Dec 30, 2019
Taken by Raz Robinson
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Taken by Raz Robinson
Reasons by Trout - Trout is working on new stuff. It’s got a lot of snaz and is very cozy.
~listen~
Juan Wauters - N.A.P. North American Poetry
Song writer Juan Wauters ,originally hailing from Uruguay now residing in Queens, has just released his debut record titled N.A.P. North-American Poetry. The record really feels more ambitious than it sounds. Sonically it stays in its lane, not doing anything super novel, but still it maintains this glow about it that's truly hard to explain. As far as the songwriting goes it almost sounds like a more tangible take on some of Devndra Banharts early releases (Oh Me Oh My or Nino Rojo). You almost get the sense that Wauters hasn't been playing music for very long, which is something that shouldn't be taken the wrong way, it's in no sense a bad thing. I mean consider the fact that the Arctic Monkeys hadn't been playing their instruments for very long at all before the release of their debut "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not", and to say as little as humanly possible, that album was and is fucking fantastic. In fact that very green vibe Wauters presents with his music actually yields a handful of really bare and pleasant tunes . I won't lie, the album might take you a few listens, and frankly without some patience, as a whole, you might not dig it at all. Having said all that, North-American Poetry it's definitely worth the listen. Whether it becomes your new favorite record or not you, whether you hate it or not, I'm certain you won't be begging for your time back.
-Raz Robinson
The Districts - The Districts
In all things intention matters, in all things it plays a role, and in art the greatest intention of all is honesty. When it comes to art in the case of music, honesty is more often than not particularly difficult. Trying to be emotional, musical, thorough, tasteful, and unpretentious can often stifle our presentations of the truth in our art, and thus our ability to be honest within our medium. What I mean to say is that there are so many things that come between feeling, writing, and presentation that it's easy to be inarticulate and not say what you mean, provided you're really thinking or feeling what it is you're writing about. Ironically, it's often the inability to say what we mean that drives us to write songs. Despite the various difficulties honesty presents, it's in that exact area ,among many others, that Lititz, Pennsylvania four piece The Districts shine. In fact honesty is not just where they shine, but it's where they excel.
Last week marked the release of The Districts' self titled, first EP with Missouri based indie label Fat Possum Records. The Districts are made up of Connor Jacobus (bass), Braden Lawrence (drums), Rob Grote (Guitar/Vocals), and Mark Larson (Guitar). This EP comes right before they go on an East Coast tour with fellow Fat Possum artists White Denim. Despite them signing to a record label, putting together an EP, and getting ready to go on tour all within the span of a few months, The Districts are no strangers to putting together records or playing shows. In fact, the new EP is predated by the bands 2012 self-released LP "Telephone", from which three songs (Lyla, Long Distance, and Funeral Beds) have been taken and re-mastered for this new release. Some of the bands live exploits include The Brandywine Folk Festival, Headlining Norristown's Walla Fest...twice, opening for Philadelphia Natives Dr. Dog not even two weeks ago, and playing the 2013 XPoNential Festival. Moreover, the frequency, tenacity, and energy with which the band puts on their live show is part of what makes them as impressive a group as they are. The Districts channel raw live power with a sage like integrity of song writing into a charming and incredibly honest presentation.
The EP starts with the contemplative tune "Rocking Chair". The jangly guitar arpeggios at the outset of the song melt almost immediately into an incredibly boisterous, distorted, but tight verse. Rob Grote and Mark Larsons' guitar lines move with each other through intricate but very natural rhythmic progressions all while doing a sweet dance with the bass, drums, and melody. The song highlights within a minute one big thing that the band seems to get; that is that good lyrics can make good songs beautiful and beautiful songs other worldly. Lyrically the song comes to a head with the crooning, direct, and proverbial " if I drink some more, well I think I might drown". This is just one of a series of lyrical gems on the EP. Folk jams like "Lyla" and the stop-start waltz "Stay Open" do a good job at translating the bands raw and sweet instrumental energy into words, making Grote's blunt poeticism easily relatable while still leaving you thinking " how the hell did he think to say it that way?" . The fact that there are simply too many good couplets and one liners in just five songs for me to even consider mentioning them all should suffice to contextualize Grote's lyrical prowess.
The good word play truly lends itself to the overall hypnotic quality of the band's music. Funeral Beds, the third song on the EP serves as a perfect, and extremely dynamic midway point. It starts with a very unassuming sort of hard folk riff from which the band doesn't deviate very much, but still it's one that that never gets boring. The riff, and the song really, just rolls and rolls on gradually as the instrumentation becomes more and more dense. The slide guitar, harmonica, and tasteful percussion all culminate into a very brave and candid climax that, in a way, throws the song across the finish line in the most graceful manner. Hearing a tune with such seamless transitions kind of puts you in the frame of mind that you would expect to be in during a Burning Spear concert or when listening to early Trojan dub. Not in the sense that genre wise they're remotely alike, but in the sense that by the time the song is over you can't help but wonder where exactly it is that your mind's been for the last five minutes.
"Long Distance", the longest track on the EP rounding out at about six and a half minutes, mixes a chord progression that is both full and sharp (Grote) with really dry melodic lead guitar (Larson). Personified, Larson's playing on this song has what you could call questionable morals or a duel persona. The way it so sweetly...quaintly fills up the verse in manner that really gives the song a jovial sensibility before storming into an equally brooding chorus and eventual solo. The bridge spills into a wonderful gang vocal at the end where the band belts the chorus supported only by short guitar strokes and the clicking on the rim of the snare drum; all trailing off as the song rocks you into a blissful oblivion.
The point is that there is no lying in The Districts. The band lives their truth and it shows in their music. The ease with which being honest comes to this band has helped them to develop a sound that ,this EP has made irrevocably clear, is unique to them. What's even crazier is fact that in four years, only one of which has been spent out of high school, they have managed define that sound so well. This is a feat that takes some bands twice the time to accomplish and for The Districts the doors are wide open having done that in the time they have as well as they have. Be sure to check out their music atwww.facebook.com/thedistrictsband
-Raz Robinson