El Campo
San Antonio, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF
Music
Press
"El Campo began playing shortly after I showed up, weaving banjo-tinged folk tunes for the crowd. Americana has become an incredibly popular genre in the last decade, and the result has been a difficulty in carving out a niche for oneself. El Campo finds that in their hopeful lyricism and vocal harmonies. Many of the songs contain three-part harmonies that give the songs a classic folk feel. The group will soon be releasing a 7” flexi-disc on Punctum Records to be followed by a full-length later in the year." - Pop Press International
"Rollicking folk has increased in popularity drastically over the last decade. Many bands do it, but El Campo is among the best. The group channels the energy of early Okkervil River and the melodies of The Byrds. El Campo manages to transport you back decades but still feel fresh and contemporary. Their new 7″, “Open Casket,” was recently released by Punctum Records, and the group will celebrate that new release with a show tonight at Cheer Up Charlies, supported by Lomelda and Ben Ballinger. Stream “Open Casket” below, and head out to Cheer Up tonight!" - Pop Press International
Now here’s some real (good) Texas music. The boys in El Campo, formerly known as Pillow Talk, have their debut long-player ready, and they’ve decided to give us an early digital taste of it. With Remember, this half Austin, half San Antone group delivers a set of shimmering Southern folk songs with slightly askew country sensibilities. Laden with banjo and pedal steel, the album feels painted the color of a summer haystack, like some memory of a life lived in a different time.
Meanwhile, second and third listens will have you focusing in on the lyrics. And what lyrics they are! Penned entirely by singer/ringleader Jerid Morris, Remember’s lyrics are rich with poetic turns, personal confessions, biting observations, and lush Hill Country (almost Southern Gothic) imagery.
This is an album you will want to sit down and spend time with. You’ll want to invite it into your living room for iced tea and Civil War history discussions. You’ll want it as a friend and as a representation of a far-removed rural life, tinted with an aching nostalgia. At ten songs and only 31 minutes, Remember will never outstay its welcome.
Standout tracks include the slightly sinister opener “Faux Fur,” the stomping hymn to loneliness “The Palo Fucking Duro,” and “Open Casket” which paints a beautiful picture of a moment between loss and acceptance. Between now and midnight Saturday Feb 8, you can listen for yourself at El Campo’s Bandcamp page. But if you miss your chance, don’t fret. Said Bandcamp page also promises that the album will be “Out soon, in real life.”
(4/5 Stars) - San Antonio Current
Our recent feature in San Antonio Magazine for SXSW 2013. - San Antonio Maganize
Spin has us listed as a 'Go Rogue' choice for SXSW viewing - Spin.com
Details regarding our official SXSW showcase in Austin. - San Antonio Express News
"I’ve only listened to a couple of tracks so far in the dank and narrow performance space nestled in the bowels of NYC’s Lit Lounge, but Pillow Talk is a surprisingly good alternative band with a country flair that works well." - Examiner.com
Pillow Talk's Faux Fur single (on Texas Is Funny) is neo-classic country with haunting melodies of heartaches and the warm voice of Jerid Reed Morris underscored with triplet banjo rolls and steel guitar. - The Austin Chronicle
Generally, musicians and music fans fall into two camps: those who believe that creativity has a shelf life and those who don’t. In the case of Pillow Talk’s Jerid Morris, 29, losing one’s creative edge is just part of growing up.
“The more you unravel the whole mystery (of music), the shittier your songs become,” he said, in a recent phone interview.
Young, angsty musicians, hell-bent on writing about high ideals and abstract thought eventually fall prey to boilerplate sentimentality and heartbreak, he said. Illustrating his dilemma, he invoked the specter of his first band, Muldoon. People frequently tell him that that group’s first album, Coat of Arms, is still one of their favorite recent records. Five years and three projects since, Morris both regrets giving up on Muldoon and insists that he can barely tune his guitar these days.
