Win a Copy of The Eastern Sea’s "EPII"

Long-time readers of the blog should know that I’m a big fan of Austin-based The Eastern Sea.  I first profiled the band in the now-defunct “mmm” feature almost two years ago, and reviewed a copy of the band’s debut EP back in July of 2008, giving it a rather-impressive 8/10 rating!

Well The Eastern Sea is back with a just-released EP, simply titled EPII (iTunes Link), and Audio Overflow has not one, but TWO copies to give away to our faithful readers (ok, and anyone else who decides to enter the contest).  This contest will work exactly the same as Audio Overflow’s Wallpaper Giveaway a few weeks back.

All you have to do is send an email to audiooverflow@gmail.com with “The Eastern Sea” written in the subject box.  Include in the body of the message your Name and Mailing Address where I can ship the EP to you if you win.  Two winners will be drawn from a hat, bag, or other convenient receptacle at random Monday, November 16.  You have until midnight on November 15 to enter.  The full, legal nonsense is below if you must read.

Good luck everybody!

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Audio Overflow’s The Eastern Sea Giveaway!

What’s Up for Grabs?

1 copy of The Eastern Sea’s EPII on CD

Official Rules:

1. To enter The Eastern Sea Giveaway Contest, send an email to audiooverflow@gmail.com with the following information:
• Your First and Last Name
• Mailing Address where we can send you your prize if you win
• Be sure to enter “The Eastern Sea” in the Subject Line of your E-mail
2. The contest will end at 11:59p (Central Standard Time) on Sunday, November 15, 2009.  You will be initially contacted on Monday morning (please provide an E-Mail address to which you can be reached at this time).
3. The winner of the contest will be chosen at random by the Audio Overflow staff.  Only one entrant will win this contest.
4. Upon winning the contest, you will be contacted by a member of the Audio Overflow staff via E-Mail.  Should we be unable to contact you after a reasonable amount of time, we will move on to the next person selected at random.

Privacy Policy:

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will Audio Overflow provide your E-mail address to third parties.  In fact, we’ll probably delete it it from our E-Mail after this is all over with.  We will have access to the mailing address of the winner of this contest, and for the sole purpose of getting the prize to the intended recipient.  Trust us, your personal information is of the utmost importance to us.  It’s not going anywhere.

The 5th Annual Cale Awards: Winners!!

After a month of voting, the results are in!  This year’s Cale Awards were trimmed down, and as a result, we ended up getting more votes than we had last year.  Of course, that could also have more to do with the increased readership over 2008.  I’ll let you, dear reader, decide that one.  For now, enjoy the results of the awards that don’t really matter, but make us feel important anyhow.

Best Myspace Artist:

The Cyanide Valentine

50% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Hanne Kolsto – In a way, I’m very pleased to see The Cyanide Valentine pull this one out.  Though they weren’t my personal choice, they are a very talented band with a very unique sound.  Don’t forget to visit their website to download their 2008 album for FREE!!

The Staying Power Award

Of Montreal:  Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

40% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Spoon:  Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Last year, Spoon’s album barely even made it to my year-end list.  It wasn’t until 2008 that I really started to appreciate this album in its entirety.  “Finer Feelings” has made it on my iTunes “Top Played” list and I can’t say I even placed it in my Key Tracks in my review of the album last year.  

Best Submitted Album

The Eastern Sea:  The Eastern Sea EP

83.3% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  The Eastern Sea:  The Eastern Sea EP – At the height of Audio Overflow’s popularity (I do believe we’ve peaked at this point), I was receiving 2-3 CDs a week.  Unless I had spoken with the artist or label personally, most of them got brushed aside.  The Eastern Sea’s debut as a full band was one that I could not ignore, and I’m pleased to see that the rest of you think so as well.

Best Album Artwork/Packaging

Radiohead:  In Rainbows

62.5% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Sia:  Some People Have Real Problems – In general, I thought that this year was a step backward in album design.  Radiohead had a cool idea; give people stickers to make their own jewel case.  But how many of you have actually done that?  Exactly.  To me, Sia’s packaging contained all the charm and playfulness of her best album yet!  Album art needs to convey the experience of the album in a tangible form, and this one did just that. 

Best EP

The Decemberists:  Always the Bridesmaid

50% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Wallpaper: T-Rex – This is an experience that I probably could’ve only enjoyed in an EP form.  I’m not entirely sold on the idea that Wallpaper’s pitch-corrected/vocoderized pop music wouldn’t wear thin on me after more than 20 minutes.  But here, it’s just enough to keep me smiling, singing, and trying to dance all cool-like. 

