What is it to rebuild as an artist? What mechanisms have to be in place to build oneself back up? More pointedly, what constitutes artistic failure to the extent an artist has to rebuild? In the case of Now Now, formerly Now Now, Every Children, the band members over the past few years have found themselves at the business end of a music industry beating; bad record deals, bad touring experiences, and bad blood abound. In the artistic landscape of rock music too often is one’s work judged on the basis of units shifted, success in dollar form, shamefully so in the case of NNEC whose album Cars still stands the test of time as a fantastically intricate and woefully underrated indie record. Whatever the reason, the members of NNEC were stuck, forced to start from scratch, to lower their bucket into the same well that produced their previous works and hope they found water even in the driest of times.

Beginning with the track “Rebuild” it becomes starkly clear that Neighbors has awoken something deep and radiant inside these young musicians. Perhaps pushed forward by some dark frustration or inspired by a ‘nothing left to lose’ attitude Now Now have crafted their finest, most cohesive work to date, a staggering glimpse into inner turmoil and haunting despair conveyed by means of sharp, jangly indie rock and crooning, searing vocals care of Cacie Dalager. In five tracks (one of which is instrumental) the trio manages to convey all the artistic fervor that some musicians fail to convey in an entire discography. Having dropped the ‘Every Children’ moniker from their namesake, Now Now have indeed in every way grown into a new artistic persona that both rewards the listener upon repeat listens and presents a fresh new image of young rock and roll. With feelings so tight and crisp conveyed so well we can only hope that this group continues to churn out great records like this one. One of the best releases of 2011 by far.

Now Now – “Giants”

Austin’s best kept secret finally has some recordings to their name – White Dress. The self-titled EP from the Arum Rae-fronted blues-rock duo showcases the incredible range of musicality this group can accomplish in just five short songs. Beginning with the tender and lilting “Light Hearted”, a classic country tale of years gone by too fast, the album quickly takes a sharp turn with the rip-snarl of “Wearing Red”, with its shattering opener, fuzz-choked guitar roars, and Rae’s inimitable croon. “No Solid State” is classic Nashville session band with an experimental edge, combining harpsichord warbles with boom-tsk drum work, all sounding raw and haunting as if through blown speaker cones. “The Kill” sounds as if its sung from beyond the grave, with echo-filled vocals being tossed about in a sea of pummeling guitar riffs, and “Five Feet of Road” ends the EP on a thrashy, downtrodden rager that sees Rae smearing the instrumentation across the record like lipstick on a truckstop bathroom mirror in a slithering, sexy fashion. Rae’s penchant for combing classic blues musicality, kicking it up an art-rock notch, and injecting it full of overt heat and passion puts the Austin transplant on par with some of the best indie artists working today. Overall a fantastic and utterly fearsome debut – here’s hoping we can hear more soon!

White Dress – “The Kill”

The Black Angels continue to churn out brilliant psycho-rockers after barn-storming brilliant dreamweavers of records, this time in the form of Phosphene Dream, a ten-track journey to the depths of the inner eye, a window to a hard-rocking, drug-infused, phantasmagorical dreamworld. More than ever the band relies heavily on 60s-era Zombies-esque melodies while incorporating the loud-quiet-loud dynamics of modern indie rock, crafting a sound wholly their own and unbelievably exciting while still familiar. Quite possibly their strongest record to date, check out more from this great Austin band!

The Black Angels – “Bad Vibrations” by Cannibal Cheerleader

The band’s having a record release show at Hole in the Wall on August 21st here in Austin – be sure and make it down!

Megafauna – “Speck”

The Cannibal Cheerleader Crew caught Holly Miranda performing an in-store performance at End of an Ear records on Wednesday in what was easily the standout performance of the SXSW 2010 Fest so far. Away from the hipster hordes and with only her talent to lean on, not riding a wave of unfounded hype, the chanteuse sounded as if descended from heaven, dripping down like the torrents of thunder that her guitar pedals created. Performing alone with only her touring guitarist providing backup in front of a sparsely populated record store crowd, Miranda invited all the listeners into her woozy, bluesy world of haunting fuzz-filled guitar swathes and twangy, soulful melodies, equal parts exposed and honest as well as murky and ghostly. Blasting through already classics like “Waves” and “Sleep On Fire” the singer-songwriter proved to be the greatest find of SXSW 2010 for this music journalist – her captivating presence and her singular sound hewing the hyped competition in half left and right.

Holly Miranda – “Waves”

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From the best show of SXSW 2010 to the greatest find of the festival, we turn to local act Megafauna who stunned the CCC at a house party on the East Side. Not to be confused with the Bon Iver associated act Megafaun, Megafauna is an Austin-based rock trio featuring riot grrrl extraordinaire Dani Neff as the axe-wielding guitar goddess in the vein of Marnie Stern and Ume’s Lauren Larsen with a taste for experimentalism and whip-crack heroics. While Stern relies chiefly on sheer speed and finger-picking, and Larsen throttles with waves of crushing sound, Neff pummels with pedal-less snarl, letting her Hendrix-inspired sensibilities do the talking as the group’s excellent rhythm section, featuring slap-bass and crashing drums, supply a smorgasbord of indie-rock madness for all to enjoy. Not enough can simply be said about this group whose loud-quiet-loud formula mixed with supremely satisfying and amazing guitarwork lead to a band that can kick out the jams with gusto while still granting themselves an experimental edge. Definitely check them out!

