Voxtrot are the second band from Austin, Texas that we are featuring this week. I just realized this as well, but the bigger question concerning Voxtrot is: how can a bunch of guys from Texas sound so much like one of the best traditionally British bands of all time, The Smiths? I mean, we hear comparisons to Morrissey and The Smiths countless numbers of times when referring to new bands, but Voxtrot really comes as close as you can to capturing Morrissey’s charmingly sarcastic and downtrodden vocals. The only accomplished band who I recall sounding almost exactly similar to Morrissey’s vocals were The Housemartins. I shouldn’t emphasize this so heavily though, as this only applies in a certain number of songs. The Morrissey comparison can be heard most in the jangley ‘The Start Of Something’, off of their debut Raised by Wolves, which was released last year. Even the title of the song recalls The Smiths’ ‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’. The first track off of the Raised by Wolves EP is of the same name, this time calling in some other influences, primarily Wilco and Belle & Sebastian. The song is catchy and fun, along with the other songs of the short but tidy EP.
Voxtrot released another EP this year with Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives. Yes, Voxtrot has yet to release a full length album, though this year’s EP is still reaching many mid-year top of the year lists. Much like Raised by Wolves, this EP opens up with a track with the same name as the title, and it’s just a great. The chorus is catchiest I’ve heard from them, and the song is a perfect example of Voxtrot’s unique sound that still somehow manages to capture recognizable influences. The faster paced ‘Rise Up in the Dirt’ really showcases some great interaction between keys and strings, as vocalist Ramesh Srivastava sings gleefully through the floating chorus., Their most recent EP (Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives) shows the band discovering the louder and more direct rock groups, than when the first EP showed their jangle pop skills and British influences. Whatever their upcoming full length album will sound like is up to them, but all I know is that I’ll be anticipating it for quite some time.
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Voxtrot – The Start Of Something
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/vox-sta.mp3]—————————————————
The Smiths – I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/smi-ist.mp3]—————————————————
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/vox-rai.mp3]—————————————————
Voxtrot – Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/vox-mot.mp3]—————————————————
[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/vox-ris.mp3]
theyre pretty much a housemartins ripoff band, especially live.
[…] Assorted Voxtrot I absolutely love Voxtrot at the moment, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned them on here yet, so go check this entry out from Obscure Sound and make yourself acquainted. […]
this band is so lame
HEllo. Just added your link here.