GOBL Top 50: #33 "You Pressed the Crash Button", Novaak

I've seen many a band come and go in the five years I've been blogging.  During that time, I cannot think of a band that had as powerful of an impact with as brief of a career as Novaak.  Within the first half of 2011, the band burst onto the scene with I Am, You Are, an album filled with some of the most gorgeous electronic soundscapes to come out of the metroplex area.  And unlike many electronic based bands that seem to value either repetition or unusual sound effects over melody, Novaak always understood the importance of strong melodies and lyrics.  It also didn't hurt to have a dreamy vocalist of the caliber of Jessi James delivering these lyrics.

The band managed to create a tremendous buzz in a matter of months, only to disband in May of the same year.  Jessi James has since gone on to another musical project, Bethan.  Her musical partner in crime, Blake Panter, is currently focusing more on writing for Central Track as opposed to a musical career.  It's a shame that Novaak only left us with one full length album.  Still, it was an incredible album, and no track better captures the beautiful essence of their sound than the opening track, "You Pressed the Crash Button".  Give it a listen below.

Local Edge Playlist: 2/27/11

I first came up with the idea of posting the playlists from The Local Edge because its host Mark had gotten severely behind on posting the playlists at KDGE. That's what made me decide to post them on the blog. Well, as you've probably noticed, I'm the one who's behind on posting. I'm not going to bother with the ones I've missed, as those can be obtained on the KDGE website. But I'll bet this one isn't up there yet, so enjoy.

Oh, and speaking of cool radio shows, be on the lookout for more shows from yours truly on deepellumradio.

"Marnie", Novaak
"Dog's Light", Bravo, Max!
"Citizen", El Cento
IN STUDIO: JESSIE FRYE
"Fortune Teller"
"Prepared"
"Like a Light"
"Alyson Revere", Fishboy
"Save Me", Hares on the Mountain
"Via Matilda", Spookeasy
"Mad", The Missile Men
"My Niagra Heart", Spooky Folk

Local Edge Playlist: 1/30/11

Another great episode, complete with a live in-studio from Pale Horse. And another Ghost of Blind Lemon reference... could it get any better?


"Blow the Speakers", Legsweeper
"Throw Me Overboard", The Hope Trust
"Marnie", Novaak

IN STUDIO: PALE HORSE
"Like a Canary"
"Your Heart Is a Wild Drum Beat"
"You're No Good"

"Skull Eyes", True Widow
"Prophet", Datahowler
"I Know a Thing or Two About You", Tweed EQ
"sEVEN", Ducado VeGA
"Better Off Dead", People on Vacation

The Lucky Thirteen: 1/24/11

Standard playlist disclaimer: any artists, record labels, etc. who do not wish to be on the playlist for any reason whatsoever, email me at ghostofblindlemon@gmail.com and I will gladly remove the track. And if you'd actually like to be on the playlist, you can use the same email address to email me your mp3's. If I like the song, then odds are it'll wind up on a playlist.

1. "Supernatural", Rahim Quazi


2. "Until We Meet Again", Phoenix Hart


3. "Two Songs", Goodnight Ned
   For those looking forward to Wednesday's GOBL showcase, here's a little update. The Roomsounds, alas, are not able to play the show. Do not fear, however, as I have gotten Phoenix Hart and Madison King both to agree to do acoustic sets. Rahim Quazi will kick off the show with an acoustic set as well, primarly focusing on material from his upcoming Born on a Sunday. And of course, Goodnight Ned will end the night with a full band set. So if you need something to do on a Wednesday night, you know what to do.


4. "Set Me Free", The Red 100's
   I believe I've said before that The Red 100's are one of the bands that I predict will have a big year. I believe that statement is worth repeating. Obviously, as I have just repeated it. But seriously, there seems to be a move on the part of many bands towards a more rootsy, blues oriented sound, and The Red 100's could easily position themselves as leaders of this musical movement.


