THE PLAID AND BEARDS MEMO?

I give. They wore me out. They're three brothers and a cousin, from San Antonio, and I can't for the life of me figure out whether I like them or not. This doesn't usually happen after hearing a band over the course of a few years and three albums. Being the tightwad that I am, I haven't actually heard every song on those three albums. That said, there is no verdict forthcoming. I will say this: the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach produced them, and you can sorta tell. What comes to mind, is the what-if, as in, what would they have sounded like if Pat Carney (the other Black Key) had produced them? If you've heard the first Black Keys LP, which was produced by Carney, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's got a raw punch that their other LPs kind of lack.

A couple years ago, someone called Hacienda the Mexican-American Beatles. Someone was wrong. One song off of their latest sounds like the Velvet Underground meets TRex, with some pop shit thrown in ("Let Me Go," the first song below). Another sounds Strokes-ish ("Don't Turn Out the Lights"). Another sounds like Beehive and the Barracudas, with "Dirty" Milsap singing ("Don't Keep Me Waiting"). (If you get last reference, you win bonus points.) In short, they're hard to peg, that's why I'm posting them. I've been trying to figure out if they're good, bad, or just different. They do have something. What it is, I'm not sure.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Hacienda - Let Me Go mp3 (via Box.net) at The Slow Drag (Once at Box.net, look for the "download" button in the top right)
Hacienda - Don't Keep Me Waiting mp3 at The Wheel's Still In Spin
Hacienda - Don't Turn Out the Light mp3 at Ace +
Hacienda - Who's Heart Are you Breaking mp3 at Dr Mooney's 115th Dream