{"id":5610,"date":"2010-08-24T15:54:23","date_gmt":"2010-08-24T20:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/?p=5610"},"modified":"2010-08-24T15:54:45","modified_gmt":"2010-08-24T20:54:45","slug":"the-infamous-band-round-up-august-24-2010-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/2010\/08\/the-infamous-band-round-up-august-24-2010-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"The Infamous Band Roundup – August 24, 2010 (part two)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Some<\/a>

Some 'roundup 2' bands: Tallest Trees, The Drums, Wartime Blues (photo by Russel Daniels), and Vincent Minor.<\/p><\/div>\n

Here’s part two of my latest band roundup, featuring Soft Cat<\/a>, Tallest Trees<\/a>, The Drums<\/a>, The State Arcades<\/a>, The Wild Complete<\/a>, Vincent Minor<\/a>, War Tapes<\/a>, and Wartime Blues<\/a>. This time, we have several states represented: Maryland, Tennessee, New York, Arizona, California, and even (Missoula) Montana. Plus London, England (The State Arcades). And yes, there are two bands with the word “war” in their name. It’s been that kind of year. Maybe next time I’ll do a feature with only<\/em> war bands. Please send in your requests. <\/p>\n

Soft Cat<\/a> | Tallest Trees<\/a> | The Drums<\/a> | The State Arcades<\/a> | The Wild Complete<\/a> | Vincent Minor<\/a> | War Tapes<\/a> | Wartime Blues<\/a><\/p>\n

Soft Cat<\/h4>\n

Baltimore, MD<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Soft

Soft Cat<\/p><\/div>\n

Listening to Soft Cat<\/a>‘s music is like drifting through a pleasant summer daydream. Their music centers around Neil Sanzgiri’s songwriting (his prior bands include Dallas-based Voot Cha Index<\/a> and Talking Tiger Mountain<\/a>), and is both folky and classical – acoustic guitar and banjo; strings, flute, and saxophone. Amazingly, they’ve only been performing together since last year, and will be releasing their debut album on Friends Records<\/a> this autumn. They also have two East Coast shows coming up – Glasslands in Brooklyn, NY on Sept. 2, and a Friends Records Showcase at the Ox in Philadelphia on Sept. 18. As stated in the press release, “The ideas in this album are a collection of themes and explanations growing to a symphonic conclusion. As Neil explains it, ‘Any concentration of wilderness, growth, or life contained in a surviving ecosystem located in an urban setting is known as Wild Space. It is a non-domesticated area existing and dwelling as arcane emptiness. Wild Space creates fear from the unknown yet gives context to conformability. Organisms grow and cultivate while going unnoticed. Wild Space serves as the in between spaces in our lives.'” Heady stuff, but what first caught my ear is that they just sound so pretty<\/em>.<\/p>\n[audio:http:\/\/www.bostonsurvivalguide.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/SoftCat-Blackbird.mp3|titles=Soft Cat: “Blackbird”]\n

MySpace<\/a> | Friends Records on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Tallest Trees<\/h4>\n

Nashville, TN<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Tallest

Tallest Trees<\/p><\/div>\n

An interesting mix of acoustic-psychedelic folk and quirky electronics, Tallest Trees<\/a> is the project of two guys who came out of Nashville’s Tommy and the Whale<\/a>, Thomas Samuel and Dabney Morris. They combine sophisticated synth arrangements with dreamlike lyrics of children and family (“I’ve seen the one, the only mother, ancient mother, in my dreams…” – Learn). They just recently released The Ostrich or the Lark<\/em> on Other Electricities<\/a>.<\/p>\n