moody song based music :

The Weird Weeds

CD (2004), CD (2006), CD (2010)

Edition Manifold       The Weird Weeds : Hold Me (US,2004)***

This quartet (now a trio) from Austin, TX, for this album was demoed by three guitarists (Sandy Ewen, Kurt Newman, Aaron Rusell), drummer (Nick Hennies) with two persons singing (Sandy & Nick), with just a few details of other arrangements on other instruments like mellotron on the intro.

While with one fundament of singer-songwriting, there is, at its best, some attention to layers of interwoven communication between different characters of the guitar players, from melodic towards experimental, with sudden switches and turns, with mostly an improvised feel built around the songs. The album has different interesting elements in this way, but near the end the evolution isn't just calm but also too slow and minimal. The songs are complaint-like in a pop manner. When all three guitarists were doing things on top of each other and the drumming interacting as well, I liked the group best, like on "Castor Plants". I wonder with one guitarist less, how the music has evolved since.

Audio : "Holy Train Wrecks", "Soda Jerk", "Paratrooper".

More audio : http://music.ibiblio.org/pub/multimedia/puzzle/the_weird_weeds/

Info : http://www.weirdweeds.com/ & http://www.amoda.org/...

Label homepage : http://www.editionmanifold.com/

Other reviews : http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/2059

& http://www.tinymixtapes.com/musicreviews/w/weird_weeds.htm

& http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/2/18/arts/article7.html

& http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/ww_holdme.html

press quotes : http://weirdweeds.suchfun.net/press.html

Live pictures : http://www.kvrx.org/locallive/images.php?pid=568

Sounds Are ActiveThe Weird Weeds : Weird Feelings (US,2006)****

On their second release, The Weird Weeds further developed the part of attractive weirdness; their first experiments were based on amplified guitar sounds, which is used here as well (together with other nice sounds), but here in an almost rock output, at times with heavy flashes of contrasts in colours, but ever delicately moving, and well structured. There’s an emotional strength in the well worked out song arrangements which are developed like musical theatre in music, with the percussion adding the right peaks and valleys of attention. The evolution is like an open tuned story improvisation that is worked out in full detail. Recommended.

Audio :  "For You to See Me","One-eyed Cloud" (or here) & http://myspace.com/weirdweeds

Label info : http://soundsareactive.com/catalogue.php?album=saa1139

Other reviews : http://www.indieworkshop.com/music.php?id=2651 & http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37527/Weird_Weeds_Weird_Feelings

& http://www.junkmedia.org/index.php?i=1822 &

& http://www.mundanesounds.com/2006/08/weird-weeds-weird-feelings.html

Homepage : http://weirdweeds.suchfun.net/

Autobus Rec. The Weird Weeds : Help me name meody (US,2010)***°

After three years publications silence, this is The Weird Weeds's newest effort, with one new steady member, bassist Lindsey Verrill (also of Some Say Leland and atheist gospel group The McMercy Family Band), now a quartet with two guitarists, a drummer and a bassist. Travis Weller did a few very nice orchestrations on violin and viola on two tracks which I wished did happen more often, adding that extra arrangement that gives a more full range in the production. The rhythmic changes and complexity in some of the early tracks is very rewarding, and I also very much like the opening song “More than a bit” where totally different sorts of voices sing the same song melody pushing it in a gospel-like communal singing. All tracks have nice fluent rhythmical and musical theme changes. Most time is still given to the instrumental parts and to the improvisations led by guitar(s), with some minimal repetitions that have a certain psychedelic effect but that at times are stretched a bit too long, a bit longer than a break with timing, against the complexity of the arranged feeling elsewhere. Never the less, the album, with little songs listens like one larger complex piece in parts of inspirations.

Label info : http://www.autobusrecs.com/auto015/

Info & audio : http://www.myspace.com/weirdweeds & http://www.weirdweeds.com/

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