The Blind Owls

The latest Texan beat group to channel the spirit of '65 knuckle down to it with Duncan Fletcher.

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in south Texas and the unlikely home of latest garage-beat sensations The Blind Owls. In a city Famed for palm trees, and subtropical weather The Blind Owls play music more readily associated with dank Liverpudlian cellar bars and rowdy Reeperbahn strip-joints. Their debut LP, All Day and Night, echoes Merseybeat and early Rock n' Roll with a hint of US garage, played with verve and vigor and a musicality beyond their tender years. - Shindig Magazine

Polished and catchy while still flaunting a retro rockabilly flair, All Day And Night by Corpus Christi band The Blind Owls is an upbeat and fun debut record. The Texan band does an astute job emulating the 50’s and 60’s sounds of yesteryear, all without sounding too try-hard or pretentious while they do it. With a lengthy release of fourteen tracks, as the band sings in the chorus of track two, we’re gonna have us a good time.

“All Day And Night” is the titular track of the record, and it’s so catchy and fun that you might forget to listen to the rest of the album. It’s an energetic and loose track that doesn’t sacrifice musicianship all for the sake of being quirky, a trait that The Blind Owls carries admirably throughout the record. “Good Time” continues this charming fun with another catchy chorus. The Blind Owls begins their record with a skillful aplomb.

“Sweet Baby” sounds like something that would play during prime hours at a burger and shake diner. It’s a warm and fiery offering that will surely get listeners off their seats, just in case they haven’t already. The album continues this dancy flair with ‘Nobody Else,” a number whose bass line gives it an incredibly infectious feel. Clearly, All Day And Night is more than just a novelty, as listeners will want to play this record when they feel like dancing.

“Home” is the most radio-friendly of the record, sounding like an Sunday afternoon cruising track blaring right out of your AM radio. If not for the country spunk in the vocals, the harmonica riff that chimes in near the end of the song will make you fall in love with just how charming this track is. “Better” meanwhile is another easy-listening fan favourite that gives us inklings of The Beatles, which astoundingly hasn’t really hit us yet until sixth track. This is a good thing of course, as it shows The Blind Owls have a vast knowledge of 50’s and 60’s music outside of just the British pop rock band.

The album then takes a more psychedelic turn with “Out Of My Mind,” a groovy tune that gives us some trippy guitar work and a nuanced progression that keeps us on our toes. It’s quick little voyage that leads us to “Fever,” a more garagey cut whose more loose and slightly reckless demeanour should be endearing for anyone who appreciates noisy aesthetic more than tight instrumentation. “Good To Me” has this same aesthetic too, albeit a little more polished with a more upbeat country flair.

“Searching For You” is a short but sweet little cut about finding the love of your life, its brief yet catchy and unceremonious nature appropriate for the record’s demeanour. “If They Say” is yet another loose track that then drops into an unexpected guitar solo interlude, making this a surprisingly saccharine track. It’s astounding the amount of content we’ve been treated with so far, despite the fact that there’s still three songs left and each track has actually hit us at bullet speed.

By now we wouldn’t blame you if you felt a little tired, which isn’t a knock against the band. Rather, it speaks to how a long record can be both a strength and a weakness. Indeed, the record doesn’t have the focus and cohesion that most modern-day records have, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As has been seen with All Day And Night, we get a whole lot of content.

“Mystery Man” and “Doctor” conclude the record, two solid tracks that show a more sinister side of the band. “Mystery Man” has a cool swagger that emanates in the mostly rap-spoken vocals, shouted over some fine guitar work before spiraling into another sugary chorus. When the record concludes with “Doctor,” you finally realize that the mostly upbeat band may have a secretly devious side. Here, “Doctor” sounds like a cut from a Rolling Stones record, the band singing more of an angsty lament compared to anything else on the record. “Doctor” is undoubtedly the coolest song on the record, ending All Day And Night with a stylish flair.

