The Weird Weeds

Weird Feelings (Sounds Are Active)

By Anne C. Johnson
Published: October 16th, 2006 | 11:05am

Austin’s the Weird Weeds, a super group of sorts featuring Nick Hennies (Jandek, Castanets), Aaron Russell (The Cherry Blossoms), and Sandy Ewen (Spiderwebs) have returned for their third release — and second full length — along with a few of their friends.

The opener, “Bad Dreams,” a mere wisp of a song that is barely over in just over a minute (like many others on Weird Feelings) warns how “silly fights make for bad dreams.” If this is the case, then who knows what sort of knock-down drag-out inspired the chilling, “In Your Arms,” which calls to mind the terror of waking up after a blackout or of trying to piece together the fragments of a bad dream. Not all of these reveries are frightening; some are poignant like “Salt Shaker,” which recalls encountering a departed loved one as in a wish-fulfillment dream. Hennies’s and Ewen’s vocal accompaniments are deceptively bare and utterly evocative. The rawness of the simple musical elements punctuates and elucidates often impenetrable lyrics. Even when there are no words, as on the two instrumentals “Nose to the Wind” and “You Win,” the meaning is unmistakable. This trio is tremendously resourceful as are most musical powers of three.

This latest was recorded early this year and really conveys the bleakness and hopelessness that go along with the frigidity winter. The Weird Weeds apparently see that this time of hibernation is also a great time for reflection and Weird Feelings, fortunately, is tempered with musings that offer glimmers of the coming thaw.