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Yo. We forgot last week. Sorry. Please forgive us. Here’s a great way to start off your Monday with a playlist of last week’s hits. We added a few from some of the records we were jamming like Mope City and Phantom Handshakes…not to mention a hit from the great album ATH Records just dropped from Space Tan! Just a nice easy hour of listening to get you in through the morning Monday blues. So yeah, no need for more…just jam to some hits.
Being a fan of Aquarian Blood, this tune was already destined to be a personal favorite, but it might also be the sort of tune that weasels its ways into the core of mainstream indie coverage. To me, it sounds like the Horrell’s are channeling an old school K Records aesthetic, though integrating it into their own brand of Tennessee folk. JB and Laura’s voices never felt so compatible as they do right here; this feels rooted in the song’s message that “love sees us through.” Personally, I love the careful acoustic notes, spontaneously interrupted by another guitar note that seems to be creeping down the scaled stairs after each mini verse, evolving into a hint of psychedelic exploration. Bending the Golden Hour is out on May28th via Goner Records.
I’ll go out and admit that I didn’t love Aquarian Blood until I caught them live touring behind A Love That Leads to War. There was something about that night, playing at Hotel Vegas, with a scattered crowd that just connected the dots between artists and music. Laurel and JB Horrell were presenting this spirited performance that felt more like a bluegrass seance, yet somehow felt right at home amongst the tattooed cool of the venue. They return today with a new single and a new LP, Bending the Golden Hour, and it very much feels like its still destined to haunt my musical bones; the guitar work is careful and ornate, using the Horrell’s overlapping vocals to beg you to come into the musical world they’ve created. It feels like the 2 have found their home in the music they’re crafting together, and as they open the doors and invite us in, we should be obliged to spend a few moments with their work. Bending the Golden Hour is out May 28th via Goner Records.
You’d think a band comprised of members of Ex Cult and NOTS (formerly) would have some sort of monstrous presence in a new project. But, that’s exactly why I love Aquarian Blood, and in fact, why I’ve always loved rock n’ roll. This isn’t a banger, or a ripper; it’s a stripped down ballad that’s about as intimate as they come. The vocals are wholly solemn, almost weary from a live well-lived. I guess for me, the band just hit that sweet spot of not-quite folk; you can hear the musical lineage on both sides of the coin, particularly with the great arrangements fleshing out the tune. This tune will be on A Love That Leads to War, the new LP out October 11th via Goner Records.
Plus! If you’re in Austin, you can catch the band with Thigh Master at Hotel Vegas tonight!
All pop and no rock makes me a dull boy, so this Aquarian Blood tune is the best way to wake us all up today. The band is comprised of JB and Laurel Horrell (he of ExCult, she formerly of Nots), and they brandished a pounding bit of discordant punk that you’d expect from the two…fleshed out with some help from their friends. It’s a frenetic pace from the get-go, and only settles down in the final thirty seconds of the tune. You want energy, you want rock? Then check out their Last Nite in Paradise LP on Goner Records on February 10th.
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