There’s much to like about The Blind Owl’s All Day And Night. It’s got a solid production that really lends itself to the 50’s and 60’s rock aesthetic which the band channels masterfully. The vocals are tight, the instrumentation is well-varied and skillful, and the overall feel is a charm that isn’t seen much in today’s music. Again, the length may be off-putting to some listeners, rendering this a massive album to swallow in one sitting, but it’s a record that really should be consumed for its style and ambiance. All Day And Night perfectly walks the balance between quirkiness and legitimate musicianship, with the band channeling a rare noise without coming off as too novel. For a debut it’s impressive, making The Blind Owls sound much more mature than you may expect, and it’s a record that surely makes us excited to see what comes next. - 24OurMusic

Prior to hitting play on the album – stand up and clear space.

Grabbing hold of ideas by others The Blind Owls are able to put a refreshing spin to the sound as evidenced by the opener title track All Day And Night.

Next is the scuffed guitar of Good Time and the listener is well able to believe that having a good time will be the case though the release.

The sparkling Sweet Baby trips its way in the room next to the accompaniment of a honky-tonk piano which will have you shrieking with the bridge.

Nobody Else continues the thread of infectious dance-ability in fluttering guitar strings which part way through the track change from majors to minors giving the track a double shuffle.

The fifth track – Home continues the thematic of an LP getting better as it evolves and the dampened acoustic guitar allows the audience to catch breath whilst an unanticipated harmonica joins in the moment.

Introducing that harmonics which lay at the heart of their music The Blind Owls reveal Better.

My pick of the release is the atypical Out Of My Mind which with an hypnotic off-beat and meandering pace affords The Blind Owls the opportunity to demonstrate they are more far more than straightforward.

The closer – Doctor, which takes the audience to avenues anew and the band all come to gather to finish All Day And Night with a flourish which, appropriately for the final track is the one that covers the purchase price of the full album on its own and finds the listener intrigued of future directions of travel. - Emerging Indie Bands

Corpus Christi, TX’s the Blind Owls have announced the release of their debut full length “All Day and Night” to be released via Dadstache Records on 6/17. This brand new LP follows up their acclaimed EP “Say Goodbye.” The Blind Owls play high energy 60s style rock ‘n’ roll that fans of The Beatles, Little Richard and newer bands like the Resonars will surely love. Tight vocal harmonies, killer guitar work and matching suits to boot. Check out the single from the album entitled “Mystery Man” and the B-side “Why”, which appears exclusively as part of the single and does not appear on the album.

Stream both tracks over at Cereal And Sounds, who said, “Jangly guitars, sure-fire vocals, and a Scooby-Doo reference makes this track impossible to ignore.”

A very limited number of purple cassettes are still available through the Dadstache Records store. - United Cassettes

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[PREMIERE] The Blind Owls – “Mystery Man”
Nadine SuleimanonApril 6, 2016/Comments closed

The Blind Owls are a musical DeLorean by way of Corpus Christi, Texas. Pure rock ‘n’ roll and raw talent takes you back to a 1960s day dream of surf-rock, garage-pop suit…and ties in this quartet’s case. Dylan Romel (drums), Jesse De Los Santos (guitar), Carlos Garcia (bass), and Joshua De Leon (guitar) have released the first single off their upcoming debut album, All Day and Night, and you’re going to want to listen to it all day and night.

With 14 tracks recorded in a marathon 4 days with Dylan Ely at The Loop Studios in their home town, All Day and Night follows last year’s debut EP, The Blind Owls Say Goodbye. Fresh off the SXSW craze and consistently constant Austin shows, these twangy Texans are heavy with timeless tunes and infectious individuality.“Mystery Man” follows their recently released single “Why“ (which won’t be on the album, so you should probably just buy it here), and is equally irrefutable and undeniably contagious .

Jangly guitars, sure-fire vocals, and a Scooby-Doo reference makes this track impossible to ignore.

“I know what you want
I know what you need
oh baby, it ain’t me”

It’s no mystery that The Blind Owls have a sound that isn’t just big in Texas, so pony up for their debut album to be released in June. - Cereal and Sounds

Sure, they look a lot like Ernie from My Three Sons called up Beaver Cleaver and said something like “Hey Beav, wanna start a band and play all original songs that sound kinda like the Kinks, the Yardbirds, the Searchers and those new guys, the Beatles?”

