Rebel Kites Have Beautiful Simmering Folk For You

11138157_452787298228760_3574937919359158764_nRebel Kites are a London based cinematic folk band that has spent two years in the making on The Witnessing EP. Now, two years is quite a long time to spend on twenty two minutes of music, but man, does it show. The track I’ve got for you today from this band, “Atlas Sky,” is masterful in every aspect: from its sweeping movement-esque nature, to its bluesy guitars and orchestral elements. All of these parts of the song envelop you in this lush landscape of sound, and the band transitions seamlessly from one part of the track to the next with strings and then build to a gorgeous crescendo. Once you fall in love with this song, head over to their website to hear the rest of the beautiful EP.

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Heat Offer Us Something A Little Bit Different

heatersNot sure exactly what it is about this song, but the four dudes in Heat have concocted something both enchanting and strange.  I think it’s the delivery of the vocals, laid out in a matter of fact manner, that really changes the dynamic of this track.  You’ll hear a throbbing bass line and shimmering guitars working their way in and out of this tune, but it’s all set as the background for the spoken word story being given to listeners. The Montreal group will release their Rooms EP on May 4th via Kitsune.

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Chief Ghoul Does It For Me

ghoulThere’s something in the simplicity of singer-songwriters that often make it’s difficult to really immerse yourself in the music, at least for my ears.  But, occasionally you lock into something that seems really special, and you hold onto it…which is the case with Chief Ghoul.  I mean, listening to this song, the lyrics seemingly get repetitive, but the sound of the guitar and the passion in the voice just drags me in.  Must have played this song nearly a dozen times in the last thirty minutes. His newest album, III, should be hitting very soon, so keep an eye out.

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ATX Spotlight: BLXPLTN Keep On Keepin’ On

BLXPLTN

Since this band keeps putting out track after track of solid music, I’m going to keep sharing them with you. If you haven’t already gotten to know these locals who are taking our music scene by force, there’s never been a better time to start as BLXPLTN have yet another afro-punk jam. “Auf Wiedersehen” is a spunky, yet superbly infectious track that will have you falling in love with the buzzy guitars while those growling vocals give the track its bite. I think this is my favorite track I’ve heard thus far from the band and I’m delighted to share it with you. Get behind these locals, as they’re so obviously on their path to the big leagues.

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Skittle Alley Are Back At It

10477397_10152746068322091_6991957065971955556_nI feel like I’ve been neglecting my one true love, indiepop as of late.  But, luckily I was treated to a magical new tune from Skittle Alley while browsing the Internet today.  As of now, the tune is titled as a “demo,” but I kind of hope they keep the aesthetic going into the mastering process. There’s a twinkling effect to the guitars, and the vocals are delivered perfectly, leaving your heart dreaming, just as great indiepop should do. No word on when will get to hear an entire album worth of material, but if it keeps going in this direction it’s going to be marvelous.

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Fauna Shade Wrote a Rad Tune

faunaThat’s not to say that the band hasn’t written a rad tune before, but I felt like this was a good place to start, considering it’s one of the tunes featured on their upcoming Baton Rouge LP.  There’s a little bit of swagger, but a little bit of Haight-Ahsbury imitation lurking too, though the song’s much too subdued to really be a “psych” rock track…it’s more just like a really good song that I hope you’ll enjoy today. So if Fauna Shade is new to you, keep an eye on the group, as this debut could be something strong that your friends won’t be hip to just yet.

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Hear Another Birds of Night Tune

birdiesA few weeks back we were fortunate to premiere the first single off the new Birds of Night tune, and now they’ve returned with another smoldering indie rock groover.  The Denton band’s newest tune has them in the territory of early TV on the Radio, exploring the range of the vocals, yet there’s some continued progression of the seemingly non-stop soloing guitar; it creates a sensation of consistently being pushed forward, consistently enjoying yourself as your fueled by the sputtering energy. Their self-titled LP will be out on April 21st, so keep a look out.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/birdsofnight_asleepinthepine.mp3]

Download: Birds of Night – Asleep in the Pine [MP3]

 

Beauty From Wilsen

untitledWilsen is a relatively new band from New York city fronted and creatively run by the lovely Tamsin Wilsen.  As a new debut LP is coming soon, Tamsin and her band are sharing a preview of their material with this beautiful track “Garden”.  One can find elements of Feist in the song combined with some backing beats that drop at all the perfect moments.  A truly great introduction to this young artist.

Stay tuned with more information on a debut LP dropping sometime later this year.

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Super Twee Second Single from Looper

loopyPeel back my layer of punk rock epidermis and you’ll find blood running with the sound of twee.  It makes sense then that I’d be super excited about the new Looper album, Offgrid; Offline.  The outro track on the new effort is perfect, wrapping up the song in a super light-hearted atmosphere, yet still holding onto that fire that warms your heart. It’s a really simple number, but sometimes those are the most efficient songs for maximizing a great melody.  Look for this tune as part of the release of the group’s five album box set, These Things, which Mute is releasing next week.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/10-Outro-TipToe-Home.mp3]

Download: Looper – Outro (TipToe Home) [MP3]

Four For Four From Turn to Crime

ttcI debated posting this tune, seeing as I’ve posted three other singles from Turn to Crime. But, that being said, this might be my favorite of all of them, which pretty much means we’re all going to enjoy jamming out to their LP, Actions. This here is the title track of said album, and it’s sort of like an upbeat version of Elvis Depressedly (which happens to be one of my favorite acts at the moment). There’s also sort of an 80s vibe, Phil Collins did the production or something.  Please do yourself a favor and grab the record from Mugg & Bopp on April 28th.

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