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The Houston
Brothers: Self-Titled
I received a promo copy of the new album from The Houston Brothers. Because its only a promo, I didnt get the luxury of album art/liner notes/etc. I have to stop the CD every time I want to know what a song is called, because the titles are printed directly on the disc and nowhere else. This whole ordeal didnt bother me so much. Im a musician myself, so I understand firsthand the importance of saving money on postage. There was a page and a half of promotional bio type propaganda, but it left me with several questions. For example, the letter states that the album is self-released, yet you can still see the Liquilab Records imprint on the disc, scribbled out with permanent marker. Theres got to be a story there, right? Theres also nothing about the history of the band or anything mentioning all of their other countless musical projects. Im a local, so I know some of those things already, but I want more info. So I figured Id just hop on over to their official web site and fill in the pieces of the puzzle. Well, much to my dismay, their website contains the exact same information that is on the page and a half of propaganda that they sent me. Going to Liquilabs site didnt help either. So I guess Ill never know the whole story. Life goes on. (See how easy it is to fill up a review with words and not actually say anything about the music?) Let me tell you about my feelings before I even listened to this album. I had heard a couple of songs by The Houston Brothers on a Liquilab compilation, and I remember not being extremely impressed. I also used to confuse this band with The Dynamite Brothers, who are also from North Carolina. Once I became a Dynamite Bros. fan, I assumed that they were the better of the Brothers bands. I saw Justin of the Houston Brothers sing once, and I thought he sounded like shit. And lastly, I have a thing about bands that release self-titled albums, especially when its not their first release, which is the case in this instance. So this band didnt have much going for them when I received their album. The Houston Brothers are two brothers, though their last name is Faircloth. I guess The Faircloth Brothers just doesnt have the same ring to it. This whole album has a loose, lazy feel to it. I think they sound like a mix between Elliott Smith and the Velvet Underground. From the warm-up opening of Lovin You Is Such a Drag, to the piano melody of The Shuffle, this disc doesnt stray far from its core. This is a good thing, as what we have here sounds more like an album than a collection of singles; and that seems very hard to pull off these days. The production is excellent. The acoustic instruments blend well with the synthetic instruments, a feat that many other bands have yet to master. There is clarity in the voice of every single musical element, with just enough space to keep everything separated, yet fill up a room. I really cant say enough about how good this album sounds. Musicians out there will appreciate this more than anything. Tying everything together is the vocals. How many cartons of cigarettes does it take to make a voice sound so gritty and weathered? But for as damaged as his throat sounds, the vocals are always on key, and always compliment the song. They give the music character and integrity. Lyrically, again they remind me of the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed could have written some of these songs, and I wouldnt be able to tell the difference. In fact occasionally, it sounds like Lou Reed is singing themparticularly on Bluejays and Air Travel. Also, the Houstons may have written my favorite lyric of the year in their song Roll in the Dunes: cigarettes make you choke / so I hide out where theres smoke / you know lovers dont always mean / what they scream at one another. Overall, I went into this album with the lowest of expectations, but came out impressed. Very impressed. This is quality. Consider me converted.
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