Best New Artist

Fleet Foxes

45% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Jaymay – You’d think a label like Blue Note would put more money behind an artist’s of Jaymay’s calendar.  Still, nearly a year after her debut album released, find someone who know who Jaymay is and I’ll give you a dollar.  For me, her debut was close to perfect and full of songs that still haven’t gotten old.  Check it out if you haven’t done so yet.

Band of the Year

Vampire Weekend

25% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Vampire Weekend – There wasn’t a band nominated that didn’t deserve this one, but I think most of us can agree that Vampire Weekend has had the biggest impact on the music world this year.  Making indie kids smile and the MTVers curious, the band has taken their unique sound to the heights of music in a short amount of time.  That’s good enough for me.

Female Artist of the Year

Jenny Lewis

40% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Shara Worden – I’m now completely annoyed with Jenny Lewis.  She used to be one of my favorite artists, but her past 3 outings (two solos and a Rilo Kiley album) have all been relatively shitey.  Acid Tongue was a step in the right direction but still short of her earlier years.  No, for me, Shara Worden is the most-deserving of this award.  Her second MBD album was a wonder of dark, orchestral pop, and was a shoe-in for my Top 10 Albums of 2008.

Male Artist of the Year

Kevin Barnes

50% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Pop Levi – Let’s be honest, Kevin Barnes’ transformation into Georgie Fruit has been one hell of a ride.  Any other year, and he would’ve gotten my vote easily.  But I’ve come to expect greatness from Barnes.  Pop Levi, on the other hand, was an artist I completely wrote off in 2007, only to fall in love with in 2008.  His second LP is an absolutely brilliant piece of pop rock and you owe it to yourself to check it out!  For coming out of nowhere to bring us something so awesome, this one’s just easy.

Song of the Year

“Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” by Fleet Foxes

28.6% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Coming Soon!

Album of the Year

Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie

41.2% of the vote

Cale’s Pick:  Coming Soon!

The Eastern Sea: "The Eastern Sea" EP

Matthew Hines has been writing and recording as The Eastern Sea for a few years.  More often than not, these recordings have been solo outings uploaded to a website or a MySpace page.  For this debut EP, Hines brought some friends along to form a band under the Eastern Sea name.  The added members – Thomas Garcia-Olano (Bass), Jess Graves (Keys), and Zach Duran (Drums) – predictably add a new depth to the music that has been missing in the past.  But does the fleshed-out instrumentation ruin the quirky, honest music that fans have come to expect from The Eastern Sea?

The quirkiness, yes, but the songs on this EP are just a earnest and heartfelt as they have always been.  If anything, the new members of the band have given the music a maturity that has always been absent.   “The Night” is classic Hines, with simple lyrics that mask their inner greatness.  He sings, “When you’re in my bed/ it looks like you’re dead/ but I’m too scared you’ll run/ so I won’t call 911,” and although the line is catchy and simple, it portrays Matthew’s insecurity beautifully.  The song begins with a simple jingle bell solo, but builds throughout its runtime.  It never explodes into some sort of cliche breakdown, opting instead to keep things rather simple and straightforward.

“The Menu” follows in much the same way.  It sounds as if Matthew is singing about a normal day in the city, wandering around and just taking things in.  He sings of a restaurant, a university, and a place that sells moonshine “cheap as hell,” and the lyrics are so vivid that it’s almost as if you’re right there with him.  On “The Floor,” the band departs from the Death Cab-ish roads they’ve traversed thus far.  It is a much darker song, about a night on the town with friends.  It’s slow, plodding movements are accentuated by Duran and Graves’ heavily-reverbed instrumentation.  Here, Matthew sings, “All of the lights/ seem out out of sync/ but they’ll move in time/ we’ll step to the beat/ the more that I drink.”  The song feels as if its brooding, plotting something sinister, yet great.  Sure enough, at the 2:40 mark the band explodes into pure rock awesomeness before quickly bringing things back down to a reasonable volume.  In all honesty, it sounds a lot like Built to Spill.  Hines, himself, even bears a striking resemblance to Doug Martsch (both vocally and in beard-ness).

