A quick Parlour to Parlour alumni update

With the annual SXSW extravaganza about to let loose down in Austin, Texas, I'm slowly but surely learning of various appearances that several Parlour to Parlour alumni will be making next week. Among them are:

• Leopold and his Fiction (March 16 at Art Disaster No. 10 and March 18 at the Beauty Bar.)
• The Happy Hollows (EIGHT different appearances, check their MySpace. No excuse to miss them if you plan on attending SXSW this year.)
• Correatown (She's got four different dates, check her MySpace.)
• The New Up (Playing at the Texas Rock Fest on March 20, which is not part of SXSW, but it's the same city and same week, so I'm counting it.)

And in upcoming album release news, it appears that two Parlour to Parlour alumni have worked on their third albums with the help of a common reputable producer/mixer. Leopold and his Fiction are releasing an advance single from their forthcoming third album, and The Brother Kite (who have played SXSW in the past, but will not be there this year) have finished and titled their third album (which they are calling Isolation) and are streaming a few tracks on their web site. Who produced the Leopold record? Who mixed the Brother Kite's record? It's also the same guy who has worked with two artists I've listened to quite a bit over the last 12 months, Vetiver and Devendra Banhart. His name is Thom Monahan.

Finally, I've heard the Brother Kite's Isolation, and I can confidently say it's a subtle yet stunning evolution in their sound, one I've been hoping would happen for the past four years. Not only that, Patrick Boutwell's songs keep getting better, and I've already got a couple of favorites that are earning plenty of repeat play on my iPod. Only problem is the band doesn't have a label to distribute the record. They've been free agents since leaving Clairecords, so until someone picks them up, y'all are going to have to wait to hear this 12-song masterpiece. Any takers?

The New Up shows us what a "pleasure pad" is...

The New Up, like Le Switch, was another band whose second time crossing my path felt just like the first. Only difference this time, other than the fact that their name remained the same, was that their sound had changed. Hooking up with noted producer/engineer Jaimeson Durr (Dan the Automator, Chickenfoot), the band had streamlined their studio sound, and after stabilizing their personnel, ended up with a polished modern rock identity that translated equally well on disc and on stage. Hearing them three years after the first live show of theirs I reviewed, I felt like I was hearing a whole new band.

See the full post at Popdose.