Imagine if Brian Wilson or John Lennon sat in their bedrooms playing Pro Tools. You may remember from my record store post that I picked up the latest from local artist(s) {{{Sunset}}}. Well now I have had some time to really digest The Glowing City and I really like it. Not only is it distinctive enough so you know what you're listening to as soon as it hits the iPod Shuffle but it still manages to sound diverse.
{{{Sunset}}} is what, now defunct, Sound Team member Bill Baird is up to these days. From what I can tell this guy is quite prolific and he is totally in love with the studio. The Glowing City definitely has the sound of someone who like to twiddle knobs in a room with no sunlight. Each song is a soundscape, with layered textural sounds that sometimes obscure and sometimes enhance the melodies. Bill Baird and I are both big fans of chiming percussive instruments, like sleigh bells, vibraphones and xylophones, which can all be heard throughout the album.
Tag {{{Sunset}}} as one of Austin's biggest up-and-comers in the next year. Try to catch one of their local shows before they go the way of Ghostland and disappear from Austin's scene. Their label site has a handy little widget showing their live calendar but I couldn't manage to steal it for you so find it here.
Music and more after the jump...
Someone on Last.Fm saw that I was listening to The Glowing City and asked if I could send them a free Mp3 copy. I was all, "For reals? I bought that shhh at the record shop. You should do the same. Pssshh". Ironically you can stream The Glowing City direct from the Last.FM site here. It might be kind of hard for you to find this record at the record shop near you, but fear not. I got your back, you can get it here or here in virtual land. Or if you live in Austin, then you should effing know where to find it by now...End of an Ear, Waterloo, possibly Cheapo.
And/Or just catch a live show. Like this Friday at Progress Coffee or this Saturday at Victory Grill.
{{{Sunset}}} recorded a session for Daytrotter, which if you don't know already, is a really bad ass indie-music site that has artists come in and record exclusive, intimate sets. You can read the whole quirky interview and get all of the tracks here.
Here's an official free track from {{{Sunset}}}'s label Autobus:
{{{Sunset}}} - The World is Awaiting
I'm not a big fan of videos streamed using Virb, but Bill Baird is which means you can find 15 {{{Sunset}} videos on their Virb page. Although it saddens me because this video will not be viewable on iPhones here is a vid for one of my favorite tracks on The Glowing City.
{{{Sunset}}} - Zombies video via Virb...and YouTube thanks reader.
Ponder this Austonians, why given all of the great locations in Austin did Bill Baird choose: The Office Depot parking lot at S. Lamar + Oltorf, The Gold's Gym parking lot near Blazer Tag on Ben White, and the Chuck E. Cheese at S.1st and Ben White...strike that last one going to Chuck E. Cheese is kind of brilliant.