“It’s hard to write songs when you suddenly understand that everything is four chords,” he said. “That’s why Steve Vai and Joe Satriani can hardly write a song to save their ass. [Their music] is just all technicalities.”
Pillow Talk, Morris’s new project, sounds like the work of an accomplished musician embracing simplicity. The debut EP Faux Fur features none of the sprawling emo of his previous projects Muldoon, Great Northern Guns, and Stegosaur. It’s a sleepy doc of indie country birthed out of some tumultuous life events. In 2007, Morris divorced his wife of seven years and immediately got into a tortured dysfunctional relationship with someone else for another year. He said he felt like he was living life backwards, having adolescent romance experiences after his first marriage at age 25. In other words, it was perfect country material.
Meanwhile, Faux Fur is just a smattering of Pillow Talk’s catalog. Morris said there’s an analog full-length sitting in the archives of Infinity Recordings Studios in Austin that no one is ever likely to hear. That first session is the product of two years’ work (Morris recording with a rotation of guest musicians) and about $5,000. He said that Infinity owner Barrette Walton’s life was “spiraling out of control” and believes that his project suffered for it — with Walton demanding an additional $1,000 to access the original tapes. Rather than pay, Morris signed with Texas is Funny Records this summer, where he plans to stay.
Walton did not return calls for comment.
On shifting to country, Morris said the change wasn’t all that drastic. After all, emo icons like Sunny Day Real Estate and The Promise Ring aren’t all that far from Hank Williams in his sappy heyday. “They were like the kid who just got his ass beat and he’s singing a song about it and smiling,” he said. “[It’s] the idea that you can say crappy, emotional shit and, you know, laugh about it.” - The San Antonio Current
Generally, musicians and music fans fall into two camps: those who believe that creativity has a shelf life and those who don’t. In the case of Pillow Talk’s Jerid Morris, 29, losing one’s creative edge is just part of growing up.
“The more you unravel the whole mystery (of music), the shittier your songs become,” he said, in a recent phone interview.
Young, angsty musicians, hell-bent on writing about high ideals and abstract thought eventually fall prey to boilerplate sentimentality and heartbreak, he said. Illustrating his dilemma, he invoked the specter of his first band, Muldoon. People frequently tell him that that group’s first album, Coat of Arms, is still one of their favorite recent records. Five years and three projects since, Morris both regrets giving up on Muldoon and insists that he can barely tune his guitar these days.
“It’s hard to write songs when you suddenly understand that everything is four chords,” he said. “That’s why Steve Vai and Joe Satriani can hardly write a song to save their ass. [Their music] is just all technicalities.”
Pillow Talk, Morris’s new project, sounds like the work of an accomplished musician embracing simplicity. The debut EP Faux Fur features none of the sprawling emo of his previous projects Muldoon, Great Northern Guns, and Stegosaur. It’s a sleepy doc of indie country birthed out of some tumultuous life events. In 2007, Morris divorced his wife of seven years and immediately got into a tortured dysfunctional relationship with someone else for another year. He said he felt like he was living life backwards, having adolescent romance experiences after his first marriage at age 25. In other words, it was perfect country material.
Meanwhile, Faux Fur is just a smattering of Pillow Talk’s catalog. Morris said there’s an analog full-length sitting in the archives of Infinity Recordings Studios in Austin that no one is ever likely to hear. That first session is the product of two years’ work (Morris recording with a rotation of guest musicians) and about $5,000. He said that Infinity owner Barrette Walton’s life was “spiraling out of control” and believes that his project suffered for it — with Walton demanding an additional $1,000 to access the original tapes. Rather than pay, Morris signed with Texas is Funny Records this summer, where he plans to stay.
Walton did not return calls for comment.
