Chambers
This month's selection of songs from local bands spans the gamut form homespun-weirdo folk to outright sludge metal. Needless to say, there's probably a little something for everybody in this month's Three Songs.
We ran across a Skagg Philips set this past Saturday evening in the basement of J and J's. You can count us as late to the game on this one, but we were blown away by not only his gentle timeless songs, but his beautiful voice and emphasis on lyrical storytelling. We could very easily start gushing here, so we'll try to get out quick. Jesus Christ, the Philips is the moniker of local skinny guy, Jordan Batson. Batson is currently at work on a new album entitled, "Vice Versa." We'll be sure to let you know when he's got a show coming up in the Den10. You can check out more of Skagg Philips on his Facebook page.
Chambers has been slowly leaking out tracks from their forthcoming album over the past few months. Heck, we even debuted their video our first day back. This particular song that they released at the beginning of April is the most challenging track of the bunch so far. Upon first listen, that synth pulled us out of the song. We were worried that aliens might have abducted Judson Valdez et co. during the recording process. It wasn't until about 2:50 into the song when everything kicks in at full force that we could behold the glory that was the synthesizer and then appreciate the thoughtful lyrics and instrumentation. Check out more of Chambers here.
And on the opposite side of the spectrum, we also have a song from Denton mainstays Terminator 2 this month. Terminator 2 is one of the more masculine and aggressive bands currently operating out of Denton. The only thing this particular song has in common with the Chambers song above it is the acquired taste aspect. If you're not familiar with much doom or sludge metal, this might not be up your alley. Terminator 2 is hot off of having been deemed as having one of the "Top 10 Most Badass Band Names" in DFW. Denton has it's fair share of metal, but only a little bit of it is worth a damn. This is. I Am God sounds as if it was recorded deep underground in a portion of the earth with tectonic plates converging, causing earthquakes on the service. Heck, the bass-lines and barks here were probably the cause of those little earthquakes DFW has been experiencing over the past year or so. While we're on the subject, make sure you see these men live if you ever get the chance. Even if you hate this, it'll be a good talking point for you in the future. Terminator 2 just released a self-titled full length on Handmade Birds. You can purchase their cassette here or stream it via Decibel Magazine for the time being. Also, they have plenty of upcoming dates on their Facebook page, and you can stream their namesake via Netflix at the moment, too.