Last Week’s Jams (11.17 – 11.21)
Okay, okay. So we didn’t crush it this last week, but I still feel like if you’re looking for a pound for pound playlist of solid hits under an hour, our coverage is primo. We’ve got brand new stuff from We Are Joiners, featuring one of my favorite chorus moments of the last several months. Plus, if you haven’t heard Lola, which I hadn’t, you should fix that before it’s too late. Like me, maybe a subtle guitar pop tune from the New Tigers makes your week, or maybe you want to get swept away in the synth pop of Pet Owner. I’m not sure where to lead you, but I promise there are worst places to spend an hour of your Monday.
During this time of the year, there’s slim pickings in terms of what’s out there, as labels and bands prepare to kind of whole up for the Winter, but we still have a really solid collection of jams for you. For starters, B. Gray and I met long, long ago at a Twilight Sad show at the OG Emos here in Austin (not the blasphemous new spot), so their new song gets precedent to show our love. We were really stoked to see our Internet pal Matt Kivel, currently of Austin, drop a single form his forthcoming LP, so that, of course, shows up. Then there’s just quality hit after hit, with Diles Que No Maten and Twin Shadow and Vilde and Devin Shaffer (sorry for the polysyndeton). There’s a little bit for you all!
There was a lot of really great music, and in all likelihood, we’re nearing the end of the yearly cycle, where I expect to kind of see a flutter of singles then the lists will pop up! On our end, we covered a lot of the ATX this week, with new stuff from Jet Cemetery, Don’t Get Lemon, Gus Baldwin and Living Set. There were some new tunes that really rocked me, like Deathcat‘s pop punk masterpiece, not to mention the new Winged Wheel noise pop piece. Even managed to find some room for old favorites like Living Hour, Pia Fraus and Bubblegum Lemonade among the masses! Crank this playlist up, as it starts with a banger from Possible Humans.
It was a fun week of super underground jams, though I made sure to throw in some bangers from Jay Som, Joyer and Radioactivity to kind of grab at the masses! I was really excited by the return of Hadda Be, as their new post-punk jam is opening up the playlist; I likewise was stoked to see Cistern drop new of their debut album too! Caught up late to KanKan and Pocket Full of Crumbs recent split 7″, so gave both some special love this week. Be sure that you power-pop fans check in on that Trash Man tune hanging out in the middle of the playlist, but really, not a track you’ll want to skip on this, so dig in!
As we poured through B. Gray’s photo coverage of Levitation, we also were able to get in some pretty solid tracks, even a premiere here and there, so a pretty busy week on our side. We did some Austin repping with that new Mugger tune on Friday, if you dare to let it rip! Dropped brand new stuff from Strange Passage, Marni and the Lions Constellation, all which are worthy of your listening. Plus, even got to stretch our taste a bit with the likes of Greg Weeks, Devin Shaffer and Magic Fig, so feel free to step outside the confines of today’s indie rock playlist!
It was a hectic week on my end, and RayRay up and left town (to travel to Detroit!), so I snuck in a bunch of gems I think you’ll really enjoy, all of them presented in a little playlist for your pleasure. I was stoked to see our friends in Pop Filter back with a new album and single, so be sure to listen to “Dirt Road Anthem.” Also in the unexpected great news realm, Tony Molina has a new LP on the way, and well, we’ve opted to include all 3 of the singles he released, as there’s never a bad time for Tony! We got UK stuff too, with new Pynch, Adults and Teenage Tom Petties, so that’s at least three continents represented in this 20 track collection for you all!
ATH got her groove back! Okay, maybe not entirely, but feel like we’ve gotten some solid coverage this week, bringing you some stuff that the other hit promoters might have missed. I wanted to start the playlist off this week with the new single from Massage, as that track made me rush out and count my quarters to grab a copy. RayRay reminded us that Shy Boys are still a force to be reckoned with, while B.Gray is out there encouraging those remaining tickets for Levitation to get picked up. Otherwise, we’re a little all over the place, stylistically, moving between the post-punk of Optic Sink and electronica of Sam Prekop to the quiet beauty of Greg Jamie; there’s a little something for everyone if you click play below!
There were some that covered more than us, and there were others that didn’t quite cover as much, but I’ll admit, feel like us only hitting 14 songs in a week was just scratching the surface of what came out last week. Still, we had Meritorio Records crushing the week’s end with new tunes from Strange Passage and the Wesleys. My personal favorite tune cranking out in under two minutes was that new jam from Teenage Tom Petties. Good to see the Apartments back too, so we ran the first single from their forthcoming LP, not to mention peeked back at the latest LP from The Fisheremen Three. It’s a quick run through this week, so make sure you crank it up and enjoy the ride!
It was a pretty busy week on my end, heading back into the school room and what not, but lots of great music making its way to our ears. Kicking it off with one of my favorite tracks of the year, with the latest single from Sorry, but then moves in to hear our friends I Was a King dabbling in the softer side of power-pop. Plus, the folks at Skep Wax and Slumberland keep pumping out the hits with new music from The Cords and Telephone Numbers. Really excited for you to hear the newest single from Austin’s Living Set too, if you missed it by accident; there’s another Austin act in there too named the Point, you might want to check if you’re into stretching your musical brain! Click play and see what’s up.