Austin Town Hall

One of the great things I love about Austin Psych Fest is the way the festival is slowly branching out beyond your stereotypical psychedelia into related territory.  This is the perfect case for Cali’s The Growlers, who do have some lineage, though I think their recent efforts put them well outside that spectrum.  Honestly, this is the highlight for the festival in my opinion; I’ve been jamming to their most recent record Hung at Heart since it came out earlier this year.  It has a definite California feel, especially in the bright ringing of the guitars, which is probably how they fit into the festival.  Or maybe it’s that organ hanging out on the record.  

Regardless, if you’re going to be making it out to the festival this weekend, then this should be one of the acts you check out, and if not, then you should at least fall in love with their record.

The Growlers play Sunday, April 28th at the Levitation Tent at 10:30 PM.

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Download: The Growlers – Someday [MP3]

Australian band the Laurels might not be on everyone’s list of bands to catch at this year’s Austin Psych Fest, but I’m here to tell you that if you skip over them, you’re making a huge mistake.  We caught up with the band just before the make their way here.   Read More

We’re less than a week away from the glorious Austin Psych Fest, and with so many bands coming to town, we wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the lesser known acts that should end up on your radar.  We caught up with Odonis Odonis while on tour with Metz.  Below you can read their thoughts on touring, the fest and coming to Austin.  

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We’re getting close to the Austin Psych Fest, and with that we’ve got news regarding one of the great acts that will be making their way into town: The Laurels.  You know how we love Australia, so it’s only fitting that we spread some love on this Sydney group; they’ll be releasing their new album, Plains, on April 16th.  You’ll find the new single here quite a gem; it has a quality that walks the fine line between psych rock and regulation pop music.  The vocals seem to float away, there’s some fuzzy guitar playing, but the rhythm section is solid through and through, especially the drumming. Now’s the time to start getting ready for Psych Fest folks.

It is Psych Fest Day Three. I have empty memory cards and I am well-rested. My brain is no longer trying to swell out of its cage.

What’s to do? Well, there is a little band I call Thee Oh Sees. Again, not a true fit for Psych, but who cares? They are going to put down jams. I was also excited to see the return of Dead Confederate. Can they catch the magic of their first release?

Click that box over there and read words and have photo overload.

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Day One was fun.

Day Two, however, was met with a splitting sinus headache and stories of crowded photo pits with iPhones and friends of the friends of the bands that got in as “Press”. Such is the festival atmosphere. It is like an insurance conference where normal human beings sometimes get a little nuts.

Regardless, we had a punch list and we were going to punch it. Head past the break for a few notes and plenty of pics.

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Day One at Psych Fest was pretty laid back, and I’m sort of grateful that the crowds haven’t completely caught on to this unique festival; you have to go though because the people watching alone is worth the price!  This was my first time to both venues, and I was rather impressed with both the sound and the set-up, so that bodes well for both venues as Austin’s musical landscape moves into the future.

Past the break, Brian and I will share some insight into bands that played and plenty of images from Day One…

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What do you get when you combine bits of The Black Angels with pieces of The Night Beats? The UFO Club! Reverberation Appreciation Society has been spreading the news that they’ll be offering up a limited edition vinyl collection for a split 10″ that will feature tracks from the UFO Club, as well as a few from the Night Beats. This released song is hauntingly dark, and I dare say that it probably delves more into the psychedelia than Christian Bland’s regular gig.  It’s one of those tracks that just sort of takes you through this twisted tunnel of heavy vocals and bits of guitar noise.  Definitely give this a try, and if you like it, you can stream the whole album HERE.

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Download: The UFO Club – Chapel In My Mind [MP3]