Weekend Shows/MP3s: The Cops, American Princes, Moreland Arbuckle
By JASON HARPER
Princes of Pain
KC is lucky to catch a couple of not-necessarily-hot but totally solid touring acts this weekend. First up, Little Rock, Ark., band American Princes brings its blend of lo-fi guitar pop, broken-throated harmonies, heavy lyrics and big choruses to Davey's. You won't find these dudes written up in the hype-osphere, but if you give 'em a chance, it might pay off. This first song here, "Open Letter," is a chilling and spot-on song about a dysfunctional father-son relationship -- and it kind of rocks, too. The next one, "Where I'm Calling From," is philisophically meandering and sort of depressing but also hopeful -- kind of like most of the work by the writer whom song references: Raymond Carver. This one, too, comes with a sweet chorus. If you feel desperate and poor most of the time and like slice-of-life short fiction and guitars, American Princes may be your new fave.
MP3: American Princes, "Open Letter," from Less and Less (Yep Roc, 2006)
MP3: American Princes, "Where I'm Calling From," from Other People (Yep Roc, 2008)
Catch them: Friday, May 1, at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club
Call the Cops
I wrote about the Cops a couple of issues ago and was later embarrassed to learn that this Seattle band's latest, Free Electricity, came out last year and was therefore one of 2007's most underrated records, not this year's, as I said in the writeup. Oh well, the disk has definitely been in my car a lot the past few weeks, and as a result, I've been braking for old ladies and running down chumps in my energy-efficient VW. The Cops' sharp guitars, streetwise lyrics and neck-jostling rhythms make for rock that's respectful of punk sensibilities but not bound to them.
Photo by Curt Doughty
MP3: The Cops, "Light It Off"
MP3: The Cops, "N.99"
Both tracks from Free Electricity (Mt. Fuji, 2007)
Catch them: Sunday, May 4, at the Record Bar
More(land) after the jump.
Sunflower Blues
By ANDREW MILLER
Moreland & Arbuckle takes home-state appreciation to new levels on 1861, an album “dedicated to the great state of Kansas” that’s named for the year of Kansas’ ratification. “Having spent nearly all our lives in Kansas, we have cultivated a strong love for our home state and its people,” the trio proclaims in the liner notes. 1861 makes it easy for Sunflower residents to return the affection.
The record starts with “Gonna Send Ya Back to Georgia,” a Southern-fried whirlwind of snarling slide guitar and fast, hard-clashing drums. Dustin Arbuckle emits a relieved, brow-wiping “whoo” at the track’s end, taking a breath after four minutes of alternating between gritty, hard-belted vocals and frenzied harmonica solos. Realizing that Kansas life doesn’t always proceed at a frantic pace, Moreland & Arbuckle pay leisurely homage to a “Fishin’ Hole,” fire up a gas-tank bass for a country romp, beg for euphemistic “supper” during a slinky blues shuffle, and engage in unhurried instrumental jams, which only become more expansive live.
Aaron Moreland’s guitar collection, the visual manifestation of the group’s authentically rootsy old-soul sound, includes a small-bodied parlor guitar and a fretless cigar-box number, both of which look like they date back to the days of Kansas’ nascent statehood.
MP3: Moreland & Arbuckle, "Gonna Send Ya Back to Georgia" from 1861 (NorthernBlues Music)
Catch them: Friday, May 2, at the Jackpot Music Hall and Saturday, May 3, at the Hideout in Gladstone
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