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Some indie music is manufactured in bedrooms, but Tall Travis’s new EP Hen Music is designed for a barn. On Jan. 5, the Vermont-based mostly band introduced their third project, a swift 19-moment listen that is crunchy and energetic. The 6-music job starts sturdy and finishes truthfully, putting forth an exertion that may possibly not be groundbreaking but is astonishingly authentic.
Tall Travis originated at the College of Vermont’s people audio club in January 2021. One particular of its 6 members is Elliot Walsh ’24, a Cornell pupil who collaborates with the band from Ithaca all through the semester. In an interview with me, Walsh shared, “We begun carrying out [the project] with sort of the intention of executing a a bit extra people-punk thing. Previous information had leaned far more seriously on gentle indie folks tunes, and we wished to do some a lot quicker things.”
You could be wondering what the people-punk style is, or, like me, love folks and punk but hadn’t however heard of the two with each other. Walsh discussed that the style is “up-tempo high-strength music with traditional instrumentation. […] I feel like it conjures up a ton of honesty in songwriting.” The task is indie not in a pretentious way, but rather feels open, exciting and grounded. “It’s type of exciting to listen to a band or a track and be like, ‘yeah I could do this,’ but it however works,” mentioned Walsh.
The EP’s very first track “Alley-Oh” establishes the project’s upbeat acoustic style, with a rejuvenated bluegrass audio that demonstrates its affect in the common instrumentals. One particular of the band’s inspirations for its folk-punk genre is the Mountain Goats, an indie folk band whose track “No Children” may possibly be familiar (“You are coming down with me / hand in unlovable hand”). The EP layers relaxed lyrics in a talk-singing model that is evocative of the Mountain Goats.
“Victim Vibes” proceeds a peaceful type of singing layered over tight instrumentals, which is absolutely the band’s strength. Each and every common instrument — ukulele, guitar, bass, washboard, fiddle and trumpet — is highly effective on its very own, and they blend with each other to evoke a close-knit group’s people-punk eyesight. The band explores the depth of its audio in “The Tortoise and the Hare,” which builds up to an epic instrumental peak that normally takes me out of my environment and tends to make me yearn for summer season in rural New England.
The lyrics in closing music “Vampires and Poseurs” showcase the band’s variety among everyday and further lyrics that contact one thing real in the listener. The opening strains “I really don’t imagine in Heaven / I do believe that in Hell” appeared plain to me at 1st, till the singer ongoing, “It’s down the street from here / we each lived there for many years,” surprising me with its depth and intimacy. The personalized lyrics and use of the “I” are reminiscent of Noah Kahan’s poetic and own song-composing model. Like Kahan, Tall Travis hinges on potent particulars with very simple language: “We burn the calendars for heat / and the alarm clocks just for fun.”
Tall Travis is upfront with who they are, and the essence of their eclectic group of musicians is on the desk in Rooster Songs. “The name Rooster Music came from, I assume it was a joke somebody experienced of just, ‘What style do you perform?’ ‘Oh it is hen tunes. It is new music for chickens. It is just that vibe,’ ’’ stated Walsh. They are not striving to be something other than who they are: Folks who love to enjoy music, with a certain appreciation for chickens and common instrumentation.
While the folk-punk genre is more market, Walsh gives the guidance for everyone intrigued in dipping their toes into the people-punk audio scene to “Just go out, participate in shows, make connections.” Tall Travis has ideas to release a new comprehensive album hopefully in late spring, and they also system to play a clearly show in Ithaca in April, so be on the look out for Tall Travis this spring.
Kiki Plowe is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences. She can be attained at [email protected]
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