Augusta music has always been more about Saturday night than Sunday morning. Whether it's James Brown or a band in town, the common thread shared by most Garden City acts has been embracing the boogie, making music to excite a crowd. Not a bad thing.
But there's always room for bands that support the quiet, that understand that the morning after is as deserving of a soundtrack as the night before.
Enter the Eleventhe Hour.
The band features Michael Ray and Adam Kronowski, known for their work with the very Saturday-night act My Instant Lunch, along with cellist Ruth Berry and vocalist Ilhawa Gallo. Sultry and soulful, the band's abstract relationship tales are built on a foundation of easy blues, cool jazz and classic soul.
What sets them apart is an ability to use disparate styles as part of a cohesive palette. Take, as an example, Here I Be , the second song on the band's new release, Making It Real . It starts as an easy, loping soul song, folky in its simplicity. Then, it segues into an almost bossa nova break. On paper -- a terrible idea. In the capable hands of the Hour, a startling and sublime moment.
The challenge for the Eleventhe Hour is finding the right audience. The easy gigs would be library, museum and bookstore performances. Though those are certainly acceptable, the band needs to find shows where it functions as more than background music. This is a special act, unique in Augusta. These songs deserve to be listened to.
DEAD CONFEDERATE IS SWEET
At the risk of sounding like a cyber stalker, I've been keeping an Internet eye on the Dead Confederate camp. I knew the Athens/Augusta act was in the studio, working on a follow-up to Wrecking Ball , the record that introduced its superdelic sludge rock to the world, and I hoped that monitoring Facebook and Twitter might offer a peek.
Ka-ching.
Evidently, the new record will be titled Sugar . Before critics dismiss it as oddly sticky sweet for the notoriously dark band, let me remind that there was once a Bob Mould-led power trio, very much in the Dead Confederate mold, that went by that name. I don't know that the title is in homage. I doubt it, but I dig the parallel.
John Agnello seems to be involved with the production. Agnello has either mixed, produced or recorded some of the more significant rock acts of the past 25 years. He's particularly close to Sonic Youth, a Dead Confederate cover favorite, and Dinosaur Jr., the trio that has become a frequent road host to the band.
That leads us to the big ta-da: It seems J. Mascis, the man responsible for the Dinosaur wall of six-string sound, plays on Sugar. Wow.
Dead Confederate will be in Augusta on Friday. I'm not asking the band for anything, but if they decide to reward faithful followers with a sugary preview, well, I won't say no.
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