Loyola’s Battle of the Bands will kick off the new year in local music this afternoon in the Peace Quad, introducing some of New Orleans’ best acts to Loyola’s campus. But the city certainly has more to offer than the select few slated to face off in the Battle. Acquaint yourself with these other buzz-worthy locals that may have slipped through the cracks.
ANTENNA INN
After a three-year hiatus, Antenna Inn is back as a ruthless, seven-piece outfit, already winning over crowds as the opening act for Rotary Downs in January. With their first show of the new year, AI showcased the debut of their heavily anticipated material and new lineup, their songs an accurate reflection of the painstaking writing process that developed their signature breed of pop music.
Drawing comparisons to contemporaries such as Tortoise, Jaga Jazzist and Aloha, the new AI put aside their former sophisticated indie-rock for the beautifully arranged, percussive structures that delve close into prog-rock territory, weaving together effortless bursts of emotional orchestrations into works of anthemic proportions.
Punctuated with vibraphones, Fender Rhodes keyboards, horns and an organic rhythm section (including two drummers), AI provides a soundtrack to accompany the world one explores after “Pet Sounds.”
With their miraculous resurrection, AI’s potential for 2007 is shooting through the roof. Don’t miss their next show at the Howlin’ Wolf on March 2, and keep an eye out for any news of a new album. You will be glad you did.
FATTER THAN ALBERT
The year 2006 was huge for the Westbank-based ska powerhouse. With a relentless tour schedule and extensive show calendar, not to mention the release of their debut full-length album “Erin’s Runaway Imagination,” FTA has set themselves up for a huge new year.
Beginning as the high school ska-core group Skycopter 4, FTA has matured into a progressive, ska-powered, high energy rock band, incorporating elements of jazz and sophisticated rhythms luring even the most skeptical of haters. With possibly some of the largest crowds for a young local band, FTA is on the verge of a vast empire of their distinctly New Orleans sound.
Borrowing influences from the frantic jazz of the Blue Meanies and the neighborhood feel of local legends The Supaflies, FTA blows up on stage with the sweat and adrenaline of their live performance. Wearing all black with the occasional sweatband, their intimidating stage appeal relaxes into goofy, off-the-wall enthusiasm, bouncing off the stage and each other.
Planning for another tour over the summer with possible stops in Canada, the soon-to-be-international ska band will make their 2007 debut at the Big Top on Feb. 16, just in time to kick off Mardi Gras festivities.
So much has been said about this band over the years as the buzz has collected, so you would really be doing yourself a favor by giving in to the hype.
TRASH TRASH TRASH
Any band that Japanther applauds before they take the stage is certainly headed in the right direction. Opening for dance machines Porsches on the Autobahn and the aforementioned punk rock duo, TTT explodes on stage as a noisy, French baroque, piano-driven punk rock, with hiss and pop electronic keyboards and six or seven voices belting out their jams.
Their white, graffiti-covered jumpsuits make Devo look less like aliens, while making TTT look more like outer space, psychedelic super heroes.
Dueling keyboards and organs bounce from one to the other over bullhorn hip-hop rhymes and dance-beats, accompanied by the occasional fuzzed-out guitar and tons of percussion. Female-led vocals take hints from Le Tigre and other Kathleen Hannah-involved projects, wielding power and taking control of the stage and their message, letting plenty slip by for dancing crowds and eager listeners. TTT are cosmonauts from outer space, inter-dimensional students of melody and the craft of creating the perfect hook.
Look out for upcoming shows this weekend and in March.
BIG BLUE MARBLE
Bands like BBM are difficult to classify if you’re the type that needs to put a label on a band like BBM.
Their delicate indie-pop melodies are not overly sophisticated, but are difficult to be ignored. They can switch gears seamlessly in and out of layered stadium-sized rock and intimate ballads, all taking place within the same song.
Guitarist and singer David Fera croons in a signature nasally, slow drawl over Beach Boy harmonies and playful synthesizers that aren’t overbearing or tacky, filling in the spaces that need to be filled, just enough to leave you wanting a tiny bit more, but not too much.
While the songs are heavy, they’re so bright, with soaring guitars dipped in just a touch of feedback, roaring over lap-steel, sounding as if they were soaked in whipped cream and frosting.
BBM is a band that you are familiar with as soon as the record starts, making that intimate connection a close bond, but distanced enough to keep you wondering. They are modern masters of the creation of consistent and unpretentious pop, similar to early Death Cab for Cutie efforts, but then again, it would be difficult to put a label on a band like BBM.
Check out 2005’s “Stars in Suburbia” and any of the multitude of their upcoming shows.
RATZINGER
Possibly bizzaro Donnie and Marie? Could be, as the guitar and drum duo Ratzinger’s ecstatic guitars and frenzied drumming do seem a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.
But between the yelling and the feedback, the apocalyptic rock and roll shines through like nobody’s business.
Ratzinger is a messenger of a honky-tonk religious catastrophe, products of post-Katrina prayer, gathering together to create their brand of rolling-on-the-floor-in-gold-spandex holy rock and roll. They are the “chosen ones,” hand-picked by God’s will to wear white jeans and t-shirts, covered in sweat, dirt and an insatiable appetite for explosive bursts of distorted preaching, chanting and Lightning Bolt-style chaos.
These spasms of orgasmic fervor are all wrapped up into catchy bundles of not-so-ordinary sing-a-longs, and you don’t even need a hymnal. They throw the Gospel at your face and think it’s hilarious.
Stop by any of their upcoming shows throughout New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and pick up their 2006 EP “Spread the Good News!” May God have mercy on your soul.
Alex Woodward can be reached at [email protected].