But the pop-friendly Blind Owls (from Texas, not to be confused with the New York State bluegrass band with a similar name) really do sparkle in their smartly tailored suits and beaming wide grins as they present eight new songs on Say Goodbye, complete with retro 1960’s sounds and styles.

Most of the songs have a raw, informal sound as the foursome casually toss out tight, smart originals. They seem to capture time in a bottle, echoing the British Invasion but also taking their place quality-wise alongside the groups from that era, with songs such as the innocent sounding “This Ain’t True,” the soaring “Don’t Bother” and the aggressive “That Girl is Mine.”

With seven of the eight songs clocking in at between two and three minutes, The Blind Owls create a brisk, face paced romp with condensed energy to spare. Add a whole bunch of catchy hooks … and you’re hooked. - Freetime Magazine

"Say Goodbye"

Cliff House Records

Say hello to Corpus Christi's The Blind Owls with the bands most excellent release "Say Goodbye." Darlings of this year's Lilac Festival, the band tore it up Fab Four style with a rough and raw rock 'n' roll attack — it's more like the Fantastic Four come to think of it. Now, this band is young (I think some still have their baby teeth). No matter, The Blind Owls delivers four-part harmony over some solid guitar tantrum and twang. But back to that Fab Four reference. If you happened to catch the quartet's semi-secret set at Abilene you would have heard songs — like "This Ain't True" — that Lennon and McCartney wish they had written, played by a band that bounded about the stage like drunken pin balls. Who woulda thunk it? This platter will pick you up to get down. - City Newspaper

From TFC Studios,
"It would be so easy -- upon first listen and with no knowledge of the band itself -- to write off The Blind Owls as Beatles devotees who never got over leaving the best years of their collective life behind. That's if the Owls were closing in on retirement age and actually able to remember where they were during the Kennedy Assassination. But by my admittedly casual observation, the Owls are all of maybe 20 -- I think 25 would be pushing it -- and play a classic brand of British Invasion guitar pop that was made a half century ago with more heart and fire than a dozen revival acts that tour the corporate circuit. "Say Goodbye" is a true-to-life eight-song set that sounds as if it could have come straight from the board at one of the band's sweaty shows. The songs crackle with plenty of energy, tight harmonies and loads of attitude. Even slower numbers like "This Ain't True" and "Hypnotized" radiate equal parts swagger and academic badassness not often found together in modern revival releases. Not only did the Blind Owls take great notes the day the British Invasion was covered in class, the Owls had them tattooed on their collective consciousness for immediate reference. There's not a bum note in this whole set and any of these songs sound like they could be on the "Nuggets" box set -- albeit it with better fidelity. My money's on disc opener "Goodbye" along with the cuts "Don't Bother" and "Cold Hearted Woman," but that's just splitting hairs. "Say Goodbye" will hopefully get the band noticed and on track for a full-length sooner rather than later. Get this CD (on vinyl soon) and then get to a show because that's where this band is at its best and especially because the band is in your backyard (for now)." - TFC Studios

Corpus Christi's The Blind Owls skip over the corpse of Mersey-beat era Beatles (that's the early stuff, goof), stopping only to pick their pockets for spare guitar picks, song lyric scraps and prophylactics. Owing a fair amount to the U.K.'s version of the U.S.'s version of '50s rock 'n' roll, when the genre was just a toddler and already being disregarded as a passing fad by principals, pastors, the PTA, the police and other assorted squares, - a mop-topped dumpster baby, if you will - the group offers up more gems from the garage, which at this point is the size of the Astrodome.

They don't really sound anything like the Fab Four, save for the surf-twang of a vintage Gretsch or the thud of a Hohner violin bass and two part harmonies, sharing more in common with The Standells, early Who, The Seeds or Electric Prunes. In essence, they are garage rockers, no more no less. But isn't a great garage band better than most things?

They've got the tunes and the harmonies, at least on their 8-song EP Say Goodbye. Like a Norton collection of rare garage sides, or a Nuggets or Pebbles comp, The Blind Owls do snotty, prior to punk, well. If the Sex Pistols are snotty, The Blind Owls are candy-loogey, more meat and substance, less spit and rotten teeth, like the molasses-mouth of a post-Halloween candy binge. - SA Current/Travis Buffkin