Much like Nathan, I feel like our days in the blogging world are numbered as we continue to see others in the game either falter, put up gaudy pay walls,
I could wax, poetically, about the meaning of year-end lists and how they turn us onto great tunes to create our playlists, but instead, I feel like this is my
When the Levitation team made to the decision to move the fest back to being a single site festival atmosphere, the Haloween adjacent tradition was broken. BUT, they had a
Mohawk has long been a favorite venue of ours. It is a home base to start a night and hosted several of our favorite shows over the years, both touring and local. The venue has a following and has been named to best venues lists in several clickbait articles, heh. So many reasons why, but Cody Cowan has been a rock to keep making those gains. Along with being a friend and damn fine photographer, Cody will be leaving his position as GM at Mohawk to become the executive director of the Red River Cultural District. Frankly, we could not think of a better human to trust with our beloved venues. He was a leader in the initiative to get the noise curfew pushed back for Red River venues that has seen revenue increases for clubs that were affected. Chad Swiatecki has a nice intro piece up over at Austin Monitor.
What are your wants and needs for Red River? Let us know.
ps The photo is from a couple years back, but I think it works for this story.
I have been a terrible human over the last week or so leaving Nathan Wanklord to do all of the posting and I apologize for my absence. If you will have me back on a regular basis, I suggest you check out this new song called “Green With Envy” from Seattle based artist Say Hi. When I say fun, this track is obviously full a lot of joy with it’s bouncing acoustic guitar and upbeat tempo throughout the track. For those of us back to work after a long layoff, it sure is making my work week better.
Say Hi will release Caterpillar Centipede on September 7th via Euphobia Records.
Well, perhaps return isn’t the proper word choice, as Tears Run Rings have been with us most recently in 2016 with their LP In Surges. Now, they’ve popped back up with a brand new EP for one of our favorites, Shelflife and Deep Space Recordings. You’ll find below the staples that brought the group into the shoegaze realm; it features melodic guitars with just the faintest hint of distortion, waiting to erupt into a classic shimmering atmospheric. Vocals live beneath the mix, almost like faint musical whispers working behind the scenes. Feels like its too good to miss out on this one. The Somehwere EP will drop October 19th.
Indigo marks the fourth full-length studio release of Wild Nothing, the moniker for Jack Tatum’s sonic explorations in the realm of shimmery indie rock. We’ve seen Tatum’s style change with each release; a devotee to growth and expansion, Tatum is not one to rest on the early success of the band, but has pushed himself in entirely different directions. Indigo sees yet another direction, but one that functions essentially as a patchwork quilt of past soundsyou can hear elements of prior albums, but Tatum has reimagined them into an album that burns brighter and bigger than the past.
Opener and lead single, “Letting Go,” positions Tatum to soar higher on this release than before. The guitars, ever jangly and bright, ease past fans into the sound. While familiar to Nocturne at first, the track then surges into infectious pop with the choral hook. Tatums vocals are high and resonate starkly at the top of the mix, cueing us into the glossy production that is present all over Indigo.Here is a more proto-typical pop song than weve heard from the dark and simmering Wild Nothing and it’s refreshingly glorious. Not to be outdone by sultry, “Partners in Motion,” whose echo-y percussion and vocal effects make for a 80s synth banger. When Tatum sings lines like, “I had a temper/but now I’m delicate,” the vocals are doubled over and drenched with reverb, urging you to join along. A toe-tapping bass line, playful and snappy guitar licks, and saxophone flesh out the tune into something great.
While the production on this album is glossy and clean, were not so far away from the humble beginnings of Geminithat we feel alienated by Tatum’s new sound. On the contrary, at a cursory listening this record is very easy to cling to with its catchy choruses, danceable synths. You get swoon worthy moments all across the eleven tracks, but probably the most sincere chunk of is the combination of “Shallow Water” and “Through Windows.” Both songs dive into what it means to be in a loving relationship through life on the road, the former a sweeping ode and the latter a tightly wound jam. With lines like “When I’m home/ there’s nothing I’m looking for/ that you havent already found,” Tatum crafts the wonderfully genuine “Shallow Water” as a number about being off the road and completely comfortable with another, the kind of love that people yearn for. Conversely, you get “Through Windows,” about being on the road and not wanting to give it up, but recognizing at some point Tatum will give it up, but that wont be entirely a loss: “Quit this circus life/ and take off my shoes/ I’m still paying what I owe/ to be noticed by you.”
It’s not all sunny pop though–the brightest gem, for me, is “Canyon on Fire,” which is a guitar heavy track that you are immersed in for its five-minute duration and then immediately play again. A brief moment of pause between the previous instrumental interlude of “Dollhouse” washes over you before the squall of electric guitar announces itself with a roar. Soon, you’re hit with dueling riffs that perfectly compliment each other while an even bass line chugs away and airy percussion keeps everything just on the verge of chaos. Tatum weaves us a picture of Los Angeles through his eyes, each line hitting with a soothing cadence that provides lovely juxtaposition to the snarling guitars. He asks, “Who would I be without you?” addressing a love or potentially the city itself, and then answers the question with “Someone I dont know,” acknowledging that Tatum is married to the subject–be it LA or a significant other. That kind of bond has made it impossible to imagine life otherwise. This all takes places within a simmering bridge before the track surges once more into full volume for a glorious victory lap. “Canyon on Fire” merges Tatum’s impeccable songwriting with the infectious guitar riffs from Nocturne-era to make for the best track on this album.
