My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 4

Last Looks by The Sour Notes

Spotify: The Sour Notes – Last Looks

Twitter: @TheSourNotes

Band Website: www.thesournotes.com

The Sour Notes were one of the first local bands that I looked up after moving to Austin in 2009, based on what I believe was a review in the Chronicle that fall. At the time they had released The Meat of the Fruit EP and the Received in Bitterness LP. I ended up acquiring the former and while I enjoyed it, didn’t think too much about them afterwards. Fast-forward to early 2011 and one night while browsing Waterloo Records for something else entirely I come across Last Looks, the latest release by The Sour Notes. Not having been offended by their debut EP and having come up empty handed in my primary record search, I decided to pick it up. What followed was a month-long love affair with this record and a desire to consume everything else the band had recorded in the interim.

Last Looks is a featherweight powerhouse of an album that all at once evokes thoughts of early Radiohead, a less European Blonde Redhead, a less pretentious Arcade Fire, Spoon without the swagger, and Death Cab for Cutie with bigger balls and louder guitars. From Nothing More Contagious Than Evil’s anxious and ominous opening through the subtle (but massive) build of As Crude as Watercolor, and on to Particularly Shrill’s airy adieu, Last Looks is a collection of catchy and competent tunes that finishes all too quickly, but begs to be replayed. The production and mix leave little to be desired as subtle textures and delicate flourishes accent and enhance each track and ultimately make for a homegrown recording that many bigger bands could learn a thing or two from.

With three LPs in as many years, a split with Austin up-and-comers Marmalakes dropping later this month, and a fourth full-length planned for later this year, there is no stopping The Sour Notes and I couldn’t be more pleased for that fact. The only thing I could hope for is that more people check out The Sour Notes and get these guys the recognition they deserve both in and outside of Austin in 2012 and beyond.

Key Tracks: Hot Pink Flares, As Crude as Watercolor, Particularly Shrill

Related Info: For more great year-end lists featuring Austin musicians, head over to ovrld.com ... NOW!

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5