Phases and Stages

Canoe

You can file away your Radiohead and Mogwai doldrums, because Austin's feel-good hit of the summer has arrived, jetting down Town Lake on white-water beer suds. Like a mad Eighties take on Sixties rock demon and former Austinite Arthur Brown, I Give You Canoe! spews forth the "holy elixir of rock roll" as the carnival barker trumpets at the beginning of the local power trio's debut. Featuring members from two of Austin's better bands, Bedbug and Dead Whale Tide, Canoe is presently more notable for securing a record deal with Pavement's Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg's Amazing Grease label. Spazzing out with the melodic, devil-may-care fun of Guided by Voices and Pavement's non sequitur wordplay, Canoe motors recklessly on greasy, thrusting riffs and hot analog squeals, squeezing out memorable melodies from every nook and cranny. Justin Preston's vocals distort into the band's noisy riffage, supercharged pop bombs dropping one after another. Doused by a Keith Emerson/Jason Lytle synth barrage, "Corndogs Are Our Friends" is destined to become a signature, a tribute to the scene's big-brother corn dogs who always know what to do. If this sounds stupid, well, you'll just have to hear it. I Give You Canoe!