My Golden Calf Plays Tonight at Lambert’s
Photo by Zach Ground.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Listening (really, re-listening) to Rituals To Make New by Austin quartet My Golden Calf has been a sort of rediscovery for me. I’d heard about the band and their shows several times, and we’d even featured the track “Powdered Wig” as KUT’s Song of the Day back in January. But it’s rather a tough gig keeping up with so many local bands, and many times, the information overload catches up to you. It’s a good idea to refresh the memory and do some additional research to rejuvenate your perspective, and I did so with the observations of writer and local blogger Tolly Moseley.
The lovely Tolly has a great blog, Austin Eavesdropper, in which she’s featured My Golden Calf and her friend, vocalist and frontman Dabney Dwelle (there’s an absolutely hysterical video Dwelle and Moseley did about the Oscars that you need to check out, by the way). In 2009, Moseley was listening to music with Dwelle when he put on an unfamiliar CD, something fantastic and charming with the most incredible vocals in it. Moseley was floored when Dwelle revealed that he was the singer, and it was his music. This was her friend, someone she thought she knew, writing brilliant songs and playing instruments. And that voice…!
My delayed reaction ran along similar lines. I’m falling more in love with their perfect pop recipe: Instantly captivating melodies, incorporating a broad range of styles like rock, electronic and folk. It’s fresh, catchy – all around quirky goodness. But the topper is Dwelle’s voice. For me, it’s surprising only because it’s sort of unexpected, perhaps because of Dwelle’s unassuming demeanor. You wouldn’t expect a voice like that to come from him. It’s this unusual mixture of sweetness and deviance. Tolly’s right – it’s very, very good.
See for yourself when My Golden Calf plays tonight at Lambert’s, 401 W. 2nd St. It’s another winning triple bill that includes Hello Wheels and songwriter Elaine Greer. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. Another killer show. Highly recommended.
Podcast: Download (2.2MB)
