high tension wires - Austin Town Hall

Chaos in Tejas Highlight: The Spits

June 1, 2011 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

The first band in our installment of highlights for the wonderful Chaos in Tejas is The Spits. They’re a Seattle punk group who’ve released four LPs and a slew of compilations and 7 inches. Listening to them, I get this old Misfits feeling, though I’m sure that’s just wishful thinking on my part. They’re known to don costumes on stage, such as in this picture, and you’re guaranteed to get fast, dirty punk rock that’s going to have you bobbing your head, jumping up and down, or at the very least, tapping your toes. The band will be playing their darkness punk at Red 7 on Thursday, along with some great acts ( a few from Austin) like TV Ghost and High Tension Wires. For those with a passion for the harder edge, this is a great night to kick off the festival, so be sure to show up early and get your punk on with the Spits.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/01-Tonight.mp3]

Download: The Spits – Tonight [MP3]

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Friday Smorgasbord of Shows

April 28, 2011 nathan.lankford 3 comments

We already know how great Psych Fest is going to be, but we also realize that it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily for us all, there’s a ton of shows going on this weekend for you to catch, so we drew out some of our highlights. There’s several strong local shows featuring friends TV Torso and Great Nostalgic, and some punk rock to boot. Read more for a nice list, and some songs. Read more

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New Music from Something Fierce

April 4, 2011 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

It’s odd, but Houston is the oft-overlooked town in Texas, in regards to music, but over the last few years, the local scene has been putting out some great tunes. One of the one’s I’ve recently been turned onto is Something Fierce. They’re a bit of punk rock, a bit of pop rock, and switching of male/female vocals. It makes for a really solid blend of sugary-punk, but not the kind you’d find in Hot Topic, the classier kind. The band is set to release their album Don’t Be So Cruel in April via Dirtnap Records, which has already released some great albums by The Mind Spiders and High Tension Wires this year. Also, check in on the band, as they’ll be heading out on tour this summer.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/12-Empty-Screens.mp3]

Download: Something Fierce – Empty Screens [MP3]

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Killer SXSW Comp from Dirtnap

March 11, 2011 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

The great thing about SXSW is getting to see a lot of great bands you haven’t spent a lot of time with, but for me, that’s not the case with all the acts on Dirtnap Records. They’ve been putting a lot of great tunes together, several include local Austin/Texas acts like High Tension Wires or the Mind Spiders. They just put up a little comp HERE, where you can sample their great bands. Be sure to head out to their showcase on Saturday @ the Easy Tiger if you like what you hear.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/04-Dont-Let-Her-Go.mp3]

Download: The Mind Spiders – Dont Let Her Go [MP3]

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New Music from High Tension Wires

February 23, 2011 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

You’ve got to be all about High Tension Wires if you’re a Texas, especially an Austinite or Dentonian! The band is comprised of some our best punk/power-pop/garage bands around, namely Marked Men and Riverboat Gamblers, so you have to know it’s going to be a good time all around. The band’s got an album coming out on Dirtnap Records around March 15th titled Welcome New Machine. If you base it off this first single, it’s everything that you need in a good power-pop album. It’s got some catchy hooks, no-nonsense drumming, and even a bit of backing vocals. It’s all positive energy, and there’s not a thing wrong with that in my book.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/backbone.mp3]

Download: High Tension Wires – Backbone [MP3]

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