“The Snow” finds the band toning things back down, with an airy composition and thick vocal harmonies.  The song tends to get a bit repetitive, but its lyrics make it a worthy addition to the EP.  The song’s opening line, is undoubted the best, reading, “I hope that the doctors in your town/ can give you the pills that you crave/ I hope they teach your mind how to behave/ and I hope that Jesus still saves.”  Matthew’s vocals are naturally a bit thin and boyish, and this tends to be an issue later in the song as it has trouble standing out amongst the dense instrumentation.  The EP’s closing track, “This is Holborn” is my absolute favorite; an upbeat, and hopeful indie rock song  that will melt any heart by the time the final second ticks off the clock.  The transition into the song’s coda is a bit weak, but I’m far too busy smiling and bouncing my head around to care.  I’m almost positive that the hand claps and sing along vocals will have the exact same effect on everyone else who listens to it as well.

Overall, The Eastern Sea EP is a very impressive debut from Matthew Hines and his bandmates.  Having been familiar with Hines’ solo work, I was expecting something completely different the first time I popped the album into my CD player.  The quirky, sometimes electronics-laden compositions of The Eastern Sea’s past have been replaced by three very talented musicians who have added so much depth and complexity to the group’s sound that it really does sound like a completely different project (The Western Sea?).  Perhaps the most-surprising feature of the EP is that it feels like a complete, well-rounded work of art while many other EPs are excuses to shovel an artist’s best songs on to a CD.  The Eastern Sea has distinct feel and a tangible resolution, making it play more like a mini-album than anything else.  Knowing that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for the band is almost as exciting as listening to them play and certainly leaves me wanting to hear more.  Please, make more.

Recommended for fans of Death Cab for Cutie, Owen, Built to Spill, and The National.

Key Tracks:

1. “The Night”

2. “The Floor”

3. “This is Holborn”

8 out of 10 Stars

Download from Amazon  |  Download from eMusic

myspace music monday: Past Artists Update

myspace music monday: Past Artist Update

No, that’s not the name of an artist. You see, I logged onto myspace today, fully prepared to find the next big thing in music. Lo and behold, I am treated to a big helping of suck. Unable to find a single artist of note after about an hour of browsing, I decided to call it quits and instead revisit some past artists that I’ve featured. We’ll see who has updated their page with new songs, and I’ll rank them according to my own personal tastes. Sounds fun right?

Who’s Updated?

Well, The Beams were the last band I featured before breaking for the holidays and they have since added two new songs to their page. Neither of them deviate from their “Hey, we’re kind of like The Killers” approach to music-making. “Chemical Wisdom” is an unrelenting and upbeat dance rock/new wave track with group vocals and a really nice groove. The vocals are a little “meh” in my opinion and the song does go on for far too long, but if you’re in the mood for a pure rock out session, it should be a good fit. Their second new song, “Watch” is just a mess. The guitars are way too prominent in the mix and far too skittery to feel infectious. The lyrics can be a bit humorous, but the song itself is completely uncatchy and borderline unlistenable. Skip it.

Of course, the group I most wanted an update from was Teacups. Alas, they have failed me. They did, however, get to open for Jose Gonazalez in New Zealand, which I’m sure was a great honor for them. I just hope that turns into some added exposure for them, because they need to be heard. Check out this sweet picture.

Swede-supreme, Sebastian Orre added two new songs to his page. The first, “Koschka” is a simple, but charming song. Staying true to his past music, his lyrics are very simple yet somehow poignant. He sings, “You saw me walking. Not much for talking, no.” Clearly Sebastian. Clearly. The second song is called “Walking” and features some really excellent production. His accent adds a certain amount of innocence to the already childhood memory-inducing song. Again, the lyrics are simple but still effective. It may be the best song of his that I’ve yet to hear, which is a great thing. Both of these new songs show more depth from his songs that I previously reviewed, especially when it comes to adding layers on top of one another.

Ranking Them

So who do I like best out of all the artists I’ve featured on myspace band monday. Well if you read last week’s feature the answer would be pretty clear. But to see where all the other artists stack up, just cast your gaze downward.

8. Thomas Dybdahl
7. Bicycles and Gravel
6. The Beams
5. Sebastian Orre
4. Teacups
3. The Eastern Sea
2. ContraNova
1. Hanne Kolstö

I know that you’re a lazy bum and all, but you should really consider checking out all of the above mentioned artists. They are all pretty diverse and unless you only consider Linkin Park, 50 Cent, and Nickelback to be valid musicians, you should find something to your liking.

And hey, make my job easier by recommending a myspace artist for me to feature for next week. Otherwise, I’m not entirely sure what I’ll come up with.

myspace music monday: The Eastern Sea

Well after a month or so without myspace music monday, it has returned! I can’t say I’m too fond of that because, truthfully, I absolutely despise filtering through all the nonsense on myspace in search of a single artist that doesn’t suck entirely. But here I am, putting my own feelings aside for the sake of you, the reader. You’re welcome.

