Autovox- Measures of Attack (self-released): The Guess

Ayo, what up birds?

I could've posted nothing but the first track title and it would be obvious why this disc caught my eye. I mean come on, Raccoons Prefer Acid? How could anyone not what to know what that sounds like?

None of the other song titles are as bonkers, but they're still plenty interesting, plus I dig the art. I'm not sure what the birds have been superimposed on. Jail cell? Bank vault?

According to the credits, Autovox is two people who each play a little bit of everything, which to me says lo-fi artsy indie rock. The disc was still sealed when I bought it, so this post is my first look at the band, and the photo does not change my initial impression. Those dudes look like they know their way around all three adjectives quite thoroughly.

A closer look at the credits introduces a some doubt, though. Only Quinlan plays bass, and that seems odd under the circumstances. As far as my non-musician self can tell from interviews and histories, most guitarists can play bass too, and Autovox scan as a band where whoever has an idea for how to play a part picks up the instrument and plays it. I could let that go though; playing a rhythm instrument does require being able to get the feel right and maybe that's just not Krone's forte.

No, what really gives me pause is that Krone only plays acoustic guitar. One dude who always plays acoustic screams alt-country/Americana to me; there's a jam band or two that are also set up like that, but Americana's much more likely. The cover of Springsteen's I'm On Fire points further in that direction, although given how much the coolest covers transform the original, I'm only giving it so much weight.

So for my final guess I'm going to bet on a third genre, one that also matches all the external indicators and is the place where artsy lo-fi indie rock and Americana meet: freak folk. We'll see if I'm right on Friday.