5. "Red in the Morning", Menkena
   First off, if you missed the band's CD release show at LaGrange, shame on you. I've never seen the band in finer form, and GOBL fans know how much I've always loved the band. But if you did miss Saturday's show, you can at least partially redeem yourself by going to the Kessler Theater on Friday night. They'll join a bill with another GOBL fave, Luna Matto, and Daniel Folmer will be on the bill. Or will it really be "Danny Rush"? I'll let you know if I figure out which identity shows up.


6. "Kids in My Backyard", Soviet
   Wow, this band has really come out of nowhere it seems. The band's formula seems to be pretty straight forward: write fun, catchy songs. It seems to be working for them. Who knew it was that easy?


7. "Charmed", The Bright
   The Bright has certainly received plenty of attention from local ABC affiliate WFAA (Channel 8), having played the channel's New Year's Eve show for the past two years. This particular song of theirs has really grabbed my attention more than any of their other works. It reminds me sonically of Sugarbomb, except with heavier guitars in place of Les Farrington's keyboards.


8. "You Pressed The Crash Button", Novaak
   Is it too early to start nominating best song of 2011 contenders? If not, this gorgeously performed song would be fighting for top honors.


9. "I'm Immune", Chris Holt
   Mr. Holt has really cut back on live shows, which is a shame because the tracks off A Cosmic Joke deserve to be brought to life on a regular basis. But until he plays more shows, you need to take advantage of the shows he does, like Friday's gig at Club Dada with Salim Nourallah and The Monco Poncho.


10. "Coming of the Century", Course of Empire
    After seing Mike Graff's solo performance at LaGrange this past Saturday, it inspired me to dig up this CoE classic and share it with everyone. It's very different from the Lou Reed/Stones/Bowie boogie blend played that night, but until he records some of that, you'll have to settle for this. And by settle, I mean enjoy.


11. "Buy You", Spookeasy
    Not enough people know about Spookeasy yet. I'm out to change that.


12. "Tryin' to Have a Good Time", The O's
    I've seen people use posters for GOBL showcases as Facebook profile picture. But last week was the first time I've ever had someone take a picture of the Grooveshark player on my page and use that as a profile pic. What can I say, except that featuring a new O's song can have that effect on a person.


13. "Emulate", Spector 45
    Spector 45 booked a show for this Saturday at LaGrange before Frankie Campagna passed away. The remaining band members decided to fulfill their obligations to the club, and recruited a longtime friend of Frankie's, Cody Bigham, will take over the vocal responsibilities. It obviously won't be the same, but for those who missed Frankie's last performance, consider this your chance to say goodbye to the band.

Local Edge Playlist: 1/23/11

Before starting the playlists, thanks to Mark for mentioning the blog after playing Pale Horse. Speaking of that band, they're going to be next week's in studio performance. DO NOT miss that!

Now, to recap the songs Mark played...

"Forever Today", Soviet
"Marnie", Novaak
"Say Say Say", GalleryCat
"You're No Good", Pale Horse
IN STUDIO: THE HOPE TRUST
"Won't Take Much"
"Afterglow"
"Throw Me Overboard"
"Better Off Dead", People on Vacation
"Blow the Speakers", Legsweeper
"Red and White", New Science Projects
"sEVEN", Ducado VeGA
"Set Me Free", The Red 100's
"Shivonne", Menkena

Local Edge Playlist: 12/26/10

Tonight's episode of The Local Edge with Mark featured Pete Freedman, music editor of the Dallas Observer, taking over the musical selections for the night.


"Ruded", Final Club
"Take My Advice", Wild Party
"We're Not Talking to Any More Lawyers", Analog Rebellion
"Beautiful Girl", Mr. Sleaze
"Salão Flamingo II", Branches feat. Sunnybrook
"Heart of Steel", Year of the Tiger
"Marnie", Novaak
"Worlds Destroyed", Mind Spiders
"Sociopath", Kimberly
"All Night Long", South San Gabriel