Power to Change: The Black and White Years

As I said on my previous post on this band, based on the large venue performance in Albany and the cd, I thought these guys were about to achieve escape velocity, and at their brief set at Piano's on Thursday, it was clearer than ever, you can feel it and sense it, the BLACK AND WHITE YEARS have something very special and have what it takes to break through. The fact that they can totally impress a boomer like me and my 17 year old son indicates The Black and White Years are really on to something.

Fantastic, original, funny, theatrical, tight, richly textured tunes and performance. Scott Butler - vocals, guitars, keys, words,Landon Thompson - guitars, keys, vocals , John Aldridge - bass, brass, Billy Potts - drums, cd produced by Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads, Modern Lovers).

It was a great rocking, fun, set. They are going back in the studio shortly to record some additional songs, some of which they played at Piano's, and which will appear on an EP in the fall. Their current CD, the eponymous "The Black and White Years" with its amazing ready-for-lift-off tune, "Power to Change" (so appropos in the scheme of things, I am surprised it isn't positioned for use by a presidential candidate, although the lyrics would seem to cut closer to the needs of Al Gore), on Brando Records, currently in limited and iTune release, will go wide later this summer.

These guys currently reside Deep in the Heart of Austin, Tejas, although I believe they also hale in part from New York State and Tennessee (their tune A Dense History seems to address their current home with the affection of Hamlet holding Yorick' s skull or if you were holding and addressing a beloved pet rattlesnake). There is clearly an affinity here. With any luck they will be back to NYC to perform (and who knows, even Brooklyn, where one of the guys briefly resided during a past visit) for more live shows.

Check out their downloads, iTunes, or the cd on release. Post-punk, ska, frenetic, with deeply layered Latin, CW, and other surprises, tightly and earnestly played. Deep in the Heart of These Guys, you can tell they are onto something and it is something big.