Homemade: Atlanta
February 9, 2015
Courtesy of Atlanta Music Scene.
It’s no secret that Atlanta is a city bursting with musical talent. Infused with genres and bands ranging from punk to indie to rap to country, Atlanta is a melting pot of different styles of music with a united bond of its fierce love of music (despite differing personal preferences). Atlanta is home to several successful music festivals that have drawn national attention such as Shaky Knees, Imagine Festival, and Indie Music Festival.
This southern musical mecca is also filled with several famous music venues such as The Tabernacle and The EARL, which draw in both sold out national headlining tours as well as small crowds for a local band show. Over the years, Atlanta has seen its fair share of its homegrown bands come into the limelight and many have fizzled out, but the musicians always tend to bounce right back and simply form a new band. With more famous acts such as Deerhunter and Blacklips demonstrating the pure talent Atlanta has had to offer in the past, there is no difference today as it is still constantly churning out talented bands with passionate musical aspirations.
Courtesy of Alternative Press.
Experimental rock quintet o’brother is a smooth combination of ambient guitars and chilling vocals that form a unique take on post-rock. After relocating themselves into a Long Island house during the winter of 2013, the band pushed the limits of their creativity to create their second full-length album, Disillusion. Originally signed to Atlanta label Favorite Gentlemen, the band closely worked with Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra to craft and release their first album in 2011. Since then the band has gone on tour with many other influential heavy rock bands such as Thrice, La Dispute, Moving Mountains and Junius. As dreamlike as o’brother sometimes can be, the band’s hooks are defined rock riffs that surge forward into transformations between ambient and powerful rhythms. Currently, they are in the process of writing their third album, which they will hopefully continue to expand on their ideas lyrically and musically to form a truly epic experimental post-rock album.
Little Tybee
HOMEPAGE | FACEBOOK
Courtesy of Paper Garden Records.
Walking the thin line between indie rock and pop, Little Tybee is a six-piece indie rock band with strong southern influences to form a well-crafted fusion of swelling strings, warm vocals and rhythmic guitars. Since their namesake comes from a small island off the coast of Savannah, Little Tybee is exactly the kind of music you’d expect to be listening to while sipping wine coolers on the beach. Despite being DIY in nature, Little Tybee has headlined independent venues throughout the city and collaborated with over 14 Atlanta artists to create their debut album Humorous to Bees. Little Tybee is clearly influenced by other indie rock artists (they could definitely be described as Local Natives with a southern twist) with their well disciplined musicianship, yet manages to stand on their own and look ahead as a creative and dedicated band.
The Coathangers
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Courtesy of SSG Music.
Something I love about writing this column is that in every city, there is an all-female punk band and they are always respected and talented. The Coathangers initially formed as a quartet in order to hang out and play at parties, but through the years have evolved into one of Atlanta’s favorite garage rock bands. They have also downsized to a trio since their formation, yet even with the absence of keyboardist Candice Jones, the band manages to sound fuller than ever as they have refined their songwriting skills over the years to create high energy rock that will keep you on your feet.
Small Reactions
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Courtesy of Audio Fawn.
Crossing lines of different rock sub-genres, Small Reactions draws influences from post-rock, surf rock, nerve pop, indie pop rock and even noise pop. Similar Phantoms was released in October and captures the energy used often by early ’00s punk bands like The Walkmen and intertwines them with simple but effective guitar melodies. Small Reactions cross and mix so many sub-genres that there’s sure to be something for everyone on their album.
Places To Hide
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Courtesy of New Noise Magazine.
I could easily see Places To Hide on the Topshelf/Carpark/Run For Cover roster. Their power-pop riffs and lo-fi vocals makes them a perfect fit alongside bands such as Pity Sex and Speedy Ortiz. Places To Hide’s most recent release, a 7” titled Wild N’ Soft, was released over the summer and contains noisy drums, droning vocals and fuzzy guitars all while maintaining a sound that sounds on the edge of indie pop. Despite having just released an EP this summer, they are already working on a new album showing just how focused and driven they are and gives us a peek into where they are going in 2015.
Courtesy of Latest Disgrace.
As the brainchild of Atlanta native Matt McCalvin (of Gringo Star, Mermaids, and Dino Boys), Zoners is Atlanta’s latest punk project. With the relatively recent release of the band’s single “Take It Back” on their 7” split with fellow Georgia punk band Onchi, the fairly new band is just starting to get their footing in the Atlanta music scene. Zoners is loud, fast, noisy and everything else you could want in a southern punk band. Look out for them in 2015.
Courtesy of Lowbanks’s Bandcamp.
Like many Atlanta artists, Lowbanks was formed in 2013 from the ashes of the trio’s former project. The Dogs EP from this past December is their latest release and a messy blend of post-punk and garage rock, filled with fuzzy guitars, thunderous drums and long screams. It’s clear the band is strongly influenced by the nostalgia of ’90s power pop/rock, but they also have given it a refreshing new spin to create a high energy EP that you’ll find yourself dancing and screaming along to.
Also check out Latest Disgrace’s list of the “ Top 50 ATL Songs of 2014.Û
Listen to the Spotify playlist of these artists here.
Honorable Mentions:
Mermaids // turf wars // Lucy Dreams // Mogul Street Reserve // The Whigs
