With his third release, Christian Williams intersperses his signature brand of gothic country with upbeat prairie holler-alongs, taking his act to a new level.

In his usual style, Williams offers up an array of beautifully haunting tunes that sound as old as the wind but never get stale. Though the lyrics are often grisly, they don’t offend or sicken - a rather triumphant feat considering the subject matter tends to revolve around death, the devil, and killing one’s spouse.

The best of these include “The Sad Song of Sequin Island” and its warped chords and “Henry May” with its lovely harmonica interlude that plays against dark images such as ‘Oh Henry May - used his head to paint the kitchen red that summer day.’

On the other end of the spectrum, Williams introduces some happier tunes to his repetoire.  The classic country sound of “PBR & Crackers” is an endearing declaration of outlaw love. The slightly dreamy, optimistic quality of “I Tried” wafts contentment, and “All of Her Kin” and its stompin’-at-a-hootenanny charm leaves the listener with an entertaining twist.

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Defiant dropped in 2007.

Find out more about Christian Williams here.

While the third release from Oklahoma’s Plastic Parachute, Elephants & Giraffes, has a somewhat promising beginning, the rest of the album doesn’t deliver.

The album opens with “Four Alarm Fire”, a spunky power-pop jam featuring lead singer Deb Hooks’ tarted-up-babydoll vocals. Following is the squeaky synth lines in “Take 2″ and the often catchy lyrics of “Tres Chic”. After that, however, the album does little to keep itself going.

Too much of the album is predictable and recycled, from the boring pop of the title track to the cheesy key change in “Finish With The Heart”. The lyrics of “The Connection” are trite, “Sway” is a gushy attempt at an arena rock anthem, and the muted cowbell and sneering vocals on “Betty Ford Princess” seem like something Avril Lavigne would love to copy.

The last track on the album, “California (Won’t Give Up On Me)”, offers a glimmer of hope with bouncing drumsticks, piano, and tambourine, but the chorus disappoints with more of the same predictability found throughout.

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Elephants & Giraffes dropped in 2007.

Listen to Plastic Parachute here.

Well folks, Mixtapes|Heartbreaks has managed to make it a whole year. We put up our first post last Thanksgiving (it was a very boring day) and expected to go kaput in a week or two. But alas, we’ve made it to this milestone and hope to make it to many more.

A huge thanks to everyone who’s visited the site, told someone about it, or took us seriously enough to send us free stuff. Also a big thanks to everyone who has agreed to make us a mix - it really is the highest compliment in our eyes.

xoxo

M|H

There’s nothing like a good face-melting, and all you have to do to get one is attend a Coheed & Cambria show. On November 17, 2007, I did just that at Austin’s Waterloo Park.

Touring in support of their most recent album, No World For Tomorrow, the boys served up an amazing and lengthy set that made standing in the rain and sitting in the mud completely worth it.

Due to their excellent musicianship, Coheed & Cambria will always be good. What makes them great is their showmanship and connection to their fans. Their music is naturally theatrical, so they don’t need to rely on big sets or props to convey a sense of grandeur. They don’t shy from their hits and play a fairly equal mix of material from all of their albums. Though they remain stoically in character for the most part, occasionally a genuine smile will slip - often in conjunction with the crowd cheering the epic nature of a solo or Claudio’s coiffure.

Adding to the experience of seeing Co&Ca live is the sense of community. Bringing in the likes of everyone from cute hipster girls to greasy, D&D-playing metal kids, the band unites a wide cross-section of people for one night to raise their fists and half-shout, half-sing “man your own jackhammer, man your battle stations” to spine-tingling effect and stand rapt for a twenty-minute rendition of “The Final Cut”. This is not something every band on the planet can accomplish.

Also on the bill were The Fall of Troy and Clutch. The Fall of Troy offered finger-tapping and head-banging to songs that fell along the metal/hardcore continuum with an occasional nod to pop-punk, while Clutch played blues-infused rock that leaned a little too far toward rap-rock vocals for my liking. The band does get extra points, though,  for handling a massive PA failure that cut their set short with grace.

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Find out more about the bands: Coheed & Cambria | Clutch | The Fall of Troy

For several months, I had been planning on attending the November 16th show at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, TX - Brand New, Thrice, and mewithoutyou. Unfortunately there were a series of mishaps and miscommunications that left me without a ticket to the sold-out show. Lucky for me, it was a nice night.

Stubb’s is an outdoor venue, and running behind it is a bridge that straddles a creek. You can’t see much from there, but the sound is surprisingly good. A few years ago I “saw” Sonic Youth from this perch, so I thought I’d give these bands a try.

I unfortunately missed most of mewithoutyou’s set, but what I did hear was good. Next up was Thrice. They sounded amazing, even from behind and outside the venue. They’ve never failed to amaze me live, and I wasn’t let down even though I spent their set watching a possum navigate along the bank of the creek. For whatever reason, Thrice declined to play their biggest singles - “All That’s Left” and “Image of the Invisible” - but the new material was well-received.

Topping off the night was Brand New. Though they shied away from tracks off of their debut, the night was a good mix between Deja Entendu and the more recent The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Early on in the set, vocalist Jesse Lacey leaned toward shouting more than singing, but finally settled into his usual tone. Like Thrice, I wished I would have been able to see the show, but was more than happy with the experience I had sitting out behind the venue.

It’s time for another installment of a list of songs I heard and liked enough to write down. Enjoy!

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Beirut - Nantes

Cajun Dance Party - The Next Untouchable 

Black Kids - I’ve Underestimated My Charm Again

The Eames Era - Watson on Your Side

Jukebox the Ghost - Hold It In

My Number One Fan nostalgia couldn’t have kicked in at a better time. The band has announced that they will be digitally releasing previously recorded and unreleased material this December.

The track list has not been finalized, but as of now includes:

I’m Gone
I Just Want To Know
The City Comes Alive
Ins and Outs
Waltz in F
Kevin’s Song
Open Up Your Hands
It’s Not Alright

For now, you can listen to a couple of tracks at their MySpace page.