YELLOWBIRDS
Songs From The Vanished Frontier

Available May 28, 2013 from The Royal Potato Family

http://yellowbirdsmusic.com/

'Songs from the Vanished Frontier,' the second album from New York’s Yellowbirds, includes love songs and breakup songs, happy numbers and sad numbers, tunes about not believing in the truth and, alternately, tunes about delivering it. There’s bracing rock ’n’ roll and bubbling folk, drifting jangle and swiveling R&B. But the thread that unites these nine instantly affecting songs is their search to find the signal amid the noise—that is, to understand the world and its whirlwind and to deliver just a little bit of clarity every three or four minutes. “What have I believed in?” Sam Cohen sings toward the end of the title track, his voice a near-murmur that peeks out from beneath the ashes of a smoldering empire. “How will I deceive me now?”

That quest for answers and assurance suits Cohen’s backstory: After the 2009 end of his longtime vehicle for wild, radiant anthems and experiments, Apollo Sunshine, Cohen thought his musical career might be over. But a clutch of songs he wrote in his bedroom soon found currency with a few New York musicians, and they started developing and playing them under the name Yellowbirds. The band’s 2011 debut, 'The Color,' received favorable reviews, with Pitchfork Media noting that the record espoused “an endearing raggedness … as though Cohen invited you into his living room.”

'Vanished Frontier' hinges on the same intimacy, but you’d never mistake it for a living room project. Indeed, for the first time, Cohen and his now full-time band (drummer Brian Kantor, singer/bassist Annie Nero, her husband and multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman) had their own studio in which to build the new songs and sounds.

“I knew the sonic possibilities were broader than ever before, so I made a point to write the entire album on an acoustic guitar before delving into recording,” says Cohen. “I wanted to believe in the songs in their rawest form.”
	
Again, he wanted to keep the signal clear from the noise, and that’s precisely what Vanished Frontier achieves. It’s not a fussy album, overpopulated by a load of special guests and strange accessories. And Cohen’s brilliant guitar playing is never flashy so much as it is functional, sending simple lines through a web of carefully chosen effects to help illustrate the stories he sings. On “Vanished Frontier,” for instance, the arid guitar seems to be shaking its world-weary head every time Cohen uncovers another lie; during the lovelorn equivocation of “Mean Maybe,” the six-string solo warps the blues into a pattern that’s as fractured as Cohen’s feelings. 

That’s not to say, of course, that these songs are spare or stripped in any way. This is still Sam Cohen, of course, draping and dressing these tunes with spectral harmonies and backmasked voices, decorative percussion and interwoven textures. It’s just that these songs now stand on their own and then glow in the presence of the band and the studio. In the end, then, the noise supports the signal.

Yellowbirds | "Young Men Of Promise"

Recorded in 2018 at Lechehouse Studios in Austin, Tx by Grammy Award winning musician Beto Martinez (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Money Chicha). "Remember" is a collection of songs Nick Diaz wrote upon returning from a 2 week trip to India. Diaz and Martinez met the previous year at a SXSW event in 2017 where Buenos Diaz played before Grupo Fantasma at Empire Control Room. Reconnecting a few months later at The Continental Gallery where Beto's group Money Chicha was holding down a Monday Night residency, the two quickly jumped into a conversation about working together. Basic tracks were recorded live to a Tascam 388 1/4" tape machine with minimal overdubs taking place in the box on Protools with Blackler Mastering putting the finishing touches on in Brooklyn, NY. 

Buenos Diaz continues tradition working with some of Austin's most in demand players including:

Electric Guitar - Beto Martinez (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout)
Bass - Mike Saint Clair (White Denim, Okkervil River, Polyphonic Spree)
Bass - Brandon Taylor (Buenos Diaz)
Drums - Greg Clifford (White Denim)
Drums - Josh Halpern (Marmalakes, Palo Duro, Shearwater)
Keyboards - Sam Powell (Eric Tessemer, Black Joe Lewis, Western Youth)
Vocals/Guitars/Percussion - Nick Diaz (Buenos Diaz, Alejandro Escovedo)

Recorded by Beto Martinez Austin, Tx
Mastered by Kevin Blackler Brooklyn, NY
Produced by Beto Martinez and Nick Diaz
Cover photo taken outside Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

Available on all digital platforms Dec 19, 2020 via Wormhole Records

OFFICIAL 2018, 2019, 2020 SXSW SHOWCASING ARTIST!  
​
a fuse of swaggering garage rock
~ AUSTIN CHRONICLE
​
if Elvis Costello came up in El Paso
~ CLOSED CAPTIONED 
​
on his way to breaking into the mainstream
~ SKOPE MAGAZINE
​
star-power that he's just starting to tap into
~ VENTS MAGAZINE
​
lo-fi loveliness! analog excellence
~ KUTX SONG OF THE DAY

www.buenosdiazmusic.com

Remember

A little bit Tex-Mex, a little bit blues, a little bit singer/songwriter, a lot of rock and roll. Born and raised in Houston, Tx, Nick Diaz honed his craft over the years spending time and performing in New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco and now Austin, Tx. 2017 and 2019 saw Diaz stand alongside Texas legend Alejandro Escovedo as his lead guitarist while Buenos Diaz drummer, Jeff Olson, held down the drum seat for Austin indie rockers White Denim. Charlotte, NC native Mike Saint Clair rounds out the trio on bass having worked with Okkervil River, White Denim and Polyphonic Spree. Buenos Diaz has released 2 full length records, 2 EP’s, along with a slew of singles released throughout the entirety of 2019. 2020 will see Buenos Diaz release their new EP "I Want You" produced by grammy award winning producer/guitarist Beto Martinez (Brownout, Grupo Fantasma). 98.9 KUTX has coined their recordings as “lo-fi loveliness and analog excellence” while No Depression Magazine said “Diaz guitar work blew me away”. Whether it’s gritty Texas blues, in your face NY punk, retro new wave, or contemporary folk, Buenos Diaz is sure to fit a taste of Texas in each song.

OFFICIAL 2018, 2019, 2020 SXSW SHOWCASING ARTIST!

In a year that would cripple most acts, Nick Diaz seems to just roll with the punches ~ Closed Cap

well on his way to breaking into the mainstream ~ SKOPE MAGAZINE 

he's got star-power that he's just starting to tap into ~ VENTS MAGAZINE

a true front man ~ TOO MUCH LOVE

lo-fi loveliness! analog excellence ~ KUTX SONG OF THE DAY

reaching a new peak with his art ~ THE INDIE SOURCE

great solos and riffs that any listener would like  ~ WLOY RADIO

Remember

buenosdiazmusic

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