Houndstooth + Butcher The Bar

Houndstooth are an American rock and roll band from Portland, Oregon. They draw from familiar wells – including 1950s and 1960s rock classics, Link Wray, the old American country song, and Brit-folk – all the while making new music from this infinite palette of inspiration.

Katie Bernstein and John Gnorski started writing together in 2010, adding more words and chords over time. The band is now a four-piece workhorse (with Graeme Gibson on drums and Cari Palazzolo on bass) with a brand new LP No News From Home out in March of 2015 on New York label No Quarter. The new songs range from a Velvets-style churner with James Baldwin references (Witching Hour) to a shimmering tremoloed-out tale of unrequited love revolving around a postcard (the album’s title track).

Houndstooth take things song by song, and all the music they’ve absorbed comes out in surprising ways that remain mysterious even to them. One minute they might strike you as a kraut-rock band with a country lead guitar player and the next more like a mournful surf quartet. Their music is easy to approach but it’s no quick read – you can visit the records over and over and find a new idea every time.

‘There’s a subdued swing in the rhythm section and scrappy drama in the guitars, as the song builds fluidly into an epic jam that’s part Can, part Byrds. No News from Home has a determined cohesion, sequenced to evoke the choppy rhythms of the road’ – Pitchfork

‘They mix up Southern rock, psychedelic rck ‘n’ roll and indie pop for a collection that sounds from a time long gone. This album that demands your attention and repeated listens’ – Rough Trade

Support comes from Butcher The Bar. Butcher The Bar have toured around Europe and the UK – including a jaunt supporting Death Cab for Cutie – and you may have seen them opening shows for Mark Eitzel, Allo Darlin’ and Francois & The Atlas Mountains.

Price: £7 adv
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