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We are a little bit clear of ACL 2021’s two weekends. We dealt with the mental gymnastics required to attend both weekends during a pandemic. Proof of a negative test or full vaccination likely meant that Zilker Park was the safest place in Austin. But then again, a lot of people are liars.
So difficult to let go of being safe, yet so easy to get caught up in the moment.
Let’s get on to some thoughts a few photos.
Lists are arbitrary and burdensome, but why not join the fun everyone else is having? We gathered our lists, separate lists for all of us, then combined them into one that had 50 albums. What you get here are the four writers/contributors of ATH, giving you their meaningless opinions on what we thought was the jam in 2017. It’s alphabetical, and we put the initials next to it so you could track down your enemy!
No Spoilers.
Admittedly, all the huge buzz leaks out as all the kids party on Weekend One, so attending Weekend Two for the first time, I was curious as to whether or not it could keep the same vibe from its predecessor. Surprisingly, the fest didn’t seem to miss a beat.
We have photos from around the grounds, randoms and portraits, friends and colleagues, bootlickers and signs. We also have plenty of notes rehashing last week’s favorites and highlighting the changes, so read on for highlights.
It’s hard to fathom really, but we are entering festival season here in Austin! As some festivals are already going down, the massive ACL Festival has week one going down in a matter of weeks. Ready or not, you know that your boys here at Austin Town Hall will make sure you are prepared with interviews, previews, guides and photos. Entering our 9th year covering the festival, we’ve got you covered. Our very first piece of coverage is in interview form from rock n roll superstars White Reaper. Check the jump for full interview, set times, and tunes.
I’m kind of a big fan of anything that White Reaper does, so I’m pretty sad I missed this cover when it dropped last week. Better late than never though, right? White Reaper have have seemingly doubled their already high octane energy on this Deep Purple cover of “Highway Star.” They’ve chosen a more straightforward cover approach, but they still add their own punk-flair to the rock-n-roll track. Take a listen below and hear for yourself.
The band’s sophomore effort, The World’s Best American Band, came out earlier this year. Have you given it a listen?
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For anyone who has yet to check out the new album, The World’s Best American Band, from rockers White Reaper, I highly suggest you do it now. Get it here now from Polyvinyl Records. With that out of the way, I’m excited today to share the band’s latest video from the title track of their new record. Now you may or may not have already heard this song, but I suggest you also check out this badass new video for the track animated by Simon-Young. It’s sort of a School House Rock vibe if it was drawn by folks with a dirty mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B09kpkZyDtg
Sometimes you forget how much you love a band and then said band releases a new track or two and you’re instantly reminded of that affection. This was the story for this new track from White Reaper— it’s got this nostalgic rock sound mixed with the same fresh energy that this band always seem to bring to the scene. So perhaps you’ve already seen this track floating about in the internet world but didn’t have the time to take a listen. Well, now is the moment to change that. Stream the track below, put on your leather jacket and shades and get ready forThe World’s Best American Band, which is out April 7th via Polyvinyl Records.
Photo by Eric Pamies
While each day’s slated program of Primavera Sound 2016 was filled with great bands from all over the world, Thursday, the first day of the festival at Parc del Forum, was for me, the busiest of them all. Thursday had me bouncing around from stage to stage, and hustling to make the most of my time while keeping the headliners in the back of my mind. Read on after the jump to hear what were the best parts of day one and see some pictures.
In one week I’ll be touching down in Barcelona, Spain with around 200,000 of my closest friends in order to attend Primavera Sound. While you may not be in attendance, as this festival is quite a long jaunt away from the ATX, there are quite a few bands on the excellent and exciting lineup that will be making their way to our own city limits in the near future. As this is essentially the first super fest of the summer season, I’m on my way to Parc del Forum to scoop out who you must see when they come to a city near you, and who you should expect to step into the limelight of the indie world in the near future. Sure, I’m super stoked to see Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Beach House, Wild Nothing, Sigur Ros, Destroyer, Beirut, Dinosaur JR. … the list goes on. But what about those acts that get overlooked by these huge names? Read on for my top 5 international semi-under the radar acts that I’m most excited to see.
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White Reaper’s claim to fame first began after their explosive live act started turning heads and ears in Louisville, which led them to take off on a little tour in which the live act caught the attention of crowds nationwide. A little time has passed since this tour, and the four piece of young 20-somethings have used this bit of experience to craft this bombastic and raucous full length debut, White Reaper Does It Again. This record, though on the short side, is a rambunctious and explosive first album with select tracks that will surely be jammed in your head for a long time in the future.
The record’s start is explosive and immediately gripping: the first track, “Make Me Wanna Die” has enough fuzz on it to give you imagery of tv static all while you jam along. The instant you press play on the album and this song comes rapidly flooding through the speakers you can hear the band’s direction and genre fairly instantaneously— they waste no time in getting to the meat of their material. As I already mentioned, the electric guitar is ferociously fuzzy, raging through the track at high volume, the vocals from Tony Esposito are also heavily distorted and yet they crisply resound. Meanwhile, one element stands out quite cleanly from the mix, and that’s the intermittent organ sounding keyboard riffs which pop away from the mass of reverb and grit, acting like a cool wave of water to splash you in the face from the white hot guitar, vocals and cymbal-heavy drums. It’s a bright start to the record, and surely one of the bright stars on White Reaper Does It Again.
As the first track suggests, this album is a blistering shot of adrenaline to the heart from the beginning to the end and the band doesn’t ever really slow it down or pause for a break. Even in the middle of the album, where one might expect a lull in the garage rock, White Reaper give you the killer back to back duo of “Candy” and “Sheila.” The first of these two tracks centers around the rapid fire vocal delivery from Esposito, which is at once sweet and fierce. His voice, perfectly distorted, snarls and spits verse after verse, matching the guitar riffs and playfully bouncing around. These vocals are pushed to a new level on the next track, “Sheila,” on which I’m reminded of the vocals from Surfer Blood. This track simmers at the beginning, and the vocals serve as almost an agitator to bring the song to full volume. When the band bursts into the chorus, they truly shine, and all the elements come together for a buzzy whirlwind of garage rock.
While this is quite the impressive full length debut, I’ve found that some tracks simply stand out a little brighter than the rest. This is not to say those that I haven’t singled out here aren’t good or worth spending time with— on the contrary the whole record is quite gripping, but with further extended listening, there are certainly numbers that will stay with you for longer than others. Figure out which ones those are for you and spend some time with White Reaper Does It Again.
