Butcher Bear & Charlie

Carbomb (Insect)

Butcher Bear & Charlie, the new collaboration between Attack Formation leader Ben Webster (the bear) and former Dallas Lyric Opera singer Maricela Mayo (Charlie), might be Austin’s oddest couple. The two display obvious chemistry on their debut, Carbomb, with the former’s unique, saturated beats setting the stage for the latter’s diva catwalk antics. The gimmick succeeds on the title track, an indie electro-pop duet with throbbing vintage synths and additional knob-twisting by CPG, but mostly Mayo sounds miscast in the role, which is a damn shame given the depth of Webster’s production. In “Misbehaving” he assembles rapid percussion, scrambled and looped, with subaquatic bass, while the closing “Maria’s Lightstrumental” works on distorted audio samples worthy of Damon Albarn. Austin’s finest MCs should be fist-fighting in the streets over these beats. (Saturday, 1:35pm, Blue stage)

**.5

This article appears in November 5 • 2010.

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