Ghost of the Russian Empire Release The Mammoth

Having lived there for most of the decade, I admit that I'm an Austin music junkie. When I got news of the new release by Ghost of the Russian Empire, I couldn't wait to hear it. Their 2006 EP With Fiercest Demolition, according to Brandon Whitten, lead singer and guitarist, "was really a love letter to our childhood heroes Jack Tripper and Captain Planet." Even so, it is a sonic maze, looping back and forth in style and sound. The Mammoth expands upon the varying sounds, making the album difficult to pigeon-hole into a single genre or even compare to other artists. Foggy and ethereal vocals predominate over the entire album joined by driving rhythms and soaring guitars on tracks like "A Decade Without A Death" and "The Winter Soldier", giving it a shoe-gaze aura. Then they throw a curve and go a little bit country on "The Black Mark" with a haunting slide guitar (or pedal steel, I can never discern which is which), an almost perfect match for the vocals. After that they go a little singer-songwriter acoustic on "Hammer Hands" and the final track "The Butcher". In Brandon's words again: "It's like an exotic, alien zoo with weird scales and fangs, softened by the dark emptiness of space. The music of a first date and a divorce proceeding." I couldn't have said it any better.

A Decade Without A Death
The Black Mark

Austin Update

I haven't done much with my former stomping grounds lately, so I thought it would be a good time to catch up with the latest news from Austin.


My friends The Drawing Board have a new song up on their Myspace page. Stick Around is a haunting piano ballad with a definite Rufus Wainwright vibe. Hoepfully more will be coming soon. Check it out and buy their album, Clear to The Far Side of Way Over Yonder and read my review of the album.

A whole slew of bands have recently released or are releasing new CDs in the near future:

AM Syndicate has a CD release party for the new release Liberation December 20th. Take a listen to a track from the album: The Neighbor and His Wife (mp3)

The Boxing Lesson has some rough mixes of some songs from the upcoming Wild Streaks & Windy Days posted. Release party is scheduled for December 15th.

Ghost of the Russian Empire also has some new songs for your listening pleasure and being assembled is a forth-coming yet unnamed full-length album.

Peter and the Wolf released The Ivori Palms earlier this fall. Much like past ventures, this album is very experimental: Where Summer Goes(mp3)

In other news, Oh No! Oh My! song Walk In The Park(mp3) was featured on Showtime's Weeds back in September. Up next for ON!OM!, they are heading over to Europe for their first tour across the pond. After they return to the states, new songs will be written and an album coming thereafter.

Finally, something on the local front, sort of. The Mercers got some air time on WXPN over the summer. I must have missed it. These guys also put together a full-length album Pretty Things Walk this year: Sexy Youth(mp3)