Austin stalwarts Some Say Leland and Dana Falconberry have recorded a split 7-inch, entitled After, to be jointly released by Annie Street Arts Collective and Punctum Records. They’ll celebrate with a show tomorrow night at Cactus Café. Despite the end of the Annie Street Arts Collective’s house space, where they hosted shows and events, the group continues to operate by way of hosting “secret” shows and promoting their effective house band, Some Say Leland. Band member and Annie Street organizer Lindsey Verrill works as a bridge between this project and the troupe of musicians fronted by Dana Falconberry, with whom she plays regularly. All the members of these bands carry on long lasting friendships with one another, and both bands represent the best Austin has to offer in terms of pushing traditional and Americana instrumentation into new terrain through arresting and powerful songwriting and arranging.
Both groups also embody the community spirit inherent to making music. Austin, at times, can feel like a circus of enterprise and marketing, but both Annie Street and Dana Falconberry find ways to hang on to the humanity of creating songs–playing shows on secluded islands or in national parks. With so much in common, it makes sense that these musicians have finally collaborated for a soon to be released split 7-inch. It also makes sense that the single will be co-released by Annie Street and Austin-based label Punctum Records, a label that grows every day and continues to resemble a family cooperative as they incorporate talented bands from this local community. Punctum’s important work underscores its values with each new release or communiqué.
This split reflects these realities in every regard — rather than simply two songs on opposing sides of a 7-inch vinyl, both songs are entirely collaborative efforts. On one side Some Say Leland’s Dan Grissom guides the members of both bands through a dusty, organ laden sea of percussive clicks and bright guitar parts on “Learning When to Pull the Reins.” On the other, Dana Falconberry and this collective of players conjure up a beautiful vision of watery soundscapes and lilting refrains on the sprawling, 7-minute-long track “The Dream.” Both are stunning. In keeping with these musicians’ deep commitment to holistic art, the record is available as a package with lathe cut vinyl, created by hand — must be ordered by October 2nd — and comes with a linoleum block print collaboration between Dana Falconberry and Dan Grissom, pictured above. To say that this is a special release doesn’t fully capture its significance. This little world of artists and labels is a shining example of everything music should and can be, and I’m honored to be some small part of it by sharing these tracks with you today. Listen to both below, purchase the vinyl and artwork here, and don’t miss the band’s supergroup show tomorrow night at The Cactus Café.
