Balmorhea on Daytrotter

The latest Daytrotter Session from Austin's indie-classical/chamber music majesties Balmorhea is now available for you all to consume and love. This recording features renditions of the two tracks from their recent 7" vinyl release, "Candor" and "Clamor," along with a new untitled song. I'm convinced that there is no possible way that something recorded at the Daytrotter studios can sound anything less than amazing. This is no exception. Hop over and download it right away.

In other Balmorhea news, their previously limited album Live at Sint​-​Elisabethkerk is now officially available digitally on iTunes and through Bandcamp. A physical repressing from Western Vinyl is coming soon as well. I picked up a copy during their last swing of touring, so I definitely recommend this. The added arrangements to the the live performances breathe new life into these songs. It's like hearing them for the first time all over again.

 Live at Sint​-​Elisabethkerk does contain a performance of what could be my favorite song from them, "Steerage & the Lamp." The keys on here are astonishing. Take a listen below.

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Balmorhea @ Mohawk, 02.25.11

Let me start by saying that my recent trend of naming blog posts with the artist's lyrics really won't work when the band doesn't have words in their music.

Austin band Balmorhea is directly responsible for the revelation of how much I like modern classical. Or is it called chamber music? Either way, their are some really great artists composing masterful symphonies these days— Brooklyn Rider, Clogs, Sarah Kirkland Snider— but Balmorhea is the most prolific. Lead by the duo of Michael Muller and Rob Lowe, the band has a massively impressive catalog including last year's album Constellations and their most recent release the "Candor / Clamor" 7-inch. Each project is pure awe inspiring beauty.

Mohawk was the scene of Balmorhea's first hometown show since September. Here are some photos from that night and a video of them performing the Constellations standout "Bowsprit."

I also uploaded video of "Night Squall" and "Candor" on youtube. Balmorhea is swinging around the west coast for a couple of weeks. They will be back in town for SXSW as they are part of the Western Vinyl Showcase at Lamberts on the Saturday the 19th. 

Balmorhea - Constellations

As mentioned previously here on The Blog From Mars, I'm working on a couple Austin-based pieces for Stereo Subversion. The latest of which is a review of the new release from Balmorhea.

Constellations is a damn good album. I had nothing but great things to say about it. I hate saying stuff like, 'this is one of my favorites of the year so far,' especially when it's so early in the year. But really, this is one of my favorite so far.

Excerpt... the nine tracks work as the stars, that when connected unfold an audio landscape. Using only instruments, they have created an album that is filled with more emotion, more feeling, and is as stunning than any one that uses lyrics to tell its story.

Jump over to SSv to read the entire review...

[SSv Review: Constellations]