Austin Free Week: Weekend Highlights

It’s time for Free Week to come to a close, but Austin isn’t going out without making a final bit of noise for you all. There’s two days left of free rock n’ roll, so this is your last time to take advantage before you have to start paying to see all these great bands. With two days left I’m going to toss out my ideas on where you should find yourself Friday and Saturday night.  Don’t forget to tip your bartender! Read more

Hook-Laden Pop from Colleen Green

What? You want danceable rock n’ roll? Well, then Colleen Green is going to give it to you.  On her first single for Hardly Art she’s offering up gritty guitar tracks backed by pulsating synth beats.  Her voice is hazily haunting in the background, leaving listeners with an endearing pop song that you’ll likely want to include on your next digi-mix. She’ll be dropping Sock It To Me on March 19th via the aforementioned label, who’ve yet to put out a bad record in their tenure.  Fans of La Sera and Best Coast will surely find themselves attracted to this tune, as well as just about everyone else. You can’t argue with a hit.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ColleenGreen_TimeInTheWorld.mp3]

Download: Colleen Green – Time In the World [MP3]

Veteran Punk from Steve Adamyk Band

You didn’t think I was going soft on you did you? I’m the resident punk rocker here, and I’ve written about Steve Adamyk Band before on these very pages.  On this new track from the group’s upcoming LP, they pummel quickly through the track, using sharp guitar chops with hints of feedback swirling.  Before you can blink, the track’s got you hooked, and then it’s over.  Sure, I could use an extra 45 seconds, but beggars can’t be choosers, right? If you dig what you hear, the band will be releasing Third on February 5th via the most excellent Dirtnap Records.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Katacombs.mp3]

Download:Steve Adamyk Band – Katacombs [MP3]

Solemn Track from Carmen Villain

I’d find it really easy to dismiss the work of Carmen Villain as some sort of kitsch, seeing as she spent a part of her early adulthood as model Carmen Hillestad.  But, after listening to the first single from her upcoming album, I find her enchanting for a wholly different reason.  There’s a slight rasp to her vocals, and the accompanying music quietly supports her quieted approach.  The album is titled Sleeper, and it’s being released by Smalltown Supersound on March 12th.  After multiple listens to the single, I definitely see the title of the release as quite fitting.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/69303873″ params=”show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

New Twee Garage Pop From Beat Marks

I’m not sure if anyone has ever used the term twee garage pop before so I plan on coining it as my own if it has yet to be claimed.  That’s the term I’m using to describe this relatively new Paris based outfit Beat Marks.  Their sound combines the twee elements of POBPAH with some of the indie garage bands like Yo la Tengo or even a touch of Sonic Youth.  Those comparisons may seem a bit bold, but I find the band might just be worthy.

You can check out a new 5 song EP by the band over on their bandcamp page coming your way from Soft Power Records.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/01-Between-My-Teeth.mp3]

Download: Beat Mark – Between My Teeth [MP3]

More New Widowspeak

We like Captured Tracks. We like Widowspeak.

“Thick as Theives” is the latest new track to hit the intarwebs. Haunting, sparse, pretty, the guitar string screech that lets you know they sound the way they sound. The album, Almanac, is out in a couple weeks, 1/22 to be exact. We look forward to it.

Stay tuned for an album review…

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/74013073″ params=”show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Catchy New Power Pop from Cocktails

The last few years have seen bands reignite our love for pure honest rock n’ roll, so we’re glad to add another excellent act of that ilk to the mix: Cocktails.  They call San Francisco home, but the way that these hooks  dig their nails into you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves with a huge audience outside of their home city.  While the power-pop element survives in the track, I’m enjoying the gentle quality of the vocal delivery.  They’ll have a new 7″ EP coming your way on February 12th via Father Daughter Records, giving you all the more reason to get your hands on a very limited run!

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/02-Hey-Winnie.mp3]

Download:Cocktails – Hey Winnie [MP3]

Exploratory Pop from Apparat

Perhaps one of the best things about our site is that it belongs to us, so we can post whatever we like, which is why I feel like this new piece from Apparat is definitely worthy of some mention.  It’s a creative piece of pop music, based around Sascha Ring’s interpretation of a theatre production of War & Peace.  It’s a pretty lofty goal to set a whole album based on such lofty note, but this is precisely what he’s done with Krieg Und Frieden (Music for Theatre), which will see a digital release from Mute Records on February 19.  Lofty as it might be, it’s also equally as beautiful.  Sit back and enjoy.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/A-Violent-Sky.mp3]

Download:Apparat – A Violent Sky [MP3]

Introducing: Tim Guy

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we get a lot of cold music submissions on ATH and many of them are fairly mediocre.  So it’s nice when we get some great music from relatively unknown musicians like singer/songwriter Tim Guy from Australia.  Now Tim has been doing his thing for over a decade having written music in New Zealand, Spain, and the aforementioned Australia.  He’s also done quite a bit of touring in his native land as well as some stints throughout Europe.  His music brings forth images of fellow folk songwriter Bonnie Prince Billy with the down home country style feel to the songs.  It’s a very real and heartfelt type of sound that makes me dream of what it might be like in the countryside of the land down under to inspire such beautiful music.

Tim is currently working on putting out a new album entitled Dreaming of a Night Mango which he plans to get to his fans sometime in early 2013.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/04-Armour-Weight.mp3]

Download: Tim Guy – Armour Weight [MP3]

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