Central Heat Exchange Share Almost to You

We’ve previously written about the group project Central Heat Exchange, featuring members of Varsity, Living Hour and Daphne Tunes…but I’ll be open here…this one gets a little close to home as the vocals come from our friend Santi of Daphne Tunes. I love the song’s construction, feeling like it’s brimming with textural heaviness, while still seemingly floating in nature due to Santi’s vocals here; he’s got this magical touch that seems to feather every note, providing this endless coziness. The video, whether intentional or not, seems to kind of capture the band’s spirit, though perhaps not capture the band. It’s a bunch of friends, playing and skating and doing their thing, much like the members of Central Heat Exchange accomplished in crafting this LP. The self-titled album is out on September 10th, courtesy of Sunroom/Citrus City/Birthday Cake Media.

Central Heat Exchange Share Debut Single

We’ve been hearing rumors of Central Heat Exchange, primarily through out distant connection with Santi of Daphne Tunes/Growl, who is actually in the band; we also knew it was a supergroup of sorts, featuring various members from Varsity, Pool Holograph and Living Hour, not to mention their friends and cohorts. Today, we finally get the joy of the first single, with an announcement they’ve signed with Birthday Cake/Citrus City/Sunroom for their debut LP. Being a fan of all the members, I had high hopes, but they’ve really knocked it out of the park here. The vocals feel like a cool crisp bike ride through hilly territory, cruising lightly, wind at your back. And, while I like the soft jangle approach, there’s these little peaks and valleys in the musical melody that really works its way under your skin. I think my favorite ten seconds comes between 2:20 and 2:30, so be sure to tune in all the way to the end. We’ll keep you posted when we get more news about the LP!

Teddy Glass Drop Ultra Violet

Friday’s are great for new music, and what’s better than new music from your friends? Well, here we are with an upbeat number from our friends over in Teddy Glass, which features Peter from Daphne Tunes and Josh from ATH alum Marmalakes. They’ve crafted this tune with a little spin on their sound, adding a more lively groove to Peter’s great guitar play; it almost has an R&B pop groove working through it, particularly when he stretches his voice to hit those high notes. If you’re in the mood for a nice little smooth pop jam to slide into that breakfast booth with ya, then look no further! They’ll be celebrating the release of his new single with a live performance on their Insta!

Daphne Tunes Organizes Covered

Our good friend Santiago has been a big part of our site and our label; the label released an LP from his band Growl, and last week we released the Pelvis Wrestley tape, a band of which he is a part. But, he’s really been focusing the last few years on Daphne Tunes, and this time around he’s organized a bunch of friends to throw together some recordings of their favorite tunes; the release is aptly called Covered. There are some other ATH Records alums on here in the form of J Halp (of Marmalakes) and Most Likely (Sam of Growl), but also some great locals we love like Emily and Al of Van Mary or Teddy Glass. Just wanted to give a shout out to the release, with all proceeds going to Urban Roots Initiative. Stream it, love it, buy it, enjoy it.

Daphne Tunes Share Thinkin on a Mem Video

Daphne Tunes is helmed by one of our dear friends, Santiago; he formerly fronted ATH act Growl (those LPs are $5!). But, don’t let our allegiance to our friends steer you away from the playful video below, directed by Santi himself. Plus, we’re really picky, and we only love the greatest voices out there…so just listen to those pipes and I think you’ll get why we love his work so much. I love the guitar work here too, the way it kind of shuffles up your feet, getting your body swinging naturally from side to side. Right now I’m thinkin’ on a mem, and missing this band’s live sets! If you dig, you can grab Volume 2 from Uncool Records.

Slack Capital 3 Drops Tomorrow

Every so often, I team up with our friend Eric from Big Bill to curate Slack Capital compilations. This year, we began working early in the COVID shutdown, along with new help from the supreme booking team that is Howdy Gals. We’ve dropped a few tunes already from Christelle Bofale and Sun June, but we wanted to give you one last taste before the compilation goes live tomorrow. 100% of proceeds raised will go to Austin Justice Coalition…plus, since its only available on Bandcamp, a percentage of their profits is going to NAACP!

We wanted to illustrate the compilation’s broad musical swath, so we’ve got a little hip-hop, a touch of electro-pop, and a few beautiful ballads. The 41 track compilation goes live tomorrow!




Show Preview: Good Morning @ Mohawk

I’ve been writing about Good Morning for several years now, but since Prize//Reward, the band really seem to have found themselves on a quick rise to popularity, leading us to the very recent release of Basketball Breakups. Tonight, the Aussie bunch bring their sounds to Austin for the first time (as far as I can remember), and why not celebrate them for just making it overseas, as it’s getting super hard for those overseas acts to make it onto our shores. I think the casual pop of the band has them poised to breakout over here, so tonight might be your chance to catch them on the ascendancy. Plus, they’re supported by two of our favorite locals in Daphne Tunes and Pelvis Wrestley. Tickets are scarce, so hunt one down if you dare!

Daphne Tunes Share Thinkin on a Mem

It’s really hard not to get personal when writing about Daphne Tunes; I’ve been writing about lead songwriter Santiago RD for what seems like years, not to mention releases I’ve done with he and the rest. But, I try to always work with good humans…and this band is full of some of the best. Alas…there’s a song at play here, I swear. Let’s take on those guitars first. Here they have this almost 80s soft rock swagger, mixed in between some really soft guitar jangles that leave plenty of space. Why space? Well, because Santiago has one of those special voices you wish could accompany you anywhere; he weaves his vocal lines so naturally into the fabric of the song that it almost becomes this added layer of melody. Hands down one of my favorite voices in Austin. Hearing this song just makes me feel like the world does indeed have promise, like we have reason to celebrate. It’ll appear on the band’s new album, Volume 2, which will be packaged with Volume 1 on nice shiny vinyl on October 4th, courtesy of Uncool Records.

Thursday Night ATX Shows

It’s just one of those nights where you could practically walk downtown, fall over and land at a really incredible show. I’ve got my own eyes set on bouncing around to a few, but let’s see if we can’t point you in the proper direction…I gave you some hints, but you can also catch Hootie and the Blowfish if that’s your prerogative.

 

 

Darkbird, Daphne Tunes, The Lovely Sparrows, Royal Forest @ Cheer Up Charlies – 9 PM

Culture Abuse, Single Drop, Tony Molina @ Empire – 8 PM

Ryley Walker + Charles Rumback, The Hatch @ Beerland – 8 PM

Vundabar + Together Pangea, Dehd @ Barracuda – 8 PM

Caleb de Casper, CHEAP WAVE, MeanGirls, HiFi Kids @ Dozen Street – 8:30 PM

Sour Notes (7″ Release), Magic Rockers of Texas, Black Basements @ Hotel Vegas – 9 PM

Chill Russell, Dayeaeter, Arch Set Empire @ Swan Dive – 9:30 PM



KVRX Fest 2019

Last weekend, we welcomed a new comer to the Red River Cultural District in the form of KVRX Fest. While KVRX has long been a staple in our Austin music scene, this was their first go round of a festival of sorts and they came in hot, booking 40 bands across two stages to tout the title of largest College Radio music festival. Brian and I served as emissaries for the ATH crew and ventured out for both Friday and Saturday of the festival. Follow the jump to see some excellent (as always) photos from B.Gray and some general thoughts on the first run of the fest.

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