBIRD
JULY 27 -- COVINGTON, KY, MAD HATTER CLUB
JULY 28 -- GRAND RAPIDS, MI, THE PYRAMID SCHEME
JULY 29 -- CLEVELAND, OH, GROG SHOP
JULY 30 -- PITTSBURGH, PA, MR. SMALL'S THEATRE
AUG. 02 -- POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, THE LOFT
AUG. 03 -- ROCHESTER, NY, WATER STREET MUSIC HALL
AUG. 04 -- SCRANTON, PA, THE VINTAGE THEATER
AUG. 05 -- ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY, THE VIBE LOUNGE
AUG. 09 -- MANCHESTER, NH, ROCKO'S
AUG. 10 -- CAMBRIDGE, MA, MIDDLE EAST DOWNSTAIRS
AUG. 11 -- HAMDEN, CT, THE SPACE
AUG. 16 -- ATLANTA, GA, THE DRUNKEN UNICORN
AUG. 17 -- JACKSONVILLE, FL, THE PIT
AUG. 18 -- TAMPA, FL, THE ORPHEUM
AUG. 19 -- LAKE WORTH, FL, PROPAGANDA
AUG. 20 -- ORLANDO, FL, THE SOCIAL
AUG. 22 -- HOUSTON, TX, WAREHOUSE LIVE
AUG. 23 -- DALLAS, TX, THE LOFT
AUG. 24 -- AUSTIN, TX, EMO'S
AUG. 26 -- TEMPE, AZ, SAIL INN
AUG. 27 -- POMONA, CA, GLASS HOUSE

Links:
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground

Look Mexico - To Bed To Battle CD Review (Suburban Home)

STREAM: Look Mexico - To Bed To Battle (Yep, the whole CD is available to stream)

Alt-rock band Look Mexico released their sophomore disc To Bed To Battle (Suburban Home) last week and the band also made their third appearance at SXSW. Look Mexico plays guitar-driven 'modern rock' in the style of bands like Jimmy Eat World and Modest Mouse. Below is a live video for the leadoff track, "You Stay. I Go. No Following." from the new disc which gives a good indication of the band's sound.



Across To Bed To Battle, Look Mexico play mid-tempo emocore which ranges from the guitar rock of "You Stay. I Go. No Following." to the alt-country sounds of "They Offered Me a Deal (I Said No, Naturally)". Singer/guitarist Matt Agrella's lyrics are confessional and reflective but never fall prey to self-indulgence. The band's upbeat rhythms combined with orchestral breaks and use of non-traditional instruments (for the genre) such as cello, violin and pedal steel keep the songs on To Bed To Battle consistently engaging.

Look Mexico are spending a lot of time on the road in support of this new release. Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:

May 13 2010 9:00PM, Emo’s w/ Weatherbox, Austin, TX
May 14 2010 6:30PM, Art Ambush w/Weatherbox, Waco, TX
May 15 2010 8:00PM, The Prophet Bar w/Weatherbox, Dallas, TX
May 16 2010 8:00PM, The Conservatory w/Weatherbox, Oklahoma City, OK
May 17 2010 8:00PM, Jackpot Music Hall w/Weatherbox, Lawrence, KS
May 18 2010 9:00PM, The Waiting Room w/Weatherbox, Omaha, NB
May 19 2010 8:30PM, The Summit - Front Bar w/Weatherbox, Denver, CO
May 20 2010 8:30PM, Kilby Court w/Weatherbox, Salt Lake City, UT
May 22 2010 8:00PM, Che Cafe w/Weatherbox, San Diego, CA

Links:
Look Mexico

Look Mexico Play The Studio at Webster Hall on Wed., March 10th / New CD out on Suburban Home on March 23rd

Austin-by-way-of-Tallahassee indie/math rock band Look Mexico in touring in advance of their sophomore release To Bed To Battle (Suburban Home Records) and the band is playing The Studio at Webster Hall on Wednesday, March 10th. Look Mexico are sharing the bill with Gabriel the Marine and The Dear & Departed. DOS tickets are $12 and doors are at 6:30PM.

The band's new disc is coming out on March 23rd on CD and limited edition vinyl (both of which are available for pre-order). According to Suburban Noise's site "[t]he vinyl will be pressed in an edition of 1,000 copies (500 on Salmon/Orange vinyl, 500 on black vinyl). After the first pressing sells out, we will press all future pressings on black vinyl."

To Bed To Battle was written and recorded this past summer in Look Mexico’s former hometown of Tallahassee, FL. With the converted basement of a local pizza shop dedicated as their studio space, the band was able to take their time throughout the recording process, experimenting with and expanding their sound, and adding new instrumentation such as electric piano, organ, pedal steel, violin, cello, and horns. The resulting album – which deals with struggle and pressing on in the face of adversity – is an incredibly catchy, diverse yet cohesive set of 10 songs. To Bed To Battle ranges musically from anthemic pop/rock and explosive ballads (“You Stay. I Go. No Following,” “Until The Lights Burn Out?”), to alternately edgy and dreamy math-rock (“No Wonder I’m Still Awake,” “Time For You To Go Do Your Own Thing”), to blistering, barreling modern rock (“I Live My Life A Quarter Mile At A Time,” “They Offered Me A Deal (I Said No, Naturally”), to even acoustic, chamber pop-laced Americana (“Take It Upstairs, Einstein”).

The band just released their first video "You Stay.I Go. No Following" (dig the Iron Giant reference) from To Bed To Battle.



Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:
03/08 - Boston, MA @ Middle East
03/10 - New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
03/11 - New Brunswick, NJ @ Court Tavern
03/12 - Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox
03/13 - St. Augustine, FL @ Harvest of Hope
03/14 - St. Augustine, FL @ Harvest of Hope
03/16 - Little Rock, AK @ Vino’s

Links:
Look Mexico