I love music, which means that I love year-end lists and SXSW Season. I have never had the chance to be at SXSW but I love watching many of the really, really cool live videos that come out of the event, especially those that come from the sidelines rather than the main stages. Here is one of my favorite bands, Seryn, performing “Ivory Black” for KUTX.

By the way, if you love quality, music like Seryn, won’t you consider supporting the documentary being made about them?

 

Lift To Experience:

 

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I really, really love music. And I love to pass along music that I love so that you’ll love it too. I understand that you won’t love everything I love but I love that about music. We can all love what we love and love that other people love different music.

The musical partnership of Spune and Velvet Blue has produced two of my favorite artists of recent years; Doug Burr and Seryn. And, from what I’ve heard, it looks like they’re about to do it again.

The Dallas band Air Review is releasing their debut full-length album Low Wishes on January 29. Blending folk, Americana and Electronica and Pop, the band has a sound that’s at once comfortable (in a good way) and challenging (in a good way).

Stream the album on Bandcamp:

 
Check out the band perform “Low Wishes” on The Local Yokel Show



 
Watch the video for “My Automatic”



 

•  Visit the band’s official website

Look Sessions recently released a couple of live tracks Holiday at the Sea favorite Doug Burr recorded for them at SXSW.

First up, “Chief of Police in Chicago, followed by “Red, Red.”

“Chief of Police in Chicago” by Doug Burr from Look Sessions on Vimeo.

“Red, Red” by Doug Burr from Look Sessions on Vimeo.

• Visit Doug Burr’s website
• Visit Look Session’s website

So, apparently I’m late to this new music party but some of the former members of the David Crowder Band have, after that group’s demise, formed a new group called The Digital Age. Coming right out of the gates with t-shirts and merchandise galore, the band has released a couple of videos from some recent rehearsals.

Comparisons to DCB will be unavoidable and unfair. Listen first.

Here is “All The Poor And Powerless” followed by their take on “How Great Thou Art.” What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Some of my current favorite artists are from Denton, including Seryn and Doug Burr.

But it’s not just the fact that the late Lift to Experience hailed from Denton that interests me. As someone who loves Jesus and loves music but doesn’t really like most “Christian music,” it’s refreshing to hear Christian themes in new ways, even when people are openly struggling with those themes or maybe even opposing them. I believe God wants us to be honest. He knows the truth anyway. I’d rather hear artists wrestle with their faith than sugar-coated propaganda.

So how’s this for a debut double-concept album: Three TX boys are visited by an angel of the Lord only to find out about the “Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads.” In other words, Texas is the center of the true promised land. Pitchfork says:

Welcome to the Bush era! The NRA is setting up shop in the White House; the federal government is subsidizing faith-based social services with taxpayer money; the bumper sticker injunction ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ has finally assumed the force of law. Guns, God and Texas. It was only a matter of time before the age acquired its opus. But who would have predicted a ten-gallon prog-emo Biblical concept album about the Texan apocalypse?

Allmusic says:

How’s this for a concept album: three musicians from Denton, TX, with the help of formerCocteau Twins Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, blend My Bloody Valentine‘s sonic feedback with Kitchens of Distinction‘s swirling atmosphere and the grace of Jeff Buckley to detail the “crossroads of Texas and Jerusalem.” What could have been a tiresome exploration of awkward religious theories is instead a spellbinding journey into the heart of human emotion and guitar dynamics.

I realize that some of the music I listen to is probably not for everyone, but come on, if you haven’t heard this album, well then, I should insert something pity here about how you’re missing out on greatness. It is by far one of the most interesting and even spell-binding albums I have heard in a long time and it’s been on repeat for the past couple of days.

For my sensitive-eared friends, please be aware that there is an “F-Bomb” about three-quarters of the way through this video. This is a short sort-of documentary about the late band Lift to Experience and Denton, TX. It’s interesting to hear the band acknowledge the spiritual themes in their music and even tie the act of playing music itself to their spirituality:

 

Lift To Experience – Just As Was Told from Kieran Evans on Vimeo.

 

 

Here is the band’s video for “These Are The Days”

I haven’t done a Music Friday post in quite a while, but it’s time to break the silence. It should be no secret to you or anyone else that I love music. I listen to a lot of new music and I’m always looking for the ones that just “stick;” the ones that are, while being new, somehow also familiar, like they should have been part of your life all along.

As you might imagine, those bands are few and far between. I mean, I like a lot of music, but those bands that find themselves on repeat are pretty rare around here. I recently came across one such band: Denton TX’s (also the home of my favorite and yours, Doug Burr): Seryn. Imagine if Fleet Foxes, Nickel Creek, Anathallo and Lost In The Trees decided to see what all of their sounds were like together. That’s the closest you might come to an adequate descriptor of this bands sound. Soaring harmonies, ukulele (which I’m usually opposed to simply on principal of being gimmicky), violin and banjo come together in one enthralling package.

Though it’s still (very) early in the year, I have a hard time not seeing the band’s recently released This Is Where We Are near the top of my favorite albums for this year. If it were a record, it would already be worn out. I realize that you may not have the same musical taste as me, but come on, what’s not to love here!

Here is the band performing “Beach Song” for Violitionist

 

Here’s the band in a living room singing “On My Knees:”

 

Here’s the official promotional video for their new album This Is Where We Are:

Seryn: “This Is Where We Are” from Jon Todd Collins on Vimeo.

• Visit Seryn’s official page (yes, they’re still using Myspace, don’t hold it against them)