Fest Preview Friday: Frontmen Worth The Hype

One week! We’re one week away from another weekend of fun times, great tunes, tasty beverages and tastier foods at Austin City Limits 2018. Have you figured out which bag you’re going to take to comply with the new bag rules? Have you scoped out the list of food vendors so you know what local restaurant you’re gonna support when you stumble through a crowd of hungry people for the goods (hello, yes, I’ll take 8 orders of Kimchi fries plz)? Do you have appropriate rain shoes/gear on deck for when Zilker inevitably becomes a mudpit at the first drop of rain? No? Get to stepping, the time is almost here and to the best of my knowledge our Amazon overlords won’t be delivering to the fest via drone. On a musical note, I’ve got a preview for you today of some performances that I’m expecting to be dynamic and exciting not only because of the sweet tunes they’ll be playing, but because of the men and women who will be commanding the stage. Read after the jump for this lady’s hot take on which performance are must-see for weekend one.

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Spin This Tony Jay Tune

I’ve probably told everyone I know about the new Tony Molina record and how much I love it. Now there’s another Tony from California begging for my attention; this time it’s Tony Jay. The San Fran outfit have a slew of recordings beneath their belt, and they’ve readied a new one for us today. It’s a casual bit of bedroom pop that seems timeless; I’m particularly fond of the moments at 1:11 and 2:02 where the rest of the band aid in the chorus. Not only do I hear Tony M, but it sort of reminds me the later Hunx stuff too…clean and simple, but everlasting in your memory. Tony Jay has a brand new lathe cut 7″ available for you right HERE.

New Mark Sultan Jam

Mark Sultan is the soulful voice behind the BBQ, for those of you that are King Khan fans. But, he’s always been working on his solo stuff, and he’s just announced a new album comes our way on October 12th. Perhaps its the familiarity of his voice, or the fact that his songs always seem steeped in the history of rock n’ roll, but I always find myself coming back to his music. This particular number is like a ghostly Western jaunt, riding the horse that is Sultan’s voice until the song draws to a close. Let Me Out is just a few weeks away.

https://youtu.be/MY3HE2IbrGc

Loving This Lee Corey Oswald Track

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with the new Lee Corey Oswald album and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites of the year. It’s a glorious guitar pop opus with obvious 90s era Weezer and Nada Surf comparisons. Somehow though the sound is a clear throwback, the band offer just enough of their own take to keep things sounding fresh and new. If my hype train isn’t enough to sell you on the new album, check out the band’s latest single “Head Over Heels” and enjoy.

Lee Corey Oswald will release new album Darkness, Together on October 12th via A-F Records.

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Classic Guitar Pop from Grand Union

Grand Union is going to be a new act you’ll want to keep an eye on, particularly if you’re of the guitar pop/power pop persuasion. It came to my attention by a post of Frode Stromstad, known to many as one of the principal songwriters in I Was a King. Somehow, somewhere, Frode made friends with like-minded individuals and formed this new band, recorded a few jams, and now it looks like we’ve got two great new 7″s coming our way. I think both songs we can sample at the moment are pretty spot on, so I’m not going to delve too far into specifics…just leave them here for you to enjoy. They both drop on October 26th.


Beautiful Monteagle Tune

Monteagle is the project of Nassau/Moonlight Bride songwriter Justin Giles Wilcox, and he’s finally got the tunes to leave the world with his first full length under the name. My ears here two sides to the tune, perhaps my own fragmented listening memories; the first is this powerful emotive pull from Wilcox’ voice cooing over a strummed guitar, lightly aided by backing female counterpart; the other side is this broad sweeping pastoral journey. Both sides are equally as entrancing, with perhaps a little nod to the early work of M. Ward. Midnight Noon will drop on November 30th via Fire Talk Records.

New Music from Corasandel

Corasandel is a UK outfit, stretching the expectations of what we define as shoegaze or dream pop. Today they drop their latest single, with two new tunes that show the band branching out into the distant regions of the shoegaze galaxy. Some of the guitar notes are easily set in that box, while some of the more elegant work gives an almost folk vision to the tune. The more I sit back and listen, the more I start to see some similarities with the Clientele, crafting these atmospheric post-rock songs that your body slowly absorbs. If you’re interested, grab the single HERE.

And Yet Another New Track from the Ocean Party

There’s a rule here at ATH, apparently. If the Ocean Party want to share a new song, we’re going to share it. It’s honestly one of my favorite groups, period. The diversity in songwriting alone makes the band like a hydra of pop sensibility. This new turn has this sense of longing, particularly in the way the vocal notes curl at the end. Musically, it’s steady and solemn, with slide guitar shooting off through the track’s distance. Plus, the last 40 seconds are definitely a nice extra musical bonus for listeners. The Oddfellows Hall will be out November 9th via Spunk/Emotional Response.

Digging on This New Advertisement

I know that at some point, it was fairly sacrilege to say you listened to the Dead…mostly because that led to worse things like Phish or even Leftover Salmon. But, there was a period from the band that I still think upon fondly, mostly as its rooted in the way rock n’ roll grew up in America; it seems like Seattle’s Advertisement were taking note. Their latest track will trick you from the start, almost coming off like a discordant angular guitar tune…that’s just a few riffs. Soon, that all fades away for a deep family band feel. Guitars trade lines back and forth, piano tinkers throughout, yet it’s all so tightly structured that you cannot help but to be captivated. For my two cents, I always appreciate the family style approach to songwriting…and its pulled off excellently in this number. Look for the track to appear on a new tape for Smoking Room Records, with some October shows to celebrate across the States.

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