Listen: Oryx & Crake - "Holds Hand For Dry Land"

When last we left Atlanta chamber pop outfit Oryx & Crake they had left me lying in the fetal position after wave after seemingly unceasing wave of their lush, melancholic, synth-laden orchestral pop of their debut album Oryx + Crake. The band were positively delighted by my description of the album as "soulcrushing" but promised that their next venture would be a little more easy to stomach. That was nearly five years ago and true to their word Oryx & Crake have returned. If you were to judge an album by its cover, their sophomore record Marriage with its literal car wreck featured front and center would appear to promise more of the same. But Oryx & Crake aren't torturers nor are their all that tortured - "Holds Hand For Dry Land" sees the band extending an outstretched hand to raise you up and out of their emotional deluge.

"Holds Hand For Dry Land" begins with beats - beats that are positively dance-y before crescendoing synths signal the imminent arrival of the rest of the band. Cue the drums, the synth playfully weave around a grooving bass. "Get up off the floor and open up your crying eyes" Ryan Peoples opens comfortingly - "before they rust shut" the band adds in harmony. It's a moment that wouldn't be all that out of place in say a New Pornographers' song and yet here it is greeting listeners as the first preview of Oryx & Crake's new album. The back and forth persists, a celebratory "woo!" is shouted and it feels like at least to the uninitiated that this is a brand new band and Oryx & Crake have left the unshakeable encroaching gloom behind. But if Oryx + Crake has taught me anything it's constant vigilance, I know this band now. Oryx & Crake are comfortable with the toss and turn between the pleasant and the uncomfortable, making the listener work for those moments of peace at the peak of a downright funereal mountainside.

For all it's fun pantomining, "Holds Hand For Dry Land" holds deeper meaning under the harmonic cheer. It's a song about putting in the work. "We can't just survive off of our wedding cake anymore" Peoples' repeats. Just as your jamming along to the upbeat plod, the floor gives out. The affected mirth is gone. Everything slows down and the darkness percolates and assumes control. The band builds again from the ground up rising to a sort of restrained cacophony that echoes out into eventual silence. Oryx & Crake effectively condense an album's worth of striking mood music into one or two music moments here and it's tremendous. If you fell for their elegantly constructed rouse it's because you need to know the one rule for engaging in Oryx & Crake's emotional minefield: constant vigilance.

"Holds Hand For Dry Land" is a surprising and yet not so surprising turn for the band. The sextet (whittled down from a supporting cast of nine)  are putting their best foot forward and trying on some new looks while still managing to remain true to arguably the most impressive skill in their arsenal: their ability to make you feel. Making a song that's catchy is a skill not everyone can master, true but the far greater feat is creating a song that can do that as well as have meaning behind it. Don't let "Holds Hand For Dry Land" lead you into a false sense of security. Oryx & Crake are tackling some pretty heavy topics on their upcoming sophomore album and the fact that they have the ability to pair those themes with infectious melodies that's as dangerous as it is brilliant.



Oryx & Crake's forthcoming sophomore record Marriage is out 9/25 on Deer Bear Wolf Records.

Pitstop: Little Tybee

What could be gleaned from my love of Typhoon, Oryx and Crake, and Lost in the Trees (among numerous others) is that there's a very special place in my heart for the folk orchestra. There's a certain untouched majesty and epic grandeur that comes with having a large cast of musicians all working to create music that is not only performed well and arranged spectacularly but also wonderfully accessible without losing any of that masterful touch. Atlanta, Georgia's Little Tybee is another one these bands.

What separates Little Tybee and it's fluctuating group of members apart from the multitude of other bands that are essentially doing the same thing is that they aren't. Their phrases flexible, the arrangements handled with marked equality; and Brock Scott's vocals, with its folksy lilt, form the basis for what is Little Tybee. But their spark of individuality is gained from how they handle their songwriting. The Nirvana Kelly's violin isn't just relegated to delicate flourishes but soulfully accompanies Scott and his acoustic guitar. The bass and drums much more than mere beat keepers, getting their own opportunities to shine. Each member of the band gets a important and noticeable place to show their talent, but it's handed with such subtlety and modesty, that you can't help but smile.