True to their face-melting metal form Virgina-based dirgers Salome absolutely annihalated the inside stage at Emo’s during the Brooklyn Vegan Day Party. With careening drum-work, bass-heavy riffage, and Kat’s indescribable shriek from beyond the grave, the trio turned the quiet interior of the downtown Austin club into an instant apocalypse. About the time the ‘Brooklyn Vegan’ sign fell of the wall due to the pummeling nature of the group’s blasting sound the audience began to realize they were witness to a grand metal becoming as soon-to-be behemoths of the scene lit up the darkness with fiery musical madness. Great way to start off SXSW 2010.

Salome – “The Vivification of Ker”

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In a shameful oversight to our big ‘Cannibal SXSW ‘10′ post, Brooklyn blues-rock duo and Cannibal Cheerleader fave She Keeps Bees will be playing the big fest here in Austin this Saturday at the Red House Pizzeria at 6pm and the Driskill Hotel at midnight. Catch one of these shows as a great cap-off to a fantastic festival – seriously, if you’re in the mood from some soul with a smidge of snarl, check these two out, they’ll make you cry and bleed all at once. Now that’s a recipe for Cannibal Cheerleader success.

She Keeps Bees – “Gimme”

If you weren’t at Emo’s here in Austin, Texas last night (and believe me, not nearly enough people were) then you missed out on a proclamation on the state of punk as we know it in mindblowing form – the resurgence of Jemina Pearl, infamous for her stint as the Be Your Own Pet vocalist, as a solo artist quite possibly could reaffirm even the most cynical hardcore kid’s faith in the spirit of ‘77. Featuring John Eatherly, former Be Your Own Pet drummer now on guitar duties, the group ripped and snarled through what seemed like the entirety of the singer’s debut album Break It Up, with standouts like “I Hate People” and “Retrograde” sounding all the more pummeling and sharp in the live format. Complete with ‘fuck-all’ attitude and a cast over what one imagines is the gnarly broken toe injury the songstress featured on her blog, Jemina Pearl lives and breathes the punk rock frontwoman role, pouty lip-sneer and all. Wailing and spitting her way through track after track, hardly giving her band any room to breathe in-between songs, the singer seemed disconnected, bored, and altogether very punkish in a very genuine manner. Her attitude was reflected in the blazing guitarwork of the surprisingly articulate guitar-playing of Eatherly, whose chops behind the axe makes one imagine why he wasn’t shredding in BYOP to begin with. 

Overall the band’s performance reeked of harsh punk sensibilities in the same manner as early Buzzcocks records. With a wry sense of humor, a lack of any ability to take herself seriously, and a serious attitude problem, Jemina Pearl reinvigorated our faith in the punk lifestyle, horrifying us with her immediacy and raping our sonic senses in the best way possible.

A great big fuck you to Jemina Pearl – and we mean that in the congratulatory punk way (seriously, how can you not love her?).

The night’s other story however is the utterly shocking and rocking opening act solo artist Arum Rae of the local Austin band White Dress. The full band was on the original bill for the show but according to Rae, legal issues barred her bandmate from attending the gig. Still, the group seemed almost unnecessary upon hearing the singer’s subtle Southern croon and her understated blues finger-picking guitarwork as she belted out heartbreaker after bodyshaker on what proved to be an incredibly engaging performance. Sounding like a Black Keys meets Cat Power combo, Rae makes us want to stalk down and listen to every track she’s ever conjured – a bedroom pop sensibility strapped behind a mean, gold-faced guitar. We look forward to check her out as the year progresses.

Overall, a fantastic night here in Austin – definitely check these leading ladies out soon!

Jemina Pearl – “I Hate People”

While we Austinites may have been lamenting the start of 2010 with the University of Texas’ loss to ‘Bama in the BCS Championship, down at the coolest venue in town, the Mohawk, local indie-rock titans Ume were ringing in the new year with burst eardrums and blood-curdling guitar-squalls, reaffirming their presence at the best rock group the capital city has to offer. The trio of Lauren, Eric, and Jake hiss and pound like a well-oiled deathmachine, trading off the pulsating forward momentum from instrument to instrument – from the propelling bass crashes, to the whip-crack guitar wails, to the careening drumlines, all add up to an equation of mayhem and fury that’s as much indebted to hardcore punk sentiments as shoegaze, pedal-happy antics. The group pounded through an all-too-short set that seemed to flow seamlessly from one song to the next, the silences in-between only serving as an opportunity for the audience to take a breath and empty the blood from their ears. Definitely watch out for these guys in 2010.

Ume will be on tour this summer and are busy recording a full-length LP, due this year. Tune in to Cannibal Cheerleader for an upcoming video interview we did with the band. Much more to come so stay hungry…

More Ume pics below…

Ume – “Sunshower”