ACL Music Fest 2013 Sunday Reviews

Band of Heathens

Band of Heathens' fourth studio effort shouts change! Since releasing last year's 2-CD set The Double Down: Live From Denver, there's been a shuffle in personnel, with the only remaining original members being bandleaders Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi, who are now joined by a new drummer, Richard Millsap, and Trevor Nealon on keys. The biggest strength for this Austin gang was always songwriting, and that remains commendable on Sunday Morning Record, although as the title of this disc suggests, much of the raucous edges have been sanded away. In fact, there's a bit of Beatles circa Rubber Soul that wasn't present before, with cool harmonies and easygoing guitars replacing the rough, blue-eyed funk of the band's past. An attempt at generating some of the old fire via the generic "Shake the Foundation" wanders limply, but the piano-driven blues of "Miss My Life" recalls the New Orleans style they do best. Band of Heathens: a group searching for another direction. (12:20pm, Austin Ventures stage)