A Bit of Americana and a Touch of Post-Hardcore

The past weekend proved to be quite entertaining when it comes to live gigs, once again. The most wonderful experience was the live performance of Hi-Lo & In Between, a local Americana band. The band revived some very good feelings in the audience. One girl was even heard sigh “Ihana!” (“Lovely!”) as a response to the group’s tender, acoustic sound and melancholy. The sound of Hi-Lo & In Between was created with acoustic guitar, subtle drum work, double bass, violin, an occasional mandolin and Juha Timonen’s wistful vocals.

The group recently came up with a debut album called White Whale on Rocket Records. Get it if you like.. I already have one.

Hi-Lo & In Between at MySpace

A somewhat opposite end of music came to me on Saturday when I went to Vastavirta-klubi, a club that is known as the punk Mecca of Tampere. The evening’s most popular act was the Kauhava-based rock/emo/post-hardcore group Novembersoundsbetter. I found this band already last spring when I was confronted with my yearly “oh no, summer comes, the sun is shining (I thought it was supposed to be dark to the end of the world), what on earth is this??”-reaction. And as you can see, the band’s name seems to have something to do with AFI, although I’m anything but sure about if it’s intentional or not. Their music definitely has something to do with AFI.

I can’t help it. I like Novembersoundsbetter, and some other post-hardcore bands, too. I like the energy, the angst, and the interplay of normal and shrieking vocals. There are some nice melodies, too. The band released their debut album earlier this year. It’s called The Air Is Heavy with Forevers.

Novembersoundsbetter at MySpace