Get to know Little Tybee with the live video for "History":

Oryx and Crake debut two new videos

So this weekend while others were out doing their typical weekend activities, Atlanta band Oryx and Crake were playing a house party and debuting their first two music videos ever. But like all good things, you can now experience them even though you weren't there thanks to the power of the internet.

"Open Your Eyes" by Oryx and Crake from Oryx and Crake on Vimeo.

The video for "Open Your Eyes" is a series of webcam videos edited together by Aaron Byrd featuring a multitude of Atlantans on a typical day. Whether that be distraught or bored at work, or sitting alone singing some Oryx and Crake, it's all captured and compiled for your viewing pleasure. Considering that "Open Your Eyes" is one of the more upbeat tracks on their debut, it sort of makes sense that there's some moments of actual joy shown. If you look closely you'll see some of the bandmembers taking part too.

Whereas the video for "Open Your Eyes" focuses on people, the video for "Unbound", directed by Max Blau, features Atlanta's street art. From the lowly street sign to grand displays of graffiti mastery, every type of street art seems to make an appearance accompanied by another upbeat track.

Oryx and Crake - "Unbound" (Music Video) from Max Blau on Vimeo.

So while you might not have been at the unveiling or subsequent house party/live show, you can now enjoy the band's artistic efforts. And considering they choose some of their less melancholic tunes, you can watch them regardless of your mood.

Oryx and Crake - Oryx + Crake (2010)

I mentioned Oryx and Crake what seems like ages ago but it's only now that I'm getting a chance to sit down with their debut album, Oryx + Crake. As to why it's taken such a long time, I should explain that Oryx + Crake isn't the type of album you listen to everyday. The thing that sets Oryx and Crake apart from other folk-tronica bands like Crystal Fighters or tuung is exactly why you can't listen to Oryx + Crake too much. Somber, lush, and richly melancholic, Oryx + Crake is mood music. Album opener "Fun Funeral" is a bit of a misnomer, there's nothing all that fun about it. It's langurously listless and kind of depressing. You'd think for a band that combines violin, cello and banjo with dancy beats, they'd be a bit more upbeat. It's not until around midway through the album in a soaring moment during "Open Your Eyes" where the album gets its first hint of anything resembling mirth. But it's deceptively shortlived. Sure the album kind of bucks up- speeding up a bit, but the lyrics are still rather dark and any glimpses of vitality are gone before they really have a chance to make a lasting impact.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with Oryx and Crake. They're different and talented and the album is nothing short of incredible, it's just not necessarily the type of music you want to hear when you'd rather be dancing or celebrating. At least for the first part of it. Whereas the first part of the album is kind of soulcrushing (to put it lightly), the second is sprinkled with moments of hope and traces of something vaguely resembling joy (at least for a little bit). With Oryx + Crake, The Atlanta 9 piece proves it's a force to be reckoned with able to conjure up pain simply and efficiently in a way that belies it's large size. There's definitely a more to come from Oryx and Crake, let's just hope it's a bit...happier.

Give Oryx and Crake's debut album a listen on their Bandcamp.

Pitstop: Oryx and Crake

I found out about Oryx and Crake by accident on Paste Magazine's site after seeing their name is an ad-like side banner for Paste's Artist of the Day while reading about notable albums out today. Something about their name compelled me to check into them. Also the recommended if you like: The Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, and Lost in the Trees. Color me intrigued. Self-described on their MySpace page as Electroacoustic indiepop, what struck me was there use of instruments like cellos and violins with beats created on an electronic drum. Like Broken Bells collided with a string orchestra or something to that effect. The 9 piece from Atlanta, Georgia is centered around a husband and wife duo Ryan Peoples and Rebekah Goode-Peoples' guitar, keyboard, and vocals with instruments like banjo, midi, cello, and singing saw thrown in to flush out the sound. I've talked about folktronica bands on this blog before and yet, this was unlike anything I've heard in the genre. For such a large ensemble, the sound is subdued and subtle, charmingly intimate, and yet the beats infuse it with a vaguely dance-pop character.

Give Oryx and Crake a listen and if you like their music turns out they have a record out. So if you like it, grab it! Latest tracks by oryxandcrake