Manchester Orchestra, War Paint from SXSW

So I bought a whole load of CDs at the start of the week, and one of them was by this band...


Manchester Orchestra



No, they're not from Manchester, at all, they're from Atlanta, Georgia (in the USA, not the small country in the Middle East region) home to R.E.M among others...

They've been around for a few years now, released two albums and have a new one planned for release later this year. Comparisons wise they're on the indie side of bands like Brand New and the Gaslight Anthem. Sensitive, introspective lyrics, big distorted guitar line and subversive little hooks and tunes when you least expect them. Lyricist Andy Hull has the very handy knack of writing lyrics that are dark and bleak, but without becoming the clichéd 'woe is me' emo style moaning.

The album I bought was their last, 'Mean Everything and Nothing', which I have been listening to a lot. If you get a chance to listen to or buy it, single 'I've got Friends', 'Pride' and 'The River' are all stand out tracks, particularly 'Pride' which builds and builds through a sludgy riff that is almost like something you might find on a Sabbath record...

Their earlier stuff is very good too, although I've only listened briefly, particularly 'Sleeper 1972' off their debut album.

Check them out! :)



now...

War Paint



Remember I promised a SXSW run down...well that’s not gona happen, there was waaay too much info in terms of bands who played and I've kind of left it far too long.

However, you may remember I linked a video of War Paint playing an acoustic version of one of their songs in a car park? No..? Well I did. I then sound out they were due to play at SXSW, and having watched their performances on teh interwebz and listened to more of their stuff, I can safely say they are my favourite band of those at SXSW (that I've heard).

Sort of liek your most barstadised indie wet dream of styles and influences, a real eclectic mix. Sweet vocals and originality make a good combo.

Here the MySpace:


And here’s a video of theirs, I can’t get the Video embed working properly, so you can only see half the screen..,:/





Hope you enjoyed that!