As a Seattle venue, I respect Chop Suey. Their shows begin at decent hours—something aging individuals like myself appreciate. The bill for this rainy August evening included three artists, opening with Stencil, a band I was unfamiliar with. (The other two artists included my good Austin friends The Lovely Sparrows—stay tuned for an interview next week and a review of their debut album the week following—and local trio Toy Gun.)

It would be appropriate to begin at the end, as that’s where I learned a bit more about Stencil, their background, and their music. As Toy Gun took the stage, I took my leave (sorry guys, maybe next time) and prepared to head home. But I got caught in the cove at Chop Suey’s front door, chatting with Shawn Jones of The Lovely Sparrows and Jared Fiechtner of Stencil.

Fiechtner spoke of Stencil’s debut release, The Dead Lie Golden, and how the songs they played earlier that evening were all new—The Dead was an arrangement of several musicians and, while several new artists joined him on stage, it didn’t translate as well into the new lineup. Besides, The Dead Lie Golden was released last year and Fiechtner has been busy writing several new tunes and taking the band in a new direction the past few months, honing in on a bit of an updated sound.

What about that sound? It’s pretty catchy and reminded me a bit of a cross between a more indie Interpol with an early Dismemberment Plan—of course, I could be off here; I mean, I was hopped up on three or four cups of coffee that evening. And the old stuff, to the contrary, is a bit more orchestrated.

So in speaking with Fiechtner after the show, it became readily apparent that our paths will likely cross again. I, for one, hope it’s sooner than later.

Below is a track from that earlier album, available at CD Baby.

Stencil: The Prize [mp3]

Each Ball Of Wax compilation has a theme behind it and this one is the thirteenth quarterly comp that Seattle artist Levi Fuller has done. What Fuller does is concoct a theme (at least on some… several have no theme other than being “music to enjoy”) then gather a mass of (usually) local Pacific Northwest artists, who all write and record an exclusive song for the release. This was my first time seeing several of the performers on the list, from St Rainbow (the folks behind Hollow Earth Radio) and their eerie sampled goodness to Olie Eshleman’s instrumental loops. Virgin Of The Birds (MySpace), however, was a familiar name.

This band is the project of Jon Rooney. Though I’ve known Rooney for close to a year and a half, I only recently saw him perform for the first time. Though taller and cleaner cut, Rooney has the voice of an early Dan Bejar (Destroyer, The New Pornographers). This signature vocal sound fits well with his music, a casual folk-pop that’s easy to get into yet packed with unique hooks rare in the genre.

At Sunset Tavern on the 21st, Rooney was joined onstage by Seattle trio Secret Highways. He played a few from last year’s Mixed Choir EP and also treated us to “She’s In The Moon Again”, the song Rooney donated to Ball Of Wax 13.

This compilation features fifteen tracks, all written as a homage to the late George Carlin and his Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television. So, comp in hand, you’ll likely hear a slew of curse words with fuck and shit being the most popular. You can also pick up Mixed Choir from Virgin Of The Birds on Abandoned Love Records, while Ball Of Wax 13 is available for purchase here.

Virgin Of The Birds: Sisters At The Sound Of Dawn [mp3]

August 21, the night of the fourteenth Ball Of Wax CD release party. I dropped by Sunset Tavern here in Ballard at about 8:30, just in time to see Levi Fuller, the mastermind behind this quarterly compilation series, play his song from the album. But a highlight of the evening would come when I discovered that Smile Brigade (MySpace) would be laying down a set toward the end of the evening.

You see, I covered Smile Brigade some time ago and I had not yet had a chance to see the band live. What I remember from that feature article long ago was that Smile Brigade played some pretty damn fun power pop. And that’s what they laid out for us toward the end of the evening at the Sunset.

Their music fit well with the evening, despite an electric full band presence when most artists were solos or duos and generally acoustic at that. I introduced myself to Graham, the lead singer, before they took the stage and he mentioned their recent release, an LP titled Take The Precious Edge Off This Treacherous Ledge.

I’m looking forward to hearing more from Smile Brigade in the near future—yet another great Seattle indie-pop band. Included below is “Big Desires”, the track Smile Brigade donated to Ball Of Wax 13, available for purchase here.

Smile Brigade: Big Desires [mp3]