We’re headed down to SXSW and will be tweeting / Facebook posting our hearts out while we’re out and about checking out bands.

Be sure to follow our adventures at:

• Facebook: facebook.com/thephiller
• Twitter: @thephiller

If “Rib Letters” from Stationary Odyssey’s Sons Of Boy album was a location like a city or small town, I could completely forgive you for getting lost as you ventured through it on the way to your destination. The sounds swirl around you in a disorienting fashion and the only choice is to go along with it and see where it takes you.

This video follows on the heels of Stationary Odyssey’s video for “Johnfriend” (also from Sons Of Boy) which was released a little over a month ago. To check out that video and find out more about Stationary Odyssey, be sure to check out their site at stationaryodyssey.com.

This charitable aspect presents you with the perfect opportunity to discover Schooner if you’re not aware of them already: it’s only five bucks, and it’s a charitable donation, so if you end up not liking the album, it’s a tax write-off anyway.

But if you don’t like Schooner, then there’s something wrong with you, friend. Their album, “Hold on too Tight” was one of the best things I heard in all 2007, and it still gets regular rotation at my house. This release, a 16-minute E.P., has a slightly less-polished sound to “Hold on too Tight”, without losing any of the quality. Schooner’s strength is blending country and pop influences into beautifully constructed songs. So on the opening track here, “Feel Better”, and you get a surf-inflected country stomp, you get a little mariachi inflection on “Fortuition”. The songs always seem to be hovering over a meeting of Rick Nelson, Brian Wilson and John Lennon. But again: these are influences used by a band that exudes an authentic originality, not the direct pinpoints of some derivative songwriting and playing. This is a band with brains: they are lyrically smart without being smartass, and when it comes to instrumentation the songs don’t rest on a couple guitars and drums and bass; piano comes and goes, “Duck Kee Nights” is an instrumental tack piano (I think) piece with the sounds of the crickets and the highway as a rhythm section, some ukulele helps you “Lose Yourself”, and across these songs there are various percussion and other instruments lending subtle and effective underpinning to the fabric. There’s also much to be said for the vocal arrangements: harmonies and backing vocals are consistently beautiful and/or dynamic (witness the woo-oo-oos on the opener, or the ba-ba-ahs that course through the final track, “In All Probability”).

When I reviewed “Hold on too Tight” a few years ago, I said you should be prepared to make Schooner your new favorite band. I don’t want to repeat myself, so this time I’ll just say go to cytunes.org and buy this album. It’s worth way more than the five bucks it’ll cost you, and the money’s going to a good cause. Once you’ve done that, then go and buy “Hold on too Tight” so you can support this outstanding band, too.

Senryu
“Inklings”
from Inkling
(El Deth)

Release Date: April 13, 2010

Additional Listening: Bandcamp

Inkling Track Listing
01. A Missing Page In This Memory
02. MORNINGKIDNIGHTKID
03. Inklings
04. The Best Weak
05. A Trail Of Asterisks
06. Up We Go
07. Obsess Much
08. Fang By Fang
09. I Hope You Don’t Burn In Hell (Just Kidding)
10. Natural Regretter
11. Can You Hear Those Trumpets?

Performance Dates
03/12: Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
03/20: Austin, TX @ Moose Lodge (SXSW)
03/31: Athens, GA @ Go Bar
04/02: St. Louis, MO @ City Museum
04/03: Jackson, MS @ Ole Tavern
04/23: Nashville, TN @ Nossi College
05/08: Pittsburgh, PA @ Modern Formations

Performance Dates
3/09: Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio 21 & up w/ Aa, PC Worship, YVETTE
3/11: Princeton, NJ @ Terrace Club @ Princeton w/ Aa
3/12: Philadelphia, PA @ Danger Danger Gallery
3/13: Washington, DC @ Comet Pizza and Ping w/ Aa, Big Gold Belt
3/14: Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor w/ Aa, French Door
3/15: Athens, GA @ Farm w/ Aa
3/16: New Orleans, LA @ Circle Bar w/ Aa
3/17: Houston, TX @ Super Happy Funland w/ Aa
3/21: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
3/22: Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
3/23: Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
3/24: Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen w/ Golden Triangle
3/25: Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class w/ Golden Triangle
3/26: Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar w/ Golden Triangle

