Echoreview: BAMBARA's DREAMVIOLENCE

BAMBARA's back, you guys.  From Athens, Georgia to Brooklyn, New York, these guys have made a name for themselves in the noise rock scene.  Since their emergence several years ago, they've blasted eardrums across the country with their rampant, unpredictable melodies and pounding rhythm.  DREAMVIOLENCE, their first full-length album in almost five years, delves even deeper into the wild, haunted darkness they've made their own.  So what's the word on this upcoming release?

An awesome driving baseline and a varied tempo make All The Same, one of my newer favorites of the band's tunes that I recognized from their live show, a righteous beginning to the album.  Listening to it, I immediately felt as if I had arrived at an ancient Aztec temple in the heart of a rainforest, populated with creepy, almost inhuman voices.  White Dresses follows this track with monstrous, underlying tones of horror that continue throughout the record.

Free of inhibitions, with a wildly strong and intensely sexy beat, Bird Calls reveals itself among explosions of noise.  Then the deliciously dark Hawk Bones, probably my favorite track on the album and certainly one I've enjoyed from their live shows, bursts on the scene with a sound that transports me into the throne room of a party king.

After the echoing jaunt of Young Mother and the untempered and jarring Nail Polish, Train Daze rolls in with a softer edge, charging through the pitch black tunnels of the darkest places in the mind. Then Bar jumps on board, an almost upbeat track compared to the rest of the album.  A strange and not entirely cohesive pause in the record, this tune features an eerie thread running through a more standard alt rock melody.

Structure is largely abandoned in the later tracks, the screeching and mechanical Divine Teeth, the smoky Z, the melodically metallic and angry Breaker, and the hauntingly animalistic Blonde. However, these songs fulfill the ongoing nightmarish premise of the album with their wildly erratic styles and borderless explorations of noise. Then, with a villainous whisper and a crash of finality, Disappear provides a fitting end to the record.

Throughout the album, BAMBARA's sound never ceases to be evocative.  It transports the listener through time and space in a haze of color and destruction not bound by the constraints of reality and expectation.  Rather than conform their style to the audience, with each album release they instead venture further into the uncharted soundscape to establish new bounds of explosive rock and eerie melodic noise.

Pumped to get your hands on DREAMVIOLENCE?  BAMBARA's official release date for the album is April 30th, but you can let your ears in on a taste of their sound over at Spin.com where they are currently streaming a preview of the full record.  Enjoy!

Always a Sight to See!

Oh, the things you see on the road! Up on our Facebook page, you'll find our latest pics of everything from shows around town to our CMJ roadtrip with Misfortune500 to the Wild Rumpus Parade. Some of our top favorites are below, but you can find 'em all right here!

Sleepy Eye Giant performs in the NYC

Endless clouds over Philadelphia

The Wild Rumpus parade in front of the Georgia Theatre

Check out the Echoreyn of Athens Facebook page for even more pictures! Have a spectacular weekend, my friends.

Journey to CMJ 2011: the true story of a band on the road: Part 2

Read part 1 here!

It was just after 8 PM when we finally passed through the gleaming Holland Tunnel and made our way into the Big Apple. Minutes outside of Brooklyn, we found our venue, a midsize bar filled with a bunch of recognizable bands that had also journeyed up from the southeastern states to rock the CMJ showcase. Towers of band equipment filled the small room backstage, so we piled Misfortune500's instruments and amps onto the sidewalk as we waited for their set to begin.

Soon enough, I found myself watching band after upbeat band cycle through their short sets in front of a crowd composed mostly of friends they too had brought along with them. At times, the tunes of all the bands ran together in a blur of sound as the names of groups I'd seen before - Shallow Palace, the Winter Sounds, Sleepy Eye Giant - drifted in and out of my consciousness. Maybe it was all that time on the road, rushing to get to the city or the contrast of the quick pace of the New York streets with the bands' southern attitudes, but time seemed to just speed by as I stood there watching the show. What felt like mere minutes later, Misfortune500 was setting up and prepping their sound. Once they launched into their tunes, I began to feel a bit more alive as the numbness of traveling through eight states to get to this moment finally wore off. As always, I relished in every one of Misfortune500's dark rock songs, but much too soon, it was time for them to leave the stage. Atlanta's Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun followed them with a sexy, almost gothic sound that I quite enjoyed, underlined by thunderous drums. Then it was the aforementioned Sleepy Eye Giant's turn to give us a bit of their very whole and complete progressive rock style as we stepped back out into the cold city air.

Before ending our six hour jaunt in the NYC, the band and I, along with some pals of theirs, partied it up in a bar nearby around 2:30 AM. No 2 AM curfew for New York! Traipsing through the streets near Brooklyn, in the shadows of buildings that stretched far into the sky, I felt comfortable and revitalized. Yes, the lights were brighter, and people still filled the streets long into the night, but at that moment, I didn't feel so far away from home. In some ways, this little slice of the city wasn't so different from our own Athens town. One day, I'd like to visit this place again.

Then, with that small taste of New York still on the tips of our tongues, we drove back to Jersey, eager for one more nap in our cozy motel room before our journey home. The next afternoon, we began to make our way through the states we had traversed just days ago. I've always found that, for some reason, no matter where a trip takes you, the return journey always feels faster, and indeed, this notion held true this past weekend as well. Even with our stops for snacks and gas, the 13 hour ride back flew by. During one of our snack runs in Maryland, we caused quite a bit of a stir among some young teens merely by getting out of the van. At that moment, it hit me just how awesome it was to be traveling all the way to New York City and back with a band that looked and acted like a band. There's a camaraderie there that that emanates from such a band and fills onlookers, even ones unfamiliar with the group's music, with a sense of awe. It was quite inspiring just to observe such a thing.

