Family Mart Share My Anarcha-Feminist Crush
Mike Lee (Fanclub, LUDGF) has been taking advantage of quarantine to flesh out some ideas I imagine were brewing long before we even met Family Mart, his latest project. On the latest single, things open up a little subdued, with a muted guitar ringing behind Lee’s softened voice and this elegant piano line…it’s an emotional set up for the listener. Moments later drums drop in a little bit more, adding a textured energy level to the song’s gentle pop approach. There’s even a little vocal support on this one from Lani Thomison, touching up the melodic notes that emanate from the tune. Welcome to the softer side of Family Mart!
Austin’s got tons of really incredible songwriters, and Mike Lee has definitely been one voice we’ve fawned over since his early days on the local scene, first with Letting Up Despite Great Faults and then Fanclub. But, he’s turned his current focus to a new project, 
While Mike Lee’s always hard at work in our ATH faves Fanclub, he’s recently gone back to recording tracks where we first fell in love with him, as the songwriter behind 
Clearly, based on the name of our site, we’re always down to represent Austin, and while I feel like releases were down in the city this year, there was tons of great stuff to be devoured. Rather than rank and file our friends; we’re just here to uplift the scene, and maybe remind you of some Texas music that might have (it shouldn’t!) slipped under your radar. Black Pumas got the deserved love, but there’s tons bubbling beneath the surface. I mostly broke it into labels, as they’re the heart and soul of this city. Comes with a fancy playlist.
As we’re all looking back on the year 2019, I tend to gravitate towards lists with little agenda, other than to shine a light back on the year in the areas I adore. For one, the indiepop scene. Now, there’s always a great big debate about what indie pop is, so for all intents and purposes, I admit that I just don’t care, so the genre’s purists can yell at me later. Now, this may read as a best of, but merely this is the stuff that stuck out in my brain, so if I missed something, I love you and I’m sorry. Honestly, it just gave me a chance to make a fun playlist (2+ hours!) full of hits for all you pop fans.
The indiepop scene in Austin has its ebbs and flows, but over the last few years, 
While you’ve got your head down over Kip calling PoBPaH quits (which you knew was coming), Belinda May are going to give you the best reason to lift it up. Almost immediately, the heavy jangles start to dance their way right into your ear holes. They craft this insane bounce, perfected by the steady rhythm section. It sets up the scene for these warm vocals that seemed wrapped up in a cocoon of fuzz, only dragging you deeper and deeper into the song’s emotions. Reminds me a lot of Austin’s Fanclub, though maybe a hint heavier. This new 7″ track is available via 
All year long,