It’s just that vibe,’ ’’ explained Walsh. “The name Chicken Music came from, I think it was a joke someone had of just, ‘What genre do you play?’ ‘Oh it’s chicken music. Tall Travis is upfront with who they are, and the essence of their eclectic group of musicians is on the table in Chicken Music. Like Kahan, Tall Travis hinges on strong details with simple language: “We burn the calendars for warmth / and the alarm clocks just for fun.” Leaderboard 2 The personal lyrics and use of the “I” are reminiscent of Noah Kahan’s poetic and personal song-writing style. The opening lines “I don’t believe in Heaven / I do believe in Hell” seemed plain to me at first, until the singer continued, “It’s down the street from here / we both lived there for years,” surprising me with its depth and intimacy. The lyrics in final song “Vampires and Poseurs” showcase the band’s range between casual and deeper lyrics that touch something real in the listener. The band explores the depth of its sound in “The Tortoise and the Hare,” which builds up to an epic instrumental peak that takes me out of my surroundings and makes me yearn for summer in rural New England. Each traditional instrument - ukulele, guitar, bass, washboard, fiddle and trumpet - is powerful on its own, and they combine together to evoke a close-knit group’s folk-punk vision. “Victim Vibes” continues a relaxed style of singing layered over tight instrumentals, which is definitely the band’s strength. The EP layers casual lyrics in a speak-singing style that is evocative of the Mountain Goats. One of the band’s inspirations for its folk-punk genre is the Mountain Goats, an indie folk band whose song “No Children” might be familiar (“You are coming down with me / hand in unlovable hand”). The EP’s first song “Alley-Oh” establishes the project’s upbeat acoustic style, with a rejuvenated bluegrass sound that reflects its influence in the traditional instrumentals. “It’s sort of fun to listen to a band or a song and be like, ‘yeah I could do this,’ but it still works,” said Walsh. I feel like it inspires a lot of honesty in songwriting.” The project is indie not in a pretentious way, but rather feels open, fun and grounded. Walsh explained that the genre is “up-tempo high-energy music with traditional instrumentation. ![]() You might be wondering what the folk-punk genre is, or, like me, love folk and punk but hadn’t yet heard of the two together. Previous records had leaned more heavily on soft indie folk songs, and we wanted to do some faster stuff.” In an interview with me, Walsh shared, “We started doing with sort of the intention of doing a slightly more folk-punk thing. One of its six members is Elliot Walsh ’24, a Cornell student who collaborates with the band from Ithaca during the semester. Tall Travis originated at the University of Vermont’s folk music club in January 2021. The six-song project starts strong and finishes honestly, putting forth an effort that may not be groundbreaking but is astonishingly authentic. 5, the Vermont-based band released their third project, a quick 19-minute listen that is crunchy and energetic. You will suffer, move on, and survive again.Some indie music is made in bedrooms, but Tall Travis’s new EP Chicken Music is made for a barn. I like to look at the song as hopeful winter will come, the snow will fall, melt, and eventually summer will be back in all its beauty. It is an unfortunate but necessary transition, similar in so many ways to the transition from familiar lovers into heartbroken strangers. He adds: “The beauty of autumn foliage in Vermont transforms into a brown and gray wasteland as we wait for the first snow. ![]() As a relationship ends, some place or someone you used to look back at so fondly quickly transforms into a memory of pain.” It’s about seeing the other side of a place you thought was only beautiful. “At its core, ‘Stick Season’ is a song about feeling left behind and feeling trapped. “Being able to tell a story, and being able to relate back to my home in New England in such an honest way, made me believe in myself again,” Kahan said. Just as winter turns to spring, and spring to summer, then summer to fall, and fall back into winter, people change while weathering the seasons of their own lives. “Stick Season,” which marks Kahan’s first official release since his long-awaited sophomore album I Was / I Am arrived last year, was brought to life by visuals that reflect the changing of seasons in his home state of Vermont.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |