Echoreview: Grey Milk's Nocturnal EP

Currently based out of Athens, GA, Grey Milk is a wonderfully unique music project with an ever-varying lineup of members headed by Jesse Houle. In its several years of existence, the band has released multiple records, and its soft indie folk style, acoustic sound, and raw vocals pervade each one of these albums including their brand new EP Nocturnal. This latest release in particular seems to hearken to a time spent outdoors in the peaceful countryside.

The EP begins with the darkly-titled Gathering Your Bones, a very indie melody with a bit of a southern feel that blends with soft vocals reminiscent of hooting owls. Fittingly, this tune ends with the sounds of the night that melt into So Long, the first of the upbeat offerings on this album. Listening to this track, I felt like I was a guest at a country gathering as dusk settles in and the glow of the campfire dances playfully across everyone's faces.

Next, Glow washes in, a soft and sweet, very unique song strengthened by a hint of bass. With snaps as percussion in the background, this quickly became my one of my favorites on the album. Then the Answer, another quirky upbeat tune, bounces onto the record. Sung as a sort of round and finishing with a purely a capella ending, I was blown away by the creativity in this track.

The final piece of music on the album is Satellites and Sanitariums. This guitar-filled stroll, if a bit cheesy with its naming of various cities around the United States, builds to quite a strong climax before fading into one of my favorite lyrics, 'Living the way we do doesn't make sense to most people... but it doesn't have to." These words lead perfectly into Spring Nocturne, a track of night sounds that fill the air as the animals that thrive in darkness come out to play. Voices and footsteps along with the distant whistle of a train tenderly carry the listener back into civilization as the album ends.

Truly, this is the perfect CD to listen to as you relax outdoors on a comfortable night. Want to check out this EP for yourself? You can listen to, download, and buy Nocturnal right here!

Get a Clue! WUOG's Mystery Party

What a weekend! Even now, several days later, I'm still recovering from the excitement that some of our favorite local bands gave us. However, I just couldn't let the week go by without mentioning this awesome little show.

In celebration of the end of Spring semester, UGA's student run radio station WUOG hosted a rather exciting Clue-themed party complete with costumed guests, cookies, and, of course, the board game itself. Local band Grey Milk started off the night with some sweet indie tunes highlighted by clever and ridiculous lyrics that put a sure smile on my face. This band caught my attention with their unique approach to songs and stage presence from the acoustic guitar player rocking out while seated in the crowd to the moment they prefaced a song by telling us to pretend we were in a barn listening to owls. Also, nearly every other song included some sort of unexpected noise or shout which caused a few hilarious situations, and they even got the audience to join in on their stomp-based rhythm with snaps and claps during one of their tunes. I've gotta say, it was quite a fun set! After all, who doesn't love passionate songs about zombies?

A bit later in the night, the much-buzzed-about band Little Tybee stepped onstage. I've heard great things about these guys, and their soft, indie sound certainly lived up to the hype. There was a pretty awesome turnout by this point, and the crowd really got into into their style in a big way. Some guys even started waltzing across the room. Nice.

Then it was Wowser Bowser's turn to give it all they've got. Now, since the first time I saw these guys a year ago, I've been dying to catch them again, and soon they'd proved that my fond memories were certainly well-deserved. Their bouncy and energetic indie dance pop had the crowd grooving like crazy and tons of people sang along to every word of their tunes. In the middle of their set, they even got all of the listeners to go down low and then leap up in unison to one of their songs. And their energy! Wow! All of their tunes were overflowing with joy and fun, and best of all, they weren't afraid to jump out into the crowd and dance along with the fans. At one point, the drummer even gave us his rhythm from the middle of the dance floor. Just too cool. And, to add to the happy madness, balloons floated and hopped over the fans to the beat. Reminiscent of the always wild band Reptar, Wowser Bowser is this band's less life-threatening counterpart, complete with their own amazing and unique style. Every time I see them, I love them more! Man, what a show!