Best of 2009 - Guest List - Callers

As a precursor to our impending year-end list, we've asked some of our favorite artists to select their five favorite releases of 2009. Today we have Sara Lucas, lead singer of Western Vinyl band Callers. Callers have toured with Here We Go Magic, Glass Ghost, and have the luxury of a 7.8 rating for their debut album on Pitchfork.com. The band has just completed their follow-up, due early-mid 2010 and from their performance at our last showcase, we're really excited about this release. Sara's not above it all, though. In fact, she of all the contributing artists here, is by far the most meticulous. She hit me up multiple times to make adjustments to her picks. This, I love, and fully respect! Here are Callers' well thought out picks:

Light Asylum - myspace.com/lightasylum
As of yet they are "unreleased"- it's only a matter of time. Shannon and Bruno are incredible. I saw them live this summer and it was one of the best shows i've seen in New York. Shannon is also in A Rose Parade and toured with !!!.

Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic
Some of the most original songwriting and transcending live performances. Not categorizable and always gorgeous.

Dark Dark Dark - Remix 7" - (check out Snow Magic from Blood Onion Records/Supply and Demand Music, 2008) These are remixes of songs off of their full-length, Snow Magic, released last year. Lovely people, lovely music. Look out for the film, "Flood Tide," (for which they compose the music and act) filmed during their Swimming Cities of the Switchback Seas days.

Tim Wehrle - Howler, self-released LP, vinyl only
Also goes by the name Blonde Ramone. Lives in Burlington, IA and makes beautiful art. I've been listening to his music for years.

Stagger Back Brass Band - LP Pattysounds - They are an exploding circus blender of horns, accordion and drums. The writing by Patrick Farrell sounds like nothing else out there. If a filmmaker were to create a visual manifestation based on their compositions, every motion of the human experience would be encapsulated without ever digressing from their sound.

Also (there are too many!) releases from: Javelin (Thrill Jockey), Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship? (Domino Sound), and Midnight Masses - Rapture Ready.

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

Callers at the "Secret Garden" from hoovesontheturf on Vimeo.

CALLERS

Tonight Callers play our unofficial CMJ party and we can't believe we actually landed them! The immensely talented trio of vocalist Sara Lucas, guitarist Ryan Seaton, and drummer Don Godwin spent last spring touring with Here We Go Magic and released their debut album Fortune on Western Vinyl. The band plays tonight at Tandem at 8:30. Don't miss out.

Callers at the "Secret Garden" from hoovesontheturf on Vimeo.

-via Hooves On The Turf

HERE WE GO MAGIC - Fangela

Here We Go Magic were a major highlight for me at SXSW this year. Now they're touring with Grizzly Bear. Here's the new video for the absolutely beautiful track "Fangela".

HERE WE GO MAGIC

I absolutely fell in love with Brooklyn's Here We Go Magic in Austin last week. The band is the side project of talented musician Luke Temple. The debut album was released in February. As an example of what they sound like, check out this tripped-out video for the track "Tunnelvision".

SXSW - Day 2 Girls, Here We Go Magic, The Golden Filter, Nite Jewel, JDS and more

-Girls

I started day two off at The Peacock for Gorilla vs. Bear's annual party, aptly titled Gorilla vs. Booze III. The scene was insanely crowded and unbearably hot, but it didn't stop anyone from jamming their way inside the venue to catch the amazing lineup. Brooklyn's Here We Go Magic are hands down the best new discovery I've made here in Austin. Their music is absolutely gorgeous and captivating. I think these guys will be huge really soon.

Girls played next, delivering a mostly hot & sweaty, rocked-out set, with the exception of the pain-ridden slow burner "Hellhole Ratrace". The crowd seemed to intensify when The Golden Filter took the stage. Their high energy dirty electro suited the sauna-like conditions well, but it was so packed I couldn't see a thing. Sounded fantastic though.

*****

I kind of accidentally stumbled across a great pair of sets at Todd P's party, held in the dusty backyard of Ms. Bea's, a rather rundown local bar. The setting here is gritty, but really charming. It's a trip to watch the Hispanic locals intermix with the hipsters, but it's also beautiful to see this tiny bar get an overwhelming amount of business.

-JDS

First, I caught JDS, an experimental violinist from Brooklyn who plays over tripped out samples and dramatic micro korg synthscapes. I was so taken with her music that I introduced myself to her afterwards. She was really lovely and explained how her parents owned the property, which led her to curate the "Day Into Night" portion of the Todd P event.

-Nite Jewel

Nite Jewel are an awesome new electro duo from Los Angeles. I've recently become increasingly addicted to their debut disc Good Evening and the lush sound translates perfectly live.

As the sun began to set, I headed back downtown for what turned out to be an incredible night. More on that later. Got to get back out there again!