Four Arkansas bands have new music to savor.
B American Lions
American Lions: Vol. 1
Self-released
Remember central Arkansas rockers This Holy House? They released the impressive Love and Hope in the War Times back in 2012? Yeah? Well, they are no more.
OK, actually, the group -- David Velek, bass, vocals; Elliott S. Cotten, guitar, lead vocals; James Velek, drums, vocals; and Jordan Ahne, guitar, vocals -- is still kicking, only now under the much sexier moniker American Lions, and they've come up with a debut album of jams with earthy roots and an eye for the stratosphere, mixing country twang with soaring, jam-band rock minus the aimless noodling.
Think a rougher, looser Band of Horses and you're getting close to what these Lions are doing. Cotten's impassioned vocals are urgent and raw and coalesce nicely with the sprawling arrangements (only two songs clock in under five minutes).
A highlight is the epic, funny, self-explanatory "It's a Band Thing" (sample lyric: "hope I've got something to say/the music gets in the way/of my message to the drunks/there's only two in the bar so let's save them").
Find the self-released album at cdbaby.com, through the American Lions Facebook page or stream it on Spotify. It's well worth seeking out.
Hot tracks: "It's a Band Thing," "My Bones," "Hang Me By Daylight"
B+ The Canehill Engagement
"Civilian Drag"/"Sword & Ring"
Max Recordings
This Little Rock supergroup -- Kevin Kerby (guitars, vocals), Burt Taggart (drums), Jeremy Brasher (bass, vocals) and Brian Rodgers (guitar) -- debuts with a wicked little 45 (on red vinyl!) that holds a pair of excellent, foot-tapping, bar-band tracks.
"Civilian Drag" rides a sweet and catchy riff while Kerby sings about someone with a life that isn't all that it seems.
"Sword and Ring" features Brasher on vocals and is an earnest slice of roots rock about a disintegrating relationship.
Seek the single out at maxrecordings.com. And if these two songs are any indication of the chemistry within The Canehill Engagement, we're hoping these guys have an album in the works.
B+ Brothers and Company
Boomerang
Self-released
The Brothers in this outfit are twins Jake and Josh Briggs, along with Steven and Marcus Rutherford. The Company? That would be Cory Epps. And the first album from this Arkadelphia-based five-piece is an impressive collection of soaring, radio-friendly tunes.
Treading the battlefields of heartache, love and obsession, B&C is perfectly at ease on the seven hook-filled songs that make up this record.
Kicking off with a ridiculously powerful trinity of songs -- the title cut; the epic "I Don't Know You" and the folky, hypnotic "LJ" -- Boomerang gets stronger from there, especially with the rocker "On My Mind" and weeper "Want Me Back."
Veteran producer Darian Stribling said Brothers and Company is one of the best bands he has had in his studio all year. Strong praise, and the results are clear on this excellent debut.
Hot tracks:: "Want Me Back," "I Don't Know You," "Boomerang."
B+ The Coasts
Racilia
Old Flame
With twinkling piano, jangly guitars, soothing vocals and arrangements that stretch from idyllic indie pop to country-tinged folk, The Coasts -- Ike Peters of Little Rock, Eric Mount of Searcy -- hit all their marks on this, the pair's third album. It's enough to make one wonder why these dudes aren't a household name.
Perhaps Racilia will cure that. "Sun Won't Shine," despite its title, is a perfect, shimmering, summer song; "Racilia" is swept by heavenly strings and a funky little keyboard from its simple acoustic opening; "I Just Wanna Be a Star" is the highlight, though, with its power-pop, tongue-in-cheek plea for fame and infamy.
Brooklyn-based Old Flame Records is home to The Coasts, along with Cloud Nothings, Dead Stars and others. Hopefully the label will help this Arkansas pair get the attention they deserve. Goodness knows they've already got the songs.
Hot tracks: "I Just Wanna Be a Star," "Sun Won't Shine," and The Beatles-esque closer "Us Against the World."
Style on 07/08/2014