Moving Panoramas
May
28
8:00 pm20:00

Nada Surf + Moving Panoramas

  • Granada Theatre (Dallas, Tx)

Nada Surf: Having recorded five albums in 10 years and toured extensively in support of all of them, Nada Surf opted to follow 2012’s cracking The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy with a brief but well-earned hiatus. So in January 2015, when Caws informed Nada Surf’s vociferous Facebook following that a new record was just about done, the news was greeted with explosive enthusiasm. The music was in the can, he announced, and all that remained was to finish up a few lyrics and sing a few vocals; something he planned to do on off-days off during an upcoming solo acoustic tour. Caws even included a photo of the recording set-up he was bringing in the car.
“I was so eager to have an album done that I believed in it as it was,” Caws recalls. “But the great thing about being 'finished' is that you can take a breath and evaluate, because the pressure to 'do it' is gone. The more I listened and thought about it, the more I realized that I might want to keep working. Also, I'd sent the tracks to my friend Josh, who runs Barsuk Records, the label we’ve been on since 2002, and he said 'It's great,' but followed that with a pregnant pause. I got the message. I didn't take that as a critique as much as a belief that I could do better. It was very freeing,” Caws continues. “There were already a bunch of songs in the can that we all liked, so I could think more expansively about what the album could be."
Caws’ instinct to heed his inner editorial voice proved to be spot on: he dropped a few songs, tweaked others, and wrote a few more that, “definitely feel different from what we’ve done before,” he says. “Believe You’re Mine” was rejiggered and sped up, while “Cold To See Clear” – originally penned for a collaboration to be named later with Big Hassle Page 2 Michael Lerner of Telekinesis – was deemed a better fit for Nada Surf. Just before starting You Know Who You Are, Caws had gone to Los Angeles to write with Dan Wilson, who in addition to his success with Semisonic, has won two Grammy Awards for his songs with Adele and the Dixie Chicks. They weren't writing for anyone in particular, they just wanted to see what would happen. Caws felt so good about “Rushing” and “Victory's Yours," that he asked Wilson if he could include them on the new Nada Surf album. Wilson gave the green light, and even offered to contribute backing vocals. When the band returned to Hoboken, NJ for another round of sessions with producer/guitarist Tom Beaujour (Jennifer O'Connor, Amy Bezunartea), the songs were tracked.
And lo and behold, what would have been another really good Nada Surf album (their seventh since getting signed to a major in the go-go 90's and scoring a worldwide alterna-hit with “Popular”) became what could well be the most representative collection of the group’s two-decade career, all while pushing towards whatever comes next. While the band has always had a surplus of horsepower for velocity rockers and an astounding level of confidence live, they've been gaining the discipline and finesses to change gears, more so with each release. Captured in the album’s 10 tracks is every beloved facet of the band, but You Know Who You Are also finds much on offer that stands apart from anything previously heard in the band’s diverse catalogue.
“Sometimes it feels like, to our audience at least, we are two or three different bands at once,” Caws concludes. “It seems some people are looking to feel better, for encouragement getting over their obstacles, for help figuring life out… not that I've done that myself, other people are looking for love songs, and then some others just want to rock.”

MOVING PANORAMAS are an all-gal dream gaze trio from Austin, TX. Singer/guitarist LESLIE SISSON, had been living in Brooklyn while playing in The Wooden Birds and came back to her home state of Texas to be closer to the band and her family. She took on a job teaching music at School of Rock where she met bassist ROZIE CASTOE, who was in an 80's show Leslie directed. Meanwhile, Leslie was subbing on bass in Black Forest Fire with drummer KAREN SKLOSS, a longtime friend and former film grad school classmate. The stars aligned when the three girls' primary projects had each run their course, so Leslie decided to combine forces with Rozie and Karen to try something new. Sharing influential gazey roots inspired audial expansion into something spacey but not alienating, loud yet still light, painting panoramic sound against a moving melodic backdrop. Thus became MOVING PANORAMAS, who finished their debut LP titled One, with Louie Lino at Resonate in Austin, releasing on October 2nd, 2015, on Modern Outsider Records.

