Tag Archives: Seattle

Check ‘Em Out: Vaudeville Etiquette

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If you’re still abuzz from Weekend 1 of Coachella, you need a fix and Vaudeville Etiquette can definitely help you with that.

After the PASTE premiere of “Crosseyed Crazy,” The Bluegrass Situation’s debut of “Damn Lovely,” and The Alternate Root naming new track “Empty Hands” No. 1 on their list of “The Top Ten Songs of the Week,” Vaudeville Etiquette are releasing another new track from their upcoming album, Aura Vista Motel.  Check out “Tipping Point” below. The band has also released videos for “Crosseyed Crazy” video and “Damn Lovely.”

Aura Vista Motel will be released on May 6th and is available for pre-order on iTunes.

When we last saw Vaudeville Etiquette, the Seattle band was touring in support of critically acclaimed debut album Debutantes & Dealers, an album that No Depression said was “in the same vein as Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers. Their seamless harmonies and sense of spontaneity makes them a good candidate for mainstream success.” The Seattle Times called the band “one of the bright new faces of Seattle music,” American Songwriter gave the album 3 stars and compared lead vocalist Tayler Lynn to Neko Case,” USA Today praised their ability to “mix folk, jazz and country with freewheeling abandon.”

The new album gets its name from the motel that once occupied an infamous stretch of Highway 99 in Seattle. In its heyday, here was a motorist’s utopia, filled with a thriving middle class that was ready to explore America, traversed by the likes of Kerouac and Salinger, and full of romantic intrigue and possibility. Today, it’s a forgotten relic, a notoriously seedy stretch of road that attracts violence, drugs, prostitution, and one 5-piece folk-rock band that relentlessly believes in its spirit and potential.

What used to be the Aura Vista Motel is now where the band writes, rehearses, celebrates, argues, hones their music, and shoot their videos. It’s the Vaudeville Etiquette headquarters, it’s haunted, and it’s the catalyst behind all that they do. You can hear it on this record, as each song plays like a guest in a different room; separate but united by our wayfaring desires and sordid expectations.

They recorded the album with producer Shawn Simmons Studio Litho in Seattle, WA. “His knack for honing an intrinsic Seattle sound in the work he’s done with bands like The Head and The Heart and Lemolo was exactly what this record needed,” says Lynn. “He pushed us to create unique arrangements and employ unconventional recording and burrito-eating techniques that take the sounds on this album and gracefully elevate them to a psychedelic whirlwind, then down to an intimate lullaby and back around again. He’s a joy to work with and a hero at the helm.”

 

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Video: Lux – “The Window”

Lux has revealed the video for “The Window” from its debut album We Are Not The Same. The clip, inspired by Lux’s favorite David Lynch and Tim Burton movies, was initially planned to be fully animated, but now stars the band’s Leah Rosen and David Chandler (Rosen also directed the clip.)  Woody Allen was an inspiration as well.  “The first scene is inspired by Midnight In Paris,’ the latest Woody flick that we watched and loved,” says Rosen.

 The video is a visual representation of the abnormal sleep paralysis and hypnogogic hallucinations that afflict Rosen. She explains, “With my disorder, sometimes I’ll wake up, but I’ll still be physically paralyzed, which causes the hypnotic hallucinations.  These hallucinations usually consist of me trying to turn on the bedroom light or screaming for someone to wake me up. All I want to do is wake up, but I can’t.”

 This kind of unique perspective has endeared new fans to Lux since its formation in early 2010. The band’s sound, inspired by some of the most essential artists of the era of indie and underground music (Pavement, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, The Magnetic Fields, The Jesus & Mary Chain, New Order, Blondie), features Rosen and Chandler trading off vocals, guitars, synths and drum programming.

In addition to recent coverage from Black Book and a nod for “The Window” as KEXP’s “Song of The Day,” fans can look for Lux featured in the upcoming June issue of MAGNET magazine.  We Are Not The Same, the debut album by Lux is out now.

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MP3: Lux – “Coroner’s Office”

Seattle duo Lux has issued another peek into the sound of its debut album We Are Not The Same, due for release on April 3rd, 2012.  The new single “Coroner’s Office” follows up the album’s first single “The Window” which was recently featured as a Magnet Magazine “MP3 At 3PM” and on the KEXP “Music That Matters” podcast.

The band wrote “Coroner’s Office” “in an addled haze of oblivion” according to the male half of the duo, David Chandler. “I was watching a lot of ‘Forensic Files’ and ‘Cold Case Files.’ There was a channel that ran this stuff 24/7. I also saw documentaries about Gacy, Gein and Dahmer. This inspired song ideas and “Coroner’s Office” seemed to encapsulate these ideas the most. The song ended up being recorded at the very last minute for inclusion on the album.”

Inspired by some of the most essential artists of the era of indie and underground music (Pavement, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, The Magnetic Fields, The Jesus & Mary Chain, New Order, Blondie), Leah Rosen and David Chandler trade off vocals, guitars, synths and drum programming on We Are Not The Same which they also wrote, recorded and mixed themselves. The album is due for release on April 3rd.

Listen/download: Lux – “Coroner’s Office”

Track Listing: 

01. Coroner’s Office

02. Out Of Love

03. The Window

04. Valerie, They’ll Never Understand

05. Little Cripple

06. X

07. Cerebellar Ataxia

08. Candy Lux

09. Cachexia

10. A Study In Apathy (Drugs, Etc)

11. 1000 Airwaves

12. I’ll Try To Ignore The Fact That You’re Drowning

13. Blackout

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