Milwaukee has always been a great destination for out-of-town bands. We have an ever-growing number of venues willing to take a flyer on bands from all over the country and the world, offering us Milwaukeeans the unique opportunity to check out some truly amazing bands we might not otherwise get to see. In this first installment of a new Music Notes feature, we take a look at a touring band that you might not be familiar with…yet. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Pterodactyl.
Check Them Out:
With The Jonesers at Frank’s Power Plant
Thursday, Dec. 8 at 9:30 p.m.
What’s The Big Deal:
Brooklyn-via-Ohio-based Pterodactyl hasn’t really been around for that long – the band’s self-titled debut album hit the streets in 2007 – but the band has already built up an impressive resume. Veterans of big-time showcases like CMJ and South By Southwest, the band recently released its third album Spills Out on Jagjaguwar, home to such seminal indie artists as Oneida, Okkervil River and Wisconsin’s own Bon Iver.
The band’s sound has undergone a wild transformation from album to album. While Pterodactyl was a disjointed, nearly all instrumental experiment in musical dissonance, the subsequent albums have transitioned to a much more accessible sound punctuated by pop-laden melodies and targeted vocals, though the backdrop remains hauntingly trippy by comparison. But the one constant throughout the band’s evolution is its ability to capture and expand upon the intensity of its recordings in a live setting.
How’s The Latest Album:
Spills Out is definitely a departure from the band’s earlier noise punk efforts. For a band that made its name on chaotic outbursts of free-form punk and manic fits of noise, this album is downright poppy. Not that there aren’t moments of screeching random Wurlitzer and discontinued toy keyboard-induced weirdness present, but overall the pop hooks, three-part harmonies and classic arrangements win out.
What Are People Saying:
“Spills Out is a satisfying album that puts a unique spin on otherwise trite indie-pop touchstones and a marriage of dissonance and charm seamless enough that, at times, it’s almost difficult to tell one from the other.” – Jeremy Aaron, AbsolutePunk.net
“It’s part Dodos polyrhythmic math-folk, part Liars drone-punk, part Sun City Girls no-wave psych, part Akron/Family tribal jam, some Beatles harmonies, even a little tube-amp-heated Walkmen, and yes a lot of Beach Boys by way of the Animal Collective (oh, hey Yeasayer).” – Drew Litowitz, Consequence of Sound
Audio:
Listen to “Nerds” by Pterodactyl here.
Video:
Watch the brand new video for “School Glue.”
Pterodactyl – “School Glue” from stereogum on Vimeo.
