The O-town Scene

Sonic Notes by Mark Boshnack A couple of proported solo projects caught my ears recently. Heligoats When I came across the Heligoats on a recent npr.org Tiny Desk Concert, I was confused when only one guy was playing. Two questions came to mind: Where are the the goats? and Who is that guy with the guitar? After listening a few more times, I downloaded Heligoats’ album, “Good- ness Gracious.” I want to say these guys are great, but several reviews talk about the group as the project of that musician, Chris Otepka. The band’s Facebook page shows Otepka performing solo and with a band. That group performs on the album released in 2010. The origins of the band’s name are still a mystery to me, but Otepka is from the best of the singer-songwriter tradition, and performs with lots of energy. The song that really leaps out from the collection is “Fish Sticks,” with lines like, “You found your inner self, I found my inner fish.” I’ve read several reviews speculating about the meaning of the song, but it sounds to me like one of the quirkier relationship songs I have heard in a long time _ kind of cynical and a little awkward. Like all of his songs, there is a lot going on in it. “Water Towers on Fire” is a love song sung by a slightly cynical narrator. But with verses built over a great acoustic guitar strum and cascading notes, Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing in a contributed photo. lines like, “You are someone I admire, you take care of your own damn problems, like a water tower on fire,” make this a lot of fun. The title song ends the album with a more traditional love song, includ- ing the beautiful line, “Never knew I was frozen, till you turned on the heat, to reveal oceans of honesty.” Wild Nothing A totally different sound can be found on the recent album, “Gemini,” by Wild Nothing. With its blissed-out, hazy summer sound, it could make you forget the time of year, if only for a while. Starting with the opening track “Summer Holiday,” the work by Jack Tatum has an infectious sound. The lyrics, where you can make out the words with the vocals mixed low, are not as intiguing as with the Heligoats. Luckily, they are not the main component here — it’s all about the music and mood, and the tracks are pretty catchy. This is clear in a song like “Bored Games,” where the lyrics include varia- tions on: “Where are you going? Can I come with you? I don’t feel right, when you’re not here.” But with the rhythm machine and synthesizer laying down the groove, it’s catchy stuff. Or listen to “Chinatown.” Starting with some dreamy notes, Tatum puts down layers of sound until the singer comes in. After the lyrics, including, “I need some way to forget,” it’s all resolved. “Were not happy till we’re running away, clouds in your eyes, with nothing but the foggiest day.” I’ll be scouring all aspects of the music world for the next column. If readers have any suggestions they can reach me at mboshnack@ thedailystar.com. Chris Otepka of Heligoats in a contributed photo. 12 O-Town Scene Jan. 20, 2011

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