Apollo Up! 7-7-2006 @ WOXY.com

While in Nashville for The Clutters and The Woggles last week, a fellow patron of the Exit/In suggested that we check out Apollo Up! if we hadn't done so. Apollo Up! is a trio from Nashville including Jereme Frey (drums, vocals), Jay Leo Phillips (guitar, vocals), and Mike Shepherd (bass, vocals). I had seen the band mentioned on several blogs recently, but hadn't yet taken the time to see what they were all about. However, with all the great stuff coming out of Nashville these days I figured it was worth a shot. Fortunately, I came home to an email notifying me that they had just performed a WOXY.com session that was now up for download.

Further research revealed many references to post-punk, which tends to make me nervous. It's not that I'm afraid of the genre, it's that so many of the bands seem to sound like a rehash of the same old formula. Luckily, it appears that Apollo Up! doesn't fall into that trap. I've only had a chance to listen through this set a couple of times, but it sounds like a quality performance. Their sound is in the neighborhood of other contemporary post-punk acts, but the vocal is more Elvis Costello than Ian Curtis and they seem quite willing to carry on an extended jam (not Phish-style, mind you) when the mood strikes. Check it out for yourself:

Apollo Up!
July 7, 2006
WOXY.com session

1. introduction
2. Walking the Plank
3. Situation: Hot!
4. interview
5. Even If You Don't Die
6. Custom Critical
7. The Job's a Game
8. interview

Once again, this set is available from the WOXY.com archives, along with many other performances. I thank them for providing the set as a download. I still haven't heard Apollo Up!'s current album, Chariots of Fire, but I have heard a few tracks from it. Sounds like good stuff.

Here are some tracks from Chariots of Fire, courtesy of the band:

Apollo Up! - Walking the Plank
Apollo Up! - Cut Up
Apollo Up! - Invisible Syllable
Apollo Up! - Plans

For more on the band, see their MySpace page.

ELSEWHERE...

You Ain't No Picasso has the Oh No! Oh My! set from WOXY yesterday. Go get it!