Tag Archives: Coat Hooks

2014, EP, music, Portland

Stream: tracks from The Woolen Men & Eyelids

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“Life in Hell” by The Woolen Men is about as spontaneous a recording as one could possibly hope for. The bootleg recording quality of the track, allowing non-performance related sounds such as the clanging of dishes and glasses in the background just add to the aura of the track. The guitar holding its tuning in much the same way as a barroom honky-tonk piano (with the lowest string tuned down at least a step), while the singer’s voice carries over top with no amplification; it’s all part of the character of the recording, and it puts the listener right there in the middle of it. In a few words, I love the way that this song sounds from a recording stand point. The opening line, “I don’t belong here in this place, I don’t belong here with you” draws the listener in, with verse after verse heaping on the feelings of suppression and desperation.

The singers voice and style reminds me of an EP that I covered a few years ago by Andrew Lindsay & the Coathooks, particularly the track “The Boat Outside.” There is just something about the way that the singers’ delivery that sounds similar, or at least familiar.

And below is the claymation video for Eyelids’ track “Seagulls into Submission.” The subdued, throwback track instantly reminds me of “Twice Removed” era Sloan, or Yuck’s debut dialed way back. Either way it’s got the sort of neo-mid 90’s sound that combines elements of shoegaze’s hushed vocals, with the some chord changes and solos that sound something like Guided By Voices in a way. I know I’m throwing a lot of references around, but the track is basically a great combination of a few different sounds, and it comes out sounding perfect.

The Woolen Men and Eyelids have just put out a split 7″ with Off Records, which is where “Life In Hell” comes from. “Seagulls Into Submission” comes from Eyelids’ own 7″ of the same name, which can also be picked up through Off Records. Maybe you didn’t have a chance to get out this weekend for Record Store Day? Here’s your chance to make up for it and help support Portland’s Off Records at the same time.

2011, music, songs, tympanogram, Uncategorized

new track: Coat Hooks – "Popcorn Blues"

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(Originally appeard on Tympanogram.com on December 27, 2011)

Coat Hooks - "Popcorn Blues"
Coat Hooks - "Popcorn Blues"

Back in May I introduced you to a band out of Scotland that goes by the name Andrew Lindsay and the Coat Hooks. They had just released their fantastic The Whittling EP, that would easily end up on my year end list for Favorite EPs of 2011 had I made one. Well they are back with a truncated name (now they are simply known as Coat Hooks) and a new track, “Popcorn Blues.”

This track is right in line with those found on The Whittling EP with perfect sounding acoustic guitars this time with the added ethereal effect of overdriven and e-bowed guitar adding a perfect background layer. If you haven’t checked out The Whittling EP now would be the perfect time to do so. Also, you can download this track for free on their Bandcamp page. They also have a new EP that’s coming out soon, To the Waters and the Wild, so keep an eye on their internets for that.

[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Coat-Hooks-Popcorn-Blues.mp3|titles=Coat Hooks – Popcorn Blues]
2011, EP, music, reviews, tympanogram

EP review: Andrew Lindsay and the Coat Hooks – "The Whittling" EP

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(Originally appeared on Tympanogram here.)

Andrew Lindsay and the Coat Hooks - "The Whittling" EP
Andrew Lindsay and the Coat Hooks - "The Whittling" EP

I normally tend towards more spastic, bombastic, or otherwise -astic music, while I let the quieter stuff just pass me by. It’s not that I fail to hear the beauty of slower, more languid material, it’s just that I don’t allow myself the time to. I go for the mechanical, the loud, the mathematical – your Kraftwerk, your Interpol, your miscellaneous loud and fast bands and what have you.

This EP does it right though. It caught me off guard. The first track, “The Boat Outside,” begins delicately enough. It seems to blast off, though, not too long after. It chugs along, and I want to say that it does so happily, but there is something foreboding about the vocal melody and the way that the distorted guitar continually tries to break through to the foreground but seems to be consistently shut down and held back. This opening track has a great….hook: super catchy with a sing along chorus. It’s dynamic.

The rest of the EP is a bit more subdued, or at least it seems that way to me because I am certainly drawn in by that first track. I found myself listening carefully for that special something in the remaining tracks, more so than usual. Sometimes you can just tell that the one quality of a song that a band puts across isn’t a fluke, it’s just that in some songs it is easier to parse out precisely what it is that is grabbing your attention.

“A Grim Crossing” is another upbeat, brightly colored tune with the same excited, almost shouted, backing vocals as the opening track. The dark, Pink Floydian acoustic guitar line of “Bearded Author” is certainly the most brooding on this EP. The track also finds the vocals testing the waters of the singer’s low range.

The Whittling EP is done right by being a mini-album. Andrew Lindsay & The Coat Hooks don’t try to show us all of the things they can do in a short amount of time. Instead, they offer a compact journey of varied moods in a distinctive style. Also: Scottish accents.

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[audio:http://quartertonality.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Andrew-Lindsay-the-Coat-Hooks-The-Whittling-01-The-Boat-Outside.mp3|titles=Andrew Lindsay & the Coat Hooks – “The Boat Outside”]