popwreckoning

Seattle indie-rock band Fences and Louisville, KY rocker Mansions will release a 7-inch split EP on Tuesday, July 26. Fences/Mansions – which boasts one new track from each artist – was recorded in April 2011 at Avast Studios in Seattle, WA – where both artists now live. Fences’ “Marketplace” and Mansions’ “On My Way” were recorded over the course of two days by Fences’ guitarist Jonny Warman and showcases a new song and some of the best aspects of each band.

The limited-edition 7″ will be available for purchase at select retail shops in Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Chicago and Louisville, as well on the bands’ websites and digitally through iTunes. Also in July, the bands are embarking on a 10-day tour in support of the disc, which will also be for sale at each tour stop. The trek will kick off on July 22nd at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party and land in Chicago on August 7 at Chicago’s famed Lollapalooza.

“The first time I met Fences, it was clear that we needed to work together,” says Mansions’ Christopher Browder. “We both write bummer songs, and the bummed need to stick together. But the thing I love is that we both approach that type of music from a slightly different angle, which was even more clear in the studio together. While ‘Marketplace’ is a beautiful sigh of a song, my ‘On My Way’ is more like a bottle thrown on the floor in disgust. Our methods and sounds might be different, but it’s just two sides of the same coin. We’re both sad and pissed off, and that is worth celebrating.”

Fences and Mansions Tour:

Friday, July 22 – SEATTLE, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party Main Stage
Tuesday, July 26 – Split 7″ RELEASE DAY & In-store performance @ Sonic Boom Records in SEATTLE, WA
Friday, July 29 – TACOMA, WA @ Hell’s Kitchen
Saturday, July 30 – SPOKANE, WA @ A Club
Sunday, July 31 – MISSOULA, MT @ Top Hat
Tuesday, August 2 – SIOUX FALLS, SD @ Latitude 44
Wednesday, August 3 – FARGO, ND @ Aquarium
Thursday, August 4 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ 7th St Entry
Friday, August 5 – MADISON, WI @ High Noon
Saturday, August 6 – CHICAGO, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club (Official Lollapalooza After Party) w/Titus Andronicus
Sunday, August 7 – CHICAGO, IL @ Lollapalooza

Check out Fences here: www.sadcastle.com
And Mansions here: www.mansionsmusic.com

Chicago-based indie-punk songwriter Evan Thomas Weiss of Into It. Over It. has announced plans to tour the U.S. and Canada opening for UK-based Epitaph recording artist Frank Turner and American folk punk band Andrew Jackson Jihad.  The tour, which stretches from late September to early November, follows Weiss’ recent set of dates supporting Fake Problems, Pomegranates, Laura Stevenson and The Cans, and Mansions.

In addition to the upcoming dates, Weiss and Into It. Over It. have announced plans to begin recording their debut full length album with producer Ed Rose (Get Up Kids, The Appleseed Cast, The Casket Lottery) at Blacklodge Studios in Eudora, KS.  Tracking on the new record begins June 25th and will be released Fall 2011 on No Sleep Records.

For a complete list of over 40 tour dates, visit www.intoitoverit.com and www.nosleeprecs.com

Christopher Browder has stolen my heart. I’ll be honest: I’m pretty new to the Mansions bandwagon, but I’m glad I hopped on when I did. I bought New Best Friends from iTunes a few short months ago and have kept it in heavy rotation since. (“Talk Talk Talk” is just so catchy, am I right?!) So when I started doing some research and realized there was a new album coming soon, I couldn’t have been more excited. Two years between debut and sophomore releases seems a little risky, but it wasn’t without good cause. (There was also Best of the Bees, a compilation of non-album tracks exclusive to bandcamp that isn’t considered an official album. But nevertheless, it’s three bucks so you might as well grab it here.) Dig Up The Dead is not being released on Doghouse Records, which in my opinion is one of the best moves Browder could have made. No pressure from contracts, no money, no complicated production. Just a guy and his guitar. Is there anything better than that? This new Mansions album channels pure human emotion and Browder connects with listeners like few artists can.

The title track of Dig Up The Dead builds and builds with a sense of urgency until it ends with Browder crying: “I’ll start again, I’ll start again, I’ll start again…” And he does just that. He’s preparing us to go on a journey with him and it’s just getting started. The pace is quickened through the second and third songs as intensity builds, and then we arrive at “City Don’t Care,” which is hands down my favorite song on the album. It’s meant to be a single and it’s meant to get stuck in your head. How can you not tap your toes and bob your head to it? But behind the upbeat, poppy exterior are the grittier lyrics. Browder reveals his personal stories and struggles and that’s what makes the album so easy to relate to. “I must admit I’m a little bit lost in space…” He gains the audiences’ trust with his admissions and keeps pulling you deeper in as the album progresses. Track seven, “Close That Door,” is another personal favorite with it’s catchy melody and anthemic lyrics. “Seven Years” is easily the most passionate song on the album and it haunts you after you’ve given it a fourth, fifth and sixth listen. “If I don’t believe in the afterlife, does that mean I can’t go?” It takes you by surprise in the midst of fast-paced indie songs; makes you stop and really pay attention. There’s a recurring theme of loneliness, invisibility and questioning in Dig Up The Dead and “Seven Years” really ties those themes together. It ends abruptly with swelling guitars and leaves you with a bit of uneasiness, a good kind of uneasiness. And just like a fine wine, the album gets better and better with time. Browder has the listener’s full attention and unlike so many pop albums these days, has solid songs all the way until the end and finishes on a solid note. “You Got Cool” and “Yer Voice” round out a spectacular album and give a strong finish.

I wasn’t completely sold upon my first listen of Dig Up The Dead. I was so partial to New Best Friends and I’m somewhat resistant to change. But patience definitely pays off. Because it gets better and better with each listen. You start to notice the little things and it all makes sense. Christopher Browder has presented us with a brilliant sophomore effort and I’m confident that it will still have a buzz surrounding it come end of the year. Yeah, it’s early, but as of right now this album’s got a spot reserved in my Top 10 of 2011.

Track listing:

1 Dig Up The Dead
2 Blackest Sky
3 Not My Blood
4 City Don’t Care
5 Call Me When It’s Over
6 Wormhole
7 Close That Door
8 Seven Years
9 You Got Cool
10 Yer Voice

In preparation for their upcoming gigs at SXSW and the release of their new album, Mansions just released a new acoustic video for “Close That Door.” This track is featured on their upcoming sophomore album, Dig Up the Dead, which will be available April 5^th.

Frontman Christopher Browder says this about the video: “The video was filmed in the Bronson Caves in Griffith Park in LA.  I was a huge fan of Batman growing up, especially the old 1960′s TV show with Adam West… When I heard that you could hike up to the caves where some of the Batman TV show was filmed, I was all over it.  Lyrically the song has a lot to do with forgetting the past and starting over, so it was a suitably nostalgic place to perform, not to mention the great reverb.”

Mansions – Close That Door from Billy Maddox II on Vimeo.

SXSW Dates:

Wed, March 16
Maggie Mae’s Showcase
Set Time: 3:00pm
With: We Are Empires, In Tall Buildings, Goldheart Assembly, Quadron

Sat, March 19
No Sleep Records / Atticus Black Day Party at Red 7
Set time: 1pm

For more dates and information go to:
www.mansionsmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/mansions

PopWreckoning celebrated its 3rd Birthday with a party at the Record Bar. As part of the celebration, we had some great national and local bands join us for a show.

Mansions joined local Kansas City acts O’Giant Man and Max Justus in opening up for the energetic rock of the Poison Control Center. The brass-enhanced group was in Kansas City previously opening for Pavement, so it was fun to see them embrace a headlining spot.

Photographer Nick Davis was at the party and shares these photos from the event:

Thanks to everyone who came out to join us in the festivities!

What follows is an open letter to Andy Hull, front man of Manchester Orchestra and Co-President of Favorite Gentlemen Recordings:

Dear Mr. Hull,

First, let me thank you and your band for some fantastic music that I’ve been enjoying for years and will assuredly be enjoying for years to come. I’m writing you concerning a band that you really must hear. They’re called Mansions, and their latest effort is entitled Best of the Bees. I say “band,” but the truth is that Mansions is a one man show in the studio – a gentleman from Louisville, Kentucky by the name of Christopher Browder. Mansions is currently signed to Doghouse Records, but I implore you to steal them away; they would fit wonderfully on any bill with Manchester Orchestra and would make a fine addition to your new and growing label.

Tell you what: just take a listen to Best of the Bees. The first track, entitled “OMG,” sets the tone for the entire album: a skeletal beginning builds to a burning, writhing crescendo of emotion not unlike Kevin Devine’s “Cotton Crush” or Manchester Orchestra’s “Colly Strings.” From there, the album twists and turns through various moods and styles, from the harmonica-laced dirge “LtsBSdTgthr” to the radio-ready piano and electric drum tune “Never Enuff” to the brooding guitar-heavy jam “You Got Caught.” The songwriting is top notch, and the mostly morose songs of longing and searching are evocative if not cathartic. After having listened to the album in its entirety, you’ll have the sense that you’ve really gotten to know Christopher Browder, not in a contrived way but in an authentic and meaningful way. Keep this in mind though: Mansions certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel, and a cynical listener might feel that they’ve heard it all before. For me, there will always be room for another thoughtful musician who writes beautiful indie-pop songs and wears his heart on his sleeve. His methods may be tried and true, but Mr. Browder’s voice is singular and begs to be heard and appreciated.

The last song on Best of the Bees is called “All Eyes on Me,” and it easily the most synthesized/electronic track to be found on the album; it might also be the most lyrically aggressive. Browder keeps asking an unnamed protagonist “What would you do without the attention…Have you ever really seen yourself, have you ever really heard yourself?” This song is destined to be played in many a break-up scene in corny teen dramas the way “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie was destined to be played at a million weddings and Valentine’s Day dinners. This album is the real thing: marketable singles that the indie crowd can still dig, less accessible songs destined for fan favorite status, and replay value for miles and miles.

Please consider these words carefully, Mr. Hull, although Best of the Bees speaks loudly enough for itself. I look forward to your next release, and if you need a place to stay next time you’re in Charlotte, North Carolina – my couch is always open.

Most respectfully yours,

Marc G. Gray

Track Listing:
1. OMG
2. I Swear
3. Never Enuff
4. Last to Leave
5. LetsBSdTgthr
6. You Got Caught
7. 18th Bday
8. Unwell
9. Tangerine (Alternate Version)
10. All Eyes On You (Remix)

John Nolan, formerly of Straylight Run and Taking Back Sunday, has been busy touring and coming up with new works for his solo project.

Between touring with Mansions, working to put his album out on vinyl and preparing a digital EP, Nolan still found extra time to treat his fans. To kick off the New Year, he has a free live EP that you can download here.

Tour Dates:
Jan 22 – Moe’s / Englewood, Colorado
Jan 23 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 25 – The Vera Project /  Seattle, Washington
Jan 26 – Backspace / Portland, Oregon
Jan 28 – The Wire / Upland, California
Jan 29 – Chain Reaction / Anaheim, California
Feb 2 – Chyro Arts / Scottsdale, Arizona
Feb 4 – Emo’s / Austin, Texas
Feb 5 – Art Ambush / Waco, Texas
Feb 6 – Rock Bottom / San Antonio, Texas
Feb 7 – Prophet Bar / Dallas, Texas