On shifting to country, Morris said the change wasn’t all that drastic. After all, emo icons like Sunny Day Real Estate and The Promise Ring aren’t all that far from Hank Williams in his sappy heyday. “They were like the kid who just got his ass beat and he’s singing a song about it and smiling,” he said. “[It’s] the idea that you can say crappy, emotional shit and, you know, laugh about it.” - The San Antonio Current
NME features the "Faux Fur" music video on their official website. - NME: First for Music News
Artist of the Month - The Deli Austin
Pillow Talk performs live from NewTek's Streaming Studio at SXSW 2012. - NewTek
There's no shortage of country/Americana acts coming out of Saytown, with a few trying to appropriate the indie label to cut away from the pack. Only Pillow Talk (of both here and Austin) is turning that trick both honestly and effectively on their debut 7-inch EP Faux Fur. This release is a mopey slice of grown-up-but-not-old alt-country cut from the cloth of indie bands at their most western. Think Heartbreaker-era Ryan Adams with the color of Rilo Kiley and the soul of Neutral Milk Hotel. The album opens with a title track that doesn't sweep so much as glide. Songwriter Jerid Morris has a straight-faced charm, singing, "For the record, this record is my lullaby," implying that he wrote the song to help him sleep. Buried beneath the quirkiness are songs of righteous heartbreak. "Baby's Breath" begins with the exact same guitar lick (cheeky!) as the title cut, but veers into Morris confessing he's taking an unfulfilled love to the grave. His imagery of lovers' footprints fading from a hillside and wind dancing in his beloved's hair are on some James Joyce shit. This EP is for lovers, both together and apart.
??? 1/2 (out of 5 stars) - The San Antonio Current
As an alternative to the alternative, Pillow Talk makes their debut with their album "Faux Fur." What could be best described as "indie country", Pillow Talk is able to transcend these two genres and marry them together in a sound that is simplistic and versatile. The passion and sincerity behind the vocals grabs you and leads you through every song while the music guides and surprises you as it builds and compliments every member. - Renee Carta - Live on KSYM 90.1
Discography
Faux Fur 7" - Texas is Funny Records
Open Casket 7" - Punctum Records
Remember 12" LP - Punctum Records (release date: Fall 2014)
Photos
Bio
El Campo is a band from Texas. Specifically the Alamo City, home of tacos, Lone Star, and Los Spurs.
Formed by Jerid Reed Morris in 2010, El Campo (originally under the moniker Pillow Talk), is an ode to everything the songwriter was raised on. From the music of Cursive, Iron & Wine, Promise Ring, and The Weakerthans to Country staples such as George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, and Hank Williams, Morris has managed to harness all of these youthful influences into songs that beautifully depict one's feeling of heartache, loss, love, and isolation. Both captivating and poetic, Morris's words are almost autobiographical and vividly paint a picture of one man's journey through life. Accompanied by Zachary Almaguer on banjo, Nicholas Richman on pedal steel, and Rodolfo Villarreal on drums, El Campo has spent the past four years playing both regionally and nationally, allowing them the opportunity to craft a sound uniquely befitting of its South Texas origins.
Since their origination, the band has managed to release two 7-inch EP, most recently with Austin-based Punctum Record, (Rogers Sellers, Mother Falcon, Jess Williamson), have appeared as official artists at both CMJ (2012) and SXSW (2013), been named Artist of the Month by Austin Deli Magazine, and have shared the stage with Mayer Hawthorne, This Will Destroy You, Best Coast, Parenthetical Girls, Merchandise, Chelsea Light Moving, Escondido, and Band of Heathens.
This coming December, the band is set to release their full-length debut record, Remember. Mixed by Lucas Oswald (Shearwater, Old Canes) and mastered by TW Walsh (David Bazan, Damien Jurado), Remember "is an album you will want to sit down and spend time with. You’ll want to invite it into your living room for iced tea and Civil War history discussions. You’ll want it as a friend and as a representation of a far-removed rural life, tinted with an aching nostalgia. At ten songs and only 31 minutes, Remember will never outstay its welcome" (San Antonio Current). The band is also planning to tour the this coming January to promote the album's release.
Half the band lives in San Antonio, half in Austin. They do most of their serious drinking and playing in Austin. They are proud of Texas, are proud of tacos will play your town, if you'll have them.
Band Members
Links