The Eastern Sea

Today’s myspace artist is The Eastern Sea, the “brainchild,” as some would say, of Matthew Philip Hines. Now, at the risk of sacrificing journalistic integrity (which I really don’t care about to begin with), I must admit that I personally know Matthew. We went to high school together and I played a show with him (as The Eastern Sea) in May of 2006. However, I’m not introducing you to his music to promote it for him. I’m doing it because I like it, and you should too!

The Eastern Sea covers a wide array of sounds. In the past, I’ve even heard smidgens of electro-pop on the group’s myspace page. At the time of this writing, however, the collection of songs on the page definitely lean towards the folksier side of things. Matthew is a very talented songwriter though, and this genre of music is definitely a better fit to his talents. I keep on hearing Okkervil River in these songs, so perk up if you’re into that (you should be).

Songs
The first song on the page is called “The Line,” and it’s undoubtedly the best one available on myspace. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that Matthew doesn’t have the strongest voice on the planet. It cracks occasionally, and it sounds more boyish than anything else. But there’s more in there too. It’s earnest and raw, and there’s even a small resemblance to Ben Gibbard at times. The lyrics, as per usual, are amazing. Matthew sings in a fragile falsetto, “On my judgment day they’re gonna hear me say ‘ The Devil’s in my way!'” and I can’t help but think of how genius that one line is.

The second song, “Wine Into Water,” is more of an experimental lo-fi track. A recording of a solemn televangelist (I think) is playing as Matthew plays the piano and sings in the background. No, literally in the background. It sounds as if he set a microphone up on one side of the room and played on the other side. The song isn’t bad, but the way it’s presented is a little off-putting.

In “Robert,” Matthew sings of a guy whose name is…well, you know. He sings, “Robert you’re the greatest! You’ll always be the man!” and I’m not sure if he’s using a little tongue in cheek there. The rest of the song’s lyrics would lead me to believe that that is indeed the case. It’s a really catchy song, with bluegrassy guitar picking and really cool, distant harmonies. Again, Matthew’s songwriting skills shine here. The song ends with another audio sample (he uses them a lot).

“Dreams” is a charming, if not depressing, piece of music gold! It’s slow-moving melody and brilliant melancholy reminds me of Loney, Dear. There are hints of that electro pop that I mentioned earlier towards the end. The song doesn’t bust out into an electronic breakdown or anything, but he does put some stutters and effects on his vocals. It’s very Notwist-ish. Loney, Dear and The Notwist in the same song? That’s awesome…

“The Best Kind of Friend” really emphasizes that claim I made of The Eastern Sea sounding like Okkervil River. It’s a musically darker song song than anything else on the page, with a driving acoustic guitar that never really lets up. Matthew’s assertion that “The best kind of friend is an old friend” is undeniably true, and yet it strikes me as something that not everybody could write. Personally, I’d probably spend hours destroying my brain trying to think of a poignant line. Instead, Matthew takes something so obvious and makes it seem foreign and beautiful. In the end, that’s really the brilliant thing about him as a songwriter. His lyrics are deceptively simple. All the lines I’ve quoted thus far aren’t constructed by some lyrical wordsmith, but they have just as strong as an effect on you. It’s good stuff.

Conclusion
Listen to The Eastern Sea. Matthew Philip Hines is an absolutely incredible songwriter, and he’s not too bad of a singer or instrumentalist either! I’ve known it since the first time that I heard one of his songs and it was reinforced when I first saw him play live just as it is here: Matthew, if not The Eastern Sea, is going places with his musical endeavors if he chooses to do so. The amount of artistry and subtle genius contained in every song I’ve ever heard him do is too great to not share with the world. And the last time I checked, I made comparisons to Okkervil River, The Notwist, Ben Gibbard, and Loney, Dear. That alone should be enough reason for someone to notice.

Links
The Eastern Sea’s myspace Page
theeasternsea.com (Hasn’t been updated in a while)
Stand Out (from A Goofy Movie) Video
An Entire Set (Pt. 1) Video
An Entire Set (Pt. 2) Video
An Entire Set (Pt. 3) Video
An Entire Set (Pt. 4) Video

Do you have a band in mind for myspace music monday? Send us a tip at audiooverflow@gmail.com or by leaving a comment in this post. See you next week!