Leslie is known for her work on vocals/guitar in The Wooden Birds with Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set and as a solo artist. Her history includes time in Matt Pond PA, Western Keys, Black Lipstick, Black Forest Fire, Tanworth-in-Arden, and Aero Wave, with guest performances for American Analog Set, Windsor for the Derby, Rhythm of Black Lines, Mark Gardener of Ride, Dan Mangan, John Wesley Coleman, Snowden, and Broken Social Scene. She also toured as crew for Vampire Weekend, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and Sons and Daughters.


Apr
8
8:00 pm20:00

The Grownup Noise + Moving Panoramas + Benjamin Cartel

  • Union Hall, Brooklyn

The Grownup Noise: From self-titled 2007 debut up through 2011's acclaimed, rousing This Time with Feeling, Boston's the Grownup Noise have bridged the gap between Americana and indie-pop. During that half-decade, the 5 piece ensemble's performed with everyone from Kill Rock Stars sensations Thao with the Get Down Stay Down to acclaimed Canadian barnstormers Rock Plaza Central and folk troubadours the Guggenheim Grotto. After releasing This Time with Feeling, which was mixed and produced by studio wizard Scott Solter (Spoon, Okkervil River, St. Vincent, John Vanderslice), the band spent most of '11 crossing the U.S. on tour, and as they continue to support Feeling and ready new material, 2012 has remained just as busy. This past spring, the Grownup Noise celebrated their first appearance at SXSW, which was highlighted by an opening slot for Tommy Stinson of the Replacements and Guns N' Roses, in addition to a slate of dates with Minneapolis alternative icons the Honeydogs. The Grownup Noise will be back on the road this summer, with their third release eminent on the horizon. Come out and see the band Flavorpill says reminds them of "late-'80s Scottish pop in the vein of Aztec Camera and Trash Can Sinatras" and whose growing discography "stands apart on musical skill."

"The Grownup Noise's best asset, however is the songwriting, with lines of love and the changing seasons coming out as gently and colorful as the music itself."
-The Onion, AV Club

"Boston's the Grownup Noise are one of those perfectly named bands whose moniker sums up their aesthetic to a tee… It's not surprising that theirs is a musicianship of the first order."
- PopMatters

"This Time with Feeling stands apart on musical skill."
- Flavorpill

Moving Panoramas: are an all-gal dream gaze trio from Austin, TX. Singer/guitarist LESLIE SISSON, had been living in Brooklyn while playing in The Wooden Birds and came back to her home state of Texas to be closer to the band and her family. She took on a job teaching music at School of Rock where she met bassist ROZIE CASTOE, who was in an 80's show Leslie directed. Meanwhile, Leslie was subbing on bass in Black Forest Fire with drummer KAREN SKLOSS, a longtime friend and former film grad school classmate. The stars aligned when the three girls' primary projects had each run their course, so Leslie decided to combine forces with Rozie and Karen to try something new. Sharing influential gazey roots inspired audial expansion into something spacey but not alienating, loud yet still light, painting panoramic sound against a moving melodic backdrop. Thus became MOVING PANORAMAS, who finished their debut LP titled One, with Louie Lino at Resonate in Austin, releasing on October 2nd, 2015, on Modern Outsider Records.

Benjamin Cartel 

After earning a buzz as one of New York City’s up-and-coming songwriters, Benjamin Cartel put his solo career on hold in 2004, the year he co-founded the indie folk duo Kaiser Cartel. Now he's playing solo again, showcasing "top notch music, up close and intimate" (Secrets of the City). CMJ happily reports that "after all the rocking and road work he’s put in over the years, he has finally released the first proper Benjamin Cartel solo release, the Money & Love EP, six songs of the straightforward heartfelt songwriter stuff that comes from, well, all that rockin’ and roadwork." On the record, Cartel builds a bridge between old and new, love and loss, to arrive at a "rock-solid folk-pop creation" (Pitch).