Austin, TX – SXSW Dates
3/18: Greed Glamour Fashion @ The Parlor
3/19: South by South Mess @ 21 St. Co-Op
Switched On/We Shot JR @ Victory Grill
3/20: AYEAYEAYE Records @ Plumage Vintage
Cinder Gallery @ OK Mountain
Panache / NY Night Train Party @ Spiderhouse
3/21: Panache Hangover Party @ Beerland

Caribou – Odessa from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Performance Dates:
04/19: Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
04/20: London, UK @ Corsica Studios
04/21: Amsterdam, DE @ Paradiso
04/22: Brussels, BE @ Beursschouwburg
04/23: Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
04/24: Lausanne, FR @ Le Romandie
04/25: St. Gallen, FR @ Palace
04/26: Milan, IT @ Magnolia
04/27: Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
04/28: Berlin, DE @ Berghain
04/29: Hamburg, DE @ Prinzenbar
04/30: Aarhus, DK @ Pop Revo Festival
05/01: Stockholm, SE @ Strand
05/03: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
05/04: Ottawa, ON @ Babylon
05/05: Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe
05/06: Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
05/07: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
05/08: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
05/09: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
05/10: Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
05/11: Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
05/12: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
05/13: Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
05/14: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
05/15: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
05/16: Austin, TX @ Emo’s
05/18: Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse
05/19: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
05/20: San Diego, CA @ Casbah
05/21: Mexico City, MX @ Teatro Fru Fru
05/24: San Francisco, CA @ Independent
05/26: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne
05/28: Victoria, BC @ Sugar
05/29: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw
05/30: George, WA @ Sasquatch! Festival
05/31: Calgary, AB @ Republik
06/01: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite
06/02: Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
06/03: Winnipeg, MB @ Royal Albert Arms
06/04: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
06/05: Davenport, IA @ Rock Island Brewing Co.
06/07: St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
06/08: Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
06/09: Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
06/10: Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
06/11: Halifax, NS @ Paragon

Links: Casper & The Cookies

Performance Days:
03/10: Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
03/11: Augusta, GA @ Sky City
03/12: Jacksonville, FL @ Club TSI
03/13: Lake Worth, FL @ Propaganda
03/14: Ybor City, FL @ New World Brewery
03/15: Gainesville, FL @ Spin Cycle
03/18: Austin, TX @ The Dirty Dog Bar – Standard Records Party (SXSW – RSVP Required)
03/20: Austin, TX @ Moose Lodge – SXSW
03/20: Austin, TX @ The Ghost Room – Team Clermont / New Granada Party (SXSW)
03/22: Dallas, TX @ Lakewood Bar
03/23: Jackson, MS @ Seaky Beans
03/24: Tuscaloosa, AL @ Egan’s
03/26: Decatur, GA @ Kavarna

Dark Dark Dark
“Bright Bright Bright”
from Bright Bright Bright EP
(Supply and Demand Music)

Buy at brightbrightbright.com

Additional Listening/Viewing: “Wild Goose Chase” (live)

Performance Dates
03/17: Austin, TX @SXSW @ Shout It Out Loud (Day)
03/18: Austin, TX @ SXSW @ All Your Friends (Day)
03/19: Austin, TX @ SXSW @ Annie St. Arts Collective (Night)
03/20: New Orleans, LA @ All Ways Cafe
03/21: Pensacola, FL @ TBA
03/22: Tallahassee, FL @ Charles Mansion
03/23: Atlanta, GA @ Wonder Root
03/24: Asheville, NC @ LaRue’s Backdoor
03/25: Charleston, SC @ Eye Level Art
03/26: Richmond, VA @ Cous Cous
03/27: Roanoke, VA @ The Water Heater
03/28: Baltimore, MD @ 2640
03/29: New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
03/30: Portland, ME @ SPACE
03/31: Providence, RI @ AS220
04/01: Boston, MA @ Lizard Lounge
04/02: Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
04/03: Pittsburgh, PA @ Morning Glory
04/04: Columbus, OH @ TBA
04/05: Lexington, KY@ The Green Lantern
04/06: Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley
04/07: Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
04/08: Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
04/09: Saginaw, MI @ White’s Bar
04/10: Rock Island, IL @ Huckleberry’s Pizza Parlor
04/15: Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center