The remainder of the ride passed relatively uneventfully as we crossed Virginia and slipped through the Carolinas, but that feeling of accomplishment, of satisfaction at having traveled so far together and seen so much in such a short amount of time... that feeling lingered. It was simply an incredible, unforgettable journey!

Journey to CMJ 2011: the true story of a band on the road: Part 1

What they tell you in books, what you see in the movies... those aren't the real stories. When the average person thinks of a band on tour, they imagine spacious tour buses, security guards, thousands of screaming fans awaiting them wherever they go, and massive drug-filled parties in ritzy hotel rooms that always seem to get trashed before the band leaves. That's just common knowledge, you know? For most fans of big name bands, it's hard to believe that there was ever a time before all of the autograph signings and dressing rooms, all the roadies and luxurious perks. I mean, all of this stuff just comes with the territory, right?

Well, unless that band embarked on their very first rock-filled journey under Disney's label or something similar, the untold stories of their road trips and tours are quite a bit different... and truly, just as interesting! This is a small taste of the true story of going on the road to the CMJ showcase in New York City with awesome local rockers, Misfortune500.

Hardcore as always, the band's plan was to do a straight-shot from Athens to Philadelphia in as little time as possible. In my cozy seat in the back surrounded by amps and luggage, I dozed off and on for thirteen hours between the road games and hilarious conversations that filled our trip. Until early evening, there really wasn't much of anything else to do besides watch the rows of trees speed past our windows and read the occasional road sign featuring names like Backlick and Dimwiddle. As the hours flew by, we knew once we reached our destination that we'd have a place to crash, but all the information we had was that we'd be staying with a man whom none of us had ever met, a man who called himself Bunny. Finally, right around 4 AM, while splitting headaches and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion engulfed us all, we arrived in the lovely Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and navigated our way to our host's house.

Now, Bunny's house was actually just as you'd expect a place owned by such a creatively named man to look like! Art exploded over every surface, and his adorable yet rather insane kitty leapt from statue to statue in the living room where we were to sleep. In the bathroom, a sprawling ceramic mural of a nude woman adorned the wall. Too tired to move, though, we hardly noticed these things as we curled up on the cold, wood floor of the living room beneath a towering nine-foot statue of a very pregnant Virgin Mary that watched us as we alternated between resting and pulling the cat off of our faces. You truly haven't lived until you've experienced a night like this one! And yet, every band who has spent time on the road has a tale to tell much like this one.

The next afternoon, after a short nap in a hard-to-find motel in New Jersey, we wound through the impossibly confusing streets, muddy fields, and toll roads that populated that state as we headed towards our ultimate destination, the NYC! Darkness had already fallen once again by the time we reached the city, but before entering through the Holland Tunnel, we caught glimpses of the Statue of Liberty shining in the distance. I have to admit I'm not normally a person impressed by iconic landmarks, but there was just something about seeing Lady Liberty for the very first time, even if just from afar, that left me a bit emotional and full of hope. I simply couldn't wait to see what the night had in store for us!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story as the band rocks CMJ and more!

Away at CMJ... Be back soon!

In the future, I shall refer to this year as the Year of the Festivals. I still just can't believe that today I'll be off to my fourth music festival since May. Yup, that's right, I'm going to CMJ in the NYC! I can't wait since it'll be my first time ever stepping into the city, and I'm even more excited about the fact that I'll get to experience the CMJ showcase with one of my favorite bands, Misfortune500. It'll even be worth having little to no internet access for half a week. :D If any of you are planning on rockin' out at CMJ too, hope I see you there! As for everyone else, I'll be back soon with some awesome coverage of the festival. Have a great weekend, my friends!

Video Week 2011: Mud Scholar: Boy Meets World (A Tribute)

Our video for today comes from former Athens/current New York band and resident master of irreverent humor Mud Scholar. Entitled "Boy Meets World (A Tribute)," this is his ridiculously over-the-top ode to and certainly unique take on everybody's favorite 90s TGIF sitcom. After all, who doesn't love a great big dose of shirtlessness and Mr. Feeny? (To clarify, this video does NOT contain a shirtless Mr. Feeny... You can open your eyes again.) Here you go!



Dying to see more Athens bands rockin' the video scene? Check out all of the entries for Echoreyn of Athens' Video Week 2011 here!

Aman Amun lights up the Athens stage once more

There's nothing like catching your old favorites in action once again! Experimental electronic artist Aman Amun took a break from his current digs in the NYC on Friday to give those of us here in Athens another taste of his deeply introspective tunes.

Aman Amun, musician Brian McGaw's alter ego, opted to begin the show with a few quieter songs that demonstrated a strength of sound and a certainty of action that he seems to have gained since his move up north. New melodies filled his set, each slow and dark song followed by a more upbeat tune. And the visuals integrated into the show were supreme as always. The screen behind him displayed his trademark bricks that grow and change according to the tunes he plays, and it seemed that even the colors of the brilliant light show that surrounded him altered with the rhythm of his sound. Quite a breathtaking sight! As his show approached its end, his flair for the overdramatic revealed itself as he jumped into the audience and guided the hands of various listeners to the iPhone attached to his chest. This time around, I got to be one of those listeners who had the chance to send him into a writhing collapse on the floor, leaving him looking rather convincingly like a broken down robot. This guy sure knows how to get the crowd involved! Then, to continue with this rather amusing act, he finished his short set by "disappearing" from view.

Truly, the Aman Amun experience was in the excellent form I've come to expect from his New Earth shows. How exciting it is to be able to witness the continuing evolution of his sound!