Album Review: By the Horns

By the Horns by Julia Stone (Nettwerk Records, 2012. 38 minutes)

Julia Stone (b. 1984) is an Australian singer and songwriter. She is most known for the work with her brother in the band Angus & Julia Stone, which began in 2006. By The Horns marks her second solo record.

Airy and Light = Good or Bad?

Julia Stone’s voice airily permeates her newest solo album By the Horns, with a light and easy quality which is hard to ignore. But, I wish I could ignore it. Her voice grates on me, I think. It’s frankly hard for me to tell, as I love the music, the melodies, the mixing, and everything else on the album. The question has become for me, can I take Julia Stone one her own without the more mellow voice of her old counterpart, Angus Stone?

A National Influence

Steeped in the influence of The National, Julia Stone’s newest album By the Horns is even produced by Thomas Bartlett and has a guest appearance from drummer Bryan Devendorf, both from The National.  In a cover of The National’s “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, Stone sings the all-too-familiar lyrics.

“Lay my head on the hood of your car, I take it too far”

By The Horns

The title track, “By The Horns” shows duality in the album. Strewn with mellow tones from a Rhodes, strings providing a simple texture in the background, and an easy groove from the drums, the song sounds beautiful. Then you add Miss Stone’s voice and you’re forced to listen to emotional lyrics. Her voice is so aggressive and nasal, yet light and easy. I hate to admit it, but it works.

“I believe in love / No, darling, you can’t take that away from me”

It’s All Okay

The final track of note is “It’s All Okay”. The track to me suggests that Julia Stone’s solo career may in fact be all okay. A simple piano riff starts the song, while a drum beat creates a toe tapping atmosphere. Guitars swoon in the background in semi-Explosions-in-the-Sky style. And the lyrics; they’re fantastic.

“The story is different now the records are playing in the living room / And you might say you’re wounded, and I might say I’m hurt / But, we knew the difference then between the fire and the earth / And we may say we’re broken, we may say we’re weak / But, we knew before we started oh the secrets we would keep”

So, the more time I spend with By the Horns, the more I like it. I think Julia Stone may have a promising solo career ahead of her, and I urge you to try out By the Horns. You may not like it at first, maybe like me due to the quality of her voice, but let it marinate, and the album may grow on you.

Verdict: 3 out of 5
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Posted by: Andrew Jacobson


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Concert Review: The National, Local Natives, and Wye Oak

Tour Poster

The National, Local Natives, and Wye Oak (Concert at The Neptune Theatre, Seattle. December 1, 2001) 

Wye Oak 

Wye Oak is an indie folk band, comprised of only two members. Andy Stack plays drums, keyboards, and sings backup vocals, while Jenn Wasner sings lead vocals and plays guitar. Formed in 2006 in Maryland, the band has already found wide acclaim and been featured in the television show The Walking Dead.

Photo by Renee Barrera

When a drummer and a vocalist/guitarist walk on stage you rarely expect something extraordinary. However, that word summarizes Wye Oak nicely.

For starters, Andy Stack played the drums and the keyboard simultaneously. At first, his keyboard playing was simple bass lines, but soon it evolved into complex synth parts layered over the bass lines. Jenn Wasner’s vocals were sultry and beautiful, making Wye Oak an opener for which it is worth arriving early.

While I wasn’t really closely following Wye Oak before the concert, I surely am now. In fact, I bought their newest album, Civilian as a result of this show.

Local Natives 

Photo by Renee Barrera

Formerly known as Cavil at Rest, this indie rock band surfaced in 2010 on the Billboard 200 as #3 in the New Artist Chart. The band is comprised of Taylor Rice (guitar/vocals/bass), Kelcey Ayer (vocals/keyboards/percussion/guitar), Ryan Hahn (guitar/keyboards/mandolin / vocals), and Matt Frazier (drums).The band is currently working on their second full-length album.

To begin, I felt that there was something missing from the most recent Local Natives album, Gorilla Manor. With a more intricate instrumental parts, their previous album, under the band name Cavil at Rest provided something more than Gorilla Manor. It seems like on this newest album, Local Natives spent time developing technique instrumentally and forgot to consider what sonic register each instrument should play in, resulting in some muddy instrumentals. This observation became audible during the live performance, but it didn’t detract from the amazing show they gave the crowd.

Live, the Local Natives’ vocals were absolutely amazing. Perhaps my favorite part occurred when they covered the Talking Heads’ song “Warning Sign”. With thickly blended vocals and afropop drumbeats, the Local Native provided well done set, almost the best of the night.

The National 

Photo by Renee Barrera

The National is an indie rock band originally formed in Ohio, and currently based in Brooklyn. It’s comprised of two sets of brothers, and the baritone singer, Matt Berninger. Their most recent album, High Violet, was released in 2010 and has charted at number three on the Billboard 200, and the album has gone gold in Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, and the UK.

Honestly, I think humor is what made this concert work. The National is one of my favorite bands, and the lead vocals sounded identical to most recent album, High Violet. When, in a humorous turn of events vocalist Matt Berninger forgot the lyrics to the band’s opening song, he responded by saying,

“Yes, this is our song, and we will continue this concert by forgetting lyrics to songs we don’t know and you’ve never heard of.”

Throughout the concert, Berninger’s sacrasm and amazing wit between tunes brought The National’s set together with immense brilliance. True to touring on a hit record, The National played all of their hits from their latest album, save the song “Lemonworld” (one of my personal favorites).

They concluded the concert by singing Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks acoustically with the entire audience singing the lyrics, the theater resounded in a chorus of

“Vanderlyle, crybaby, cry / Oh, the waters are rising, Still no surprising you / Vanderlyle, crybaby, cry, / Man, it’s all been forgiving, swans are a swimming/ I’ll explain everyhting to the geeks/ All the very best of us string ourselves up for love." 

Overall 

Wye Oak was a fantastic opening act, and Local Natives could have been the headliner considering how good they were. Since I saw The National a couple years ago, I had wanted to see them most of all. Berninger’s baritone voice carried the concert, and there was a high level of musicianship that I haven’t seen in a while from all the bands. My only complaint would be the length between sets, but the music was astoundingly well done. If you get a chance, I’d recommend seeing any one of these bands.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

Posted by:  Andrew Jacobson

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