Houstonist Listens: The Literary Greats' Ocean, Meet The Valley

We'll fess up right away: Houstonist has had this album for some time now. Band member Taylor Lee passed it to us a while back, and we eagerly gobbled it up, waiting for the right moment to unleash our opinions upon the teeming hordes of Houstonist readers. Yes, yes, you can order the album online, but seeing as the official CD release is this Saturday at The Continental Club, now seemed a fine time to inform the masses just how good this album really is.

If you're unfamiliar with The Literary Greats, Houstonist won't hold it against you. They haven't saturated the local market with shows, as some acts are wont to do, and they don't really hang out with a scene of "hip kids" whom everyone recognizes about town. In a way, finding your way into The Literary Greats musical realm is a bit like stumbling across an uncovered treasure chest - all of a sudden you wonder how this bit of goodness hasn't been snatched up by the masses.

That status seems bound to change with their new album, Ocean, Meet The Valley. Despite coming from an unsigned band, the album debuted at #153 on the CMJ 200 two weeks ago, and for good reason. To borrow from our esteemed colleague at Space City Rock, their brand of rock "sounds perfectly Texan," and we couldn't agree more. It's a blend of alt-country, Americana and rock, all the while avoiding being bland or cheesy.

Several factors have come together to turn what was already a talented group into a sharp, polished crew. First is the addition of Kris Becker as a full-time key jockey - his flourishes, undertones and orchestration are an integral element that really completes the music. Also important is the guru-like touch of Nashville's Chris Grainger, who recorded and mixed the album.

The true difference between Ocean and the band's eponymous debut, however, is that each of these songs was written as band, and it shows. From the opening pounding notes of the Wurlitzer on "That Mountain Yonder" it is evident that The Literary Greats mean business. Songwriter Brandon Elam's subject matter is a bit darker, but never depressing, and brothers Taylor & Darin Lee have crafted excellent guitar and bass parts, respectively. Darin's bass lines move the songs along at great pace, while Taylor drifts from scorcher riffs to the just-right meandering solos effortlessly. Chris Ginsbach's percussive drumming sounds huge when necessary and restrained when appropriate, providing dynamic balance. Perfectly placed background vocals [include a couple guest spots from another Houstonist favorite, Sara Van Buskirk] provide that magical something that sends these songs over the edge, propelling them into greatness.

Houstonist's favorite tracks include the moody, brooding "Happens Every Time", the roaring "Oh, Abilene", and the sharp opener, "That Mountain Yonder", but we can't simply stop there. The album is good from start to finish, with standout track-to-track flow - nothing feels out of place here. Even the slow, controlled "The Black Bee" has enough fill and bite to make itself at home between the rocking songs with which it resides. To top it all off, Elam's poetic lyrics resonate well, both clever and comfortable without being cliché. As he pleads on the opening track, "ooh, you've got to believe!" Congratulations, fine sirs, you've succeeded in making believers out of us.