Wax Idols Still Turning Heads

I really admire Hether Fortune, and not because she’s an outspoken female artist (though that’s cool too!), but rather because she seems willing to really explore her own tastes and her own songwriting on her own terms.  I’m not saying that her new effort, American Tragic, will have no apparent correlation to her earliest work with Wax Idols, but it almost sounds like an entirely different band (albeit a band comprised entirely of Hether save percussion work). She’s always had an aura of darkness (real or perceived), but I like that there’s this focus of light in the tonal switches…especially around the 2.5 minute mark.  I read she was really into Beyonce during the year she recorded the new record, but I sweat I hear a bit of Madonna hiding too. The new effort will be out on October 16th via Collect Records.  It’s a change of pace, yet the songwriting is still just as good, if not better.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/VPnhTS_3kS8[/youtube]

Fresh Music from Wax Idols

Wax IdolsIt’s shaping up to be a great Friday, at least in my book. New Ramesh tune, and now a new Wax Idols tune! The last we heard from Hether Fortune and her project was with the band’s second album, Discipline & Desire, so now they’re rearing up to release a new effort, American Tragic. I’ve been a fan of Fortune’s all along the way here, and it’s been interesting to watch her songwriting progress…moving beyond the group’s earlier garage tendencies into this brooding pop masterpiece.  It might be the group’s most accessible tune to date, but I love how you can still see the path that Fortune’s music took to get to this place.  Pretty excited for the new release, which comes out on October 16th via Collect Records.

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SxSW 2013: Day Party Pics

No, I am not done yet. This one and a gallery of the showcases is all that is left. If I can muster it, I’ll do a best of post. Best-ofs are easier well removed from a festival because lasting memories help define what really got you going.

Anyway, this giant gallery of daytime show goodness includes some candids and portraits from around the conference during the unofficial events. Highlights include Wax Idols, Nobunny, The Soft Moon, Criminal Hygiene, Bleeding Rainbows, that band Thurston Moore is in, Delorean and so much more.

Click through. Play a game of “oh yeah, I was there.”

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