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We have shared Night Drive‘s singles from the Position II EP released to date, but today is the release date for the EP called Position II. I’ve often contended that many pretty good records should have been stunning EPs. This is a tight six song collection. Release party Saturday at the Parish has just a few tix left.
Opening track, unleash it…
I’d asked a while back about how people listen; ear buds, headphones, through TVs, bluetooth speakers. It actually spawned me to do some tweaking. I moved my speakers a bit further apart and into the room, tinkered with toe-in (no benefit as my kids and highs are concentric) and then reran DIRAC room compensation. If all that sounds technical, it is. However, a little effort yielded a nice benefit. The music now extends further out past the rooms walls. I know that sounds strange and pretentious, but if you ever hear it, you chase the dragon. We love our music and you should enjoy listening.
Anyway, on to some new/recent tracks to listen to intently and critically. Well start below with the latest from Lindstrom, a four song EP titled Everyone Else Is A Stranger. Syrene is the opener, a rather joyous, but tempered study with guitars joining the party a couple minutes in as the build up progresses through to the minor chords and break before smoothly flowing to an elegant end. Solid way to start the weekend.
Click through for a couple more can’t miss songs that may have been missed.
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There are plenty of nostalgia acts rolling through Austin this summer. Ive already seen The Cure and Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and Peter Gabriel are still inbound. BUT, when announced, I knew I had to see Love and Rockets. It is a shorter reunion tour, the first in over twenty years. While they did have one set in 2008, things were fairly bleak that I would get to ever see the band live. Pretty rad.
David J, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins proved that their song catalog is every bit as fresh and relevant to a not quite sold out ACL Live. Opening was artist Vinsanto delivering an introspective collection of poems as songs.
Click through for a few thoughts and plenty of pics
This post is dedicated to Nathan Lankford.
Not even a week has passed since Sigur Ros sprung a new track on the internet, the full record called TTA has been released. Spotify embed below for convenience:
Otherwise, y’all try to stay cool. Maybe I’ll see you at Love and Rockets?
I feel like we are required to share this song. Unlike many mandatory tasks, it is one that I am very happy to complete as it has been seven years since Sigur Ros shared new music, eleven years since Kjartan Sveinsson was part of the band. Haunting, brooding, cathartic, long, but not long enough. August tour dates state side are very sold out.
I recently posted about their full on new wave synth jam that harkens to earlier Depeche Mode or Japan. With the title track to their upcoming release Bitter Reflection, Body of Light goes with a movie soundtrack darkly introspective ballad, catching me completely off guard. The video features James Duval that you may recognize from Donnie Darko. Is it a step too far into nostalgia or glorious indulgence?
Body of Light will be in town as part of Oblivion Access on a day show bill with Drab Majesty and Choir Boy.
The DJs that used to drive the airwaves over at 97X WOXY are friends of ATH. Between shared interests in movies, F1, Premier League and yes, even music, we got to know the team that was on air every day playing the jams we loved. It has been more than a decade since the station moved to Austin only to be disbanded.
One annual tradition over a WOXY was the Modern Rock 500. Think of it as the everlasting gobstopper of playlists; 500 tracks as debated by Mike, Brian, Matt, Barb, Joe, etc. that were influential, impactful or just plain amazing, classics and new jams alike. In conjunction with recent news articles and podcasts involving the DJs and people behind 97X, the Modern Rock 500 is making a return. Inhailer, a pretty great intarwebs radio station in Cincinnati, is playing host. The first play through started this morning with 100 spots per day this week and full replays over the long holiday weekend. The full 500 will be available 5/29 as a complete playlist.
*bam*
Piling on to what appears to be a VERY busy day for jams, we have Lust For Youth releasing the single “Giorgia”. The track will be instantly recognizable musically with airy distorted synths, great riffs and a driving drum track. What changes here is the language. For the first time, Hannes sings in Swedish. You will still get that feeling in your chest, you will still nod your head in a melancholy that empowers. Interpret what you hear to be what you need at the moment.
Grab the digital track here. Of note, you can get their entire digital catalog for $42. Cool.
Austin City Limits Festival has announced the 2023 lineup. To be honest, I’m down for weekend one. Sure, the headliners are not the ATH cup of tea, but there are real heavy hitters in the middle lineup. I mean Bass Drum of Death, Chromeo, The Walkmen and The Mars Volta? At ACL? OK. Talking my language. In general, we get Death Grips, Poolside, The Breeders, Yves Tumor and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Weekend Two highlights M83 and Tegan and Sara.
Wristbands are on sale in a couple of hours, but AMEX card holders get early access. CLICK HERE to learn more and shout out to ACL for finally putting the real price of the wristband on the storefront, no more fees and delivery and surcharges at checkout.
ATH has seen Body of Light a few times as they have played shows with some of our favorite dark-synth-pop-jams over the years. Two legitimately nice people hailing from Arizona, we can hear in the latest material a bit of a swing towards an earlier era new wave, still dark, but the build up has well-located hooks layered in front and behind the vocals and underlying atmospheres create an anchor for the more percussive elements to flourish. The imaging on this track is lovely; headphones or well-placed speakers in your listening area, chef’s kiss.
The new record called Bitter Reflection is due 6/30, but a pre-order gets you two tracks now.
