New Music Monday: Picture Atlantic and Head of Femur

By A Free Man on July 21st, 2008

There’s a fine line between being influenced by an artist and being derivative of an artitst and Picture Atlantic is staggering along that tightrope. The Oakland, California based quintet seems to be managing pretty well so far. They recently got the chance to open for Brit-pop brontosaurus Coldplay in California, but while Picture Atlantic’s influences clearly lie in the British Isles, they avoid the trap of sounding like a Coldplay (or Keane, or Travis) cover act. Their self-recorded and produced debut Kleos (buy) broke through the drone of backlogged music this weekend, initially because of it’s Anglophile tendencies. But the more I listened to it, the more I recognized that no matter what their influences, Picture Atlantic is a gifted act. The second track on the record, “Muses” is where frontman Nikolaus Bartunek separates himself from the pack – demonstrating remarkable vocal range. Patrick Chu’s chiming guitar is the other strength of Picture Atlantic, particularly on roarers like “The Sound of Thoughts In Limbo”. Soaring melodies and euphoric riffs aplenty, but Picture Atlantic stakes their own claim. Pick up “Kleos” for a tenner from the band and if you’re on the Left Coast of the US, they may be playing in a town near you.

August 9 – Retox Lounge – San Francisco, CA
August 23 – San Jose Skate – San Jose, CA
September 4 – Rickshaw Stop SF – San Francisco, CA
October 10 – UC Berkeley – Berkeley, CA

It’s not secret that A Free Man is a fan of horns and anytime I get a record on which a band breaks out the brass, I tend to pay closer attention. ”Whirlaway”, the opener of Head of Femur’s third long player “Great Plains”, was festooned with just enough horniness to make me sit up and listen. The good news is that rather than using horns as a novelty, the Chicago pop collective knows exactly what they are doing with the brass and all the other instruments that they use. It’s not clear to me just how big the band is – their myspace claims that “Great Plains” represents a stripped down version of Head of Femur, but it’s still a big, almost orchestral sounding act. There’s a lot going on, both musically and stylistically, but rather than sounding messy and wandering, Head of Femur puts it together in a tremendous package. It’s poppy but not cloying, danceable but not synthetic, clever but not pedantic. Stand out tracks are the title track and “Napoleon’s Boots”. “Great Plains” is out on Greyday Records and I highly recommend a listen.