In the end, Indigo, is a well written record about love and being deep in the waters of it. Unencumbered by irony and disdain in an otherwise bitter world, the soaring pop of this album makes for a sincere feel-good (and just damn good) eleven tracks of escape, though far from devoid of introspection. Tatum has found his stride, crafting a collection of songs that youll find hard to turn from. Indigo is both intimate and lofty, hoisting you up with each track as it flies to new heights for dream pop.
There’s so many people releasing albums nowadays that your’e likely to let something delicious slip by you. Such was the case when a friend sent me the recent EP from UK outfit, Gladness; I’ve been jamming their Limbo EP pretty steadily for the last few hours. As mentioned above, there’s a definite element of slowcore at play, akin to recent New Year stuff, but with that said, there’s a touch of the more modern in it. The guitars are a bit more crisp, and the vocals when used, hide deep inside the mix like an additional instrument meant to affect your mood. Maybe its up your alley?
If you stumble upon our site here, you’ll see, at least in my post that there’s a definite influence of C86-esque acts. The legendary compilation hasn’t just influenced myself, but countless others…and several of those have united to cover various acts from the compilation, as well as a few that weren’t on it (but fit in the genre nonetheless). Acts we’ve covered this year such as Pia Fraus (Shelflife), Nah and Skating Party all take a stab at their favorite groups from the period. At this moment, it’s running as NYOP over on band camp…though donations are always encouraged. Stream the whole compilation below via Fadeawayradiate Records.
Ever on the front lines of Austin’s electronic music scene, Holodeck Records have got another star-in-waiting with Samantha Glass. But, before the full length drops, we should lend an ear and eye to their recent video for “Cruel Anxiety.” The track builds with layering hollow percussion atop synth lines for a solid minute, with these distant atmospheric noises popping up. The tones of Beau Devereaux are heavy, adding to the dark undertones the track provides. But, much like the juxtapose color scheme of the black and white video, Beau’s voice has this slight melodic inflection as they deliver lines, allowing everything to come full circle. Nine Memories Between Impression and Imprint will be out on October 12th.
Mark Monnone penned albums take up a great deal of space in my personal collection, so as he ventures out on his own again under the name Monnone Alone it seems like the only appropriate way to end a Friday. Whether or not you fawned over the Lucksmiths, I think any fan of pop music would have a difficult time turning their ear away from these two gems. The A-side on this new 7″ definitely has its way with melody, though the volume is quite forceful, allowing the rock n’ roll underbelly to surge through your walls. On the B-side you get more of a playful charm, a touch more light-hearted, though equally as emotively striking. Luckily, these two tracks come with a promise of a new LP in 2019.
If ever Sea Pinks were going to fashion themselves as post-punk(ers), then perhaps this new single is precisely the tune that would draw that line in the sand. It opens with this bobbing bass line that functions underneath a dancing guitar line, jumping in and out of the mix. Momentarily, we hit a chorus where euphoric pop moments explode through the speakers, just before the waves recede to, once again, reveal the post-punk vibel the song moves back and forth between those two movements, always on point. The group will release their 7th official LP, Rockpool Blue, on Septmber 28th via their label, CF Records.
I’m really connecting with the work of Bobey as of late. Sure, the looping technique is not a new fad by any means, but I think what works is the way he connects each overlapping musical unit to maximize its melodic appeal. He then goes on to attach his own voice to those melodies, then adds further textures, loops his vocals and you’re just sitting there swooning. There’s so much going on, and yet its one man, one vision; it always captivating from start to finish, which is perhaps why I’m always so impressed. If you’re into the sound, then look for his record, Siblings, via Golden Brown Music today!
Mohawk has long been a favorite venue of ours. It is a home base to start a night and hosted several of our favorite shows over the years, both touring and local. The venue has a following and has been named to best venues lists in several clickbait articles, heh. So many reasons why, but Cody Cowan has been a rock to keep making those gains. Along with being a friend and damn fine photographer, Cody will be leaving his position as GM at Mohawk to become the executive director of the Red River Cultural District. Frankly, we could not think of a better human to trust with our beloved venues. He was a leader in the initiative to get the noise curfew pushed back for Red River venues that has seen revenue increases for clubs that were affected. Chad Swiatecki has a nice intro piece up over at Austin Monitor. 
Rating: 
There’s so many people releasing albums nowadays that your’e likely to let something delicious slip by you. Such was the case when a friend sent me the recent EP from UK outfit, 
If you stumble upon our site here, you’ll see, at least in my post that there’s a definite influence of C86-esque acts. The legendary compilation hasn’t just influenced myself, but countless others…and several of those have united to cover various acts from the compilation, as well as a few that weren’t on it (but fit in the genre nonetheless). Acts we’ve covered this year such as Pia Fraus (Shelflife), Nah and Skating Party all take a stab at their favorite groups from the period. At this moment, it’s running as NYOP over on band camp…though donations are always encouraged. Stream the whole compilation below via 
Mark Monnone penned albums take up a great deal of space in my personal collection, so as he ventures out on his own again under the name 
If ever 
I’m really connecting with the work of