Ocote Soul Sounds

Originally published at Allaboutjazz.com





Ocote Soul Sounds was born of strange conditions—a (sort of) failed biodiesel-fueled road trip that lead to jam sessions in Austin, TX, that in turn lead to the cross country trade of mp3s and song ideas, that gave birth to a surprising debut, 2005's independently released El Nino y El Sol (reissued by ESL the following year). Masterminded by two of the freshest voices in new music today, Ocote Soul Sounds is in top form on The Alchemist Manifesto, a worldly mix of sounds found “at the intersection of the downtown dance floor, the sweaty basement bembé, and the smoldering campfire on a remote beach.”

Martin Perna has made a name for himself in recent years by lending his flute to tracks by TV on the Radio, Scarlet Johansson, and others, as well as being a founding member of Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings and leader of Antibalas. Adrian Quesada is the mind behind two of Austin, TX's hottest bands, the Prince-approved Grupo Fantasma and deep-funk aficionados Brownout. Perna and Quesada together? Simply unstoppable, as evidenced by the stellar selections found on their sophomore Manifesto.

The Alchemist Manifesto blends brassy downtempo jazz (”The Grand Elixir”), Fela-like afrobeat (”La reja”), and breakbeat funk (”The Alchemist Manifesto”) and wraps it all in a soundtrack-worthy sheen. “Les Dunes d'Ostende” is more akin to the indietronica of Four Tet and Tortoise than Grupo Fantasma or Antibalas' interpretation of the word funk. “Hacia un manana major” is digital boom bap (think Anti-Pop Consortium), “Contra el sol” a getaway driver's soundtrack, and “Pelican,” Latin-flavored soul rap (some Teddy Riley shit).

Perna and Quesada are in top-form on The Alchemist Manifesto. Collectively, from Antibalas to Brownout and all the many other projects these two brilliant artists are involved in on the side, it's clear these two are not running out of ideas any time soon. Manifesto is invigorating, the essence of cool, and a perfect soundtrack to your sultry summer.

mp3: "The Grand Elixir"
myspace: myspace.com/ocotesoulsounds

One Dull Sword

Austin, TX isn’t home to just hippies and country boys. There are more exciting and innovative metal bands popping up in this town each week – Pack of Wolves, The Roller, and Baron Grod are but a few. And of course there is The Sword, every hipster’s favorite metal band. The Sword is one of those uber-cool buzz bands everyone is talking about post-Coachella, with a buzz made louder by the recent announcement of a string of dates opening for Metallica overseas. Oh and having a song on Guitar Hero II certainly helps!

Gods of the Earth is The Sword’s second full length, again released on every stoner rock fans favorite label, Kemado Records (Saviours, VietNam). Littered with the themes of sci-fi and fantasy novels, driven by pounds of the good stuff, with riffs that shred and breakdowns that are nothing short of brutal, Gods of the Earth is… well, it’s pretty fucking typical and exactly what I expected.

Now excuse me while I ask but one question: what the fuck is all the fuss about? I want to love this band, not because everyone else seems to but more because they are from Austin; I’ve seen the dudes around town plenty and I want to be down with what they are doing. I just don’t get it. Yes they can shred (“The Frost-Giants Daughter,” “How Heavy This Ax”) and there are certainly some gems buried in this record (“Maiden, Mother and Crone,” “The White Sea”), but in all it’s just typical stoner rock, doom metal, 70's shit.

All the references are obvious – clearly there is a fair share of Black Sabbath-isms in there, a little bit of slowed down Motorhead, Kyuss of course, and nods to contemporaries like High on Fire and Mastodon. “Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians” is a jam and a half but nothing to cream your pants over. The acoustic guitars on “To Take the Black” are nice, but DUH every stoner metal album HAS to have one acoustic guitar jam.

Throughout Gods, Cronise’s voice sounds strained – shit is just painful to listen to honestly. The worst part is I know for a fact that it’s the way Cronise is choosing to sing these songs, in a baroque and grandiose fashion, and not necessarily his voice in and of itself, that sucks. This past SXSW, Cronise led an all-star Faith No More cover band and fucking wailed in place of Mike Patton – what a rad show! Dude can sing, without a doubt.

The Sword’s best piece is buried ten songs in. “The White Sea” is largely instrumental and epic as fuck – I mean, come on, listening to this you can’t help but imagine you’re some ancient Norwegian warrior, covered in furs and armed with, well, a big fucking sword, ready to do battle with the Grendel or some shit…

That’s another thing that bugs me about this record – I mean, I guess I just never really got into J.R.R. Tolkein and George R. R. Martin or whatever. I'm just not into Norse mythology, anything about dragons, dwarfs, or swords for that matter. Maybe I am missing some grand metaphor, but if this shit is literal, grow up. Sing about girls. That’s way more awesome.

Gods of the Earth is the sort of record you’re gonna get into because either a) you are already an avid fan of stoner rock or b) every other cool kid is listening so you should be too. This sword is, frankly, dull.

myspace: www.myspace.com/thesword
mp3: "Mother, Maiden and Crone"

Danny Malone

Austin’s Danny Malone is your classic singer/songwriter – a heart-on-his-sleeve hopeless romantic who bares it all and then some on his four song EP, Baby Bleu. But Malone’s songs would be nothing without the rich arrangements and assortment of musicians who make up his revolving cast of characters posing as a backing band.



I can’t breathe, I can’t even see, I’m begging you please because my fingers are freezing.

With a whistle-worthy hook provided by trumpets, “Silence” recalls fellow Austinites Spoon and is simply one of the best pop songs I’ve heard in some time. I’m convinced that the horn solo is indie rock’s new trick to writing a hit worthy pop song. Feist’s iGen anthem “1234” and Spoon’s “The Underdog” come to mind.

“Swimming Pools” is toe-tapping rock, the sort that litters the Saddle Creek Records catalog. And is that a freakin' vibraphone? Amazing. The bouncy backbeat Malone brings in for the chorus makes the walk home after a long night of drinking more tolerable, because a good song can make every hangover easier to deal with.

When I wake up, Oh I’m so confused, still can’t find my shoes.



Malone’s music is painfully honest, littered with "I"s and "You"s. That can wear thin after some time, but if it’s what you’re into it’s not that bad. “Lucky Break” is a bit too introspective, too slow and adult oriented pop for my tastes. Without his backing band on “Baby Bleu,” Malone sounds confidant yet still vulnerable.

At four songs long, Baby Bleu is the very definition of a tease. One can only hope Malone has more music up his sleeve, more songs in his bag, and more hits in the making.

Wishin I was somewhere lost with you, and not lost without you Baby Bleu.

Visit Danny Malone on myspace here.