This is fine.
At a recent show, I was rather impressed with Kae Astra. The artist recently joined the Modern Outsider family with an EP on deck for later this fall. Here is the first single, “Medicate”. Perusing info from the press details, the new record has a strong team behind it with the mix by Danny Reisch who has worked with Wye Oak, The Octopus Project and White Denim and mastered by Dave Cooley who has worked with M83, Animal Collective and Washed Out.
Austin folks love Moving Panoramas, and if you watch this video, you’ll see that Moving Panoramas loves Austin, or at least Hotel Vegas and Volstead. But, most importantly is that the song continues the band’s movement towards a pop-centric vibe akin to the recent stuff of fellow Austinites, Go Fever. They’re both writing these huge pop numbers, though MP presents there’s in this slightly dreamy realm; that gives a slight element of darkness or mystery, which listeners like myself find intriguing. This song appears on the band’s new album, In Two, which is being released on February 22nd by Modern Outsider.
With a new LP on the horizon, it would make sense that we’d be sharing one of those new tunes from Moving Panoramas. But, this world often makes little sense, so today you’re lucky to listen to “Texas Blues,” a brand new track the Austin outfit recorded for Walker Lukens Election Confessional and sponsored by Modern Outsider and the Texas Democratic Party; the project brings songwriters and politicians together, raising funds and awareness in the process; all tracks are being mixed by Jim Eno of Spoon. The group composed the song in a short hour after talking with Julie Nitsch (Board of Trustees Place 9) for an hour, then recording it all in an hour (3 hours tops!). Copies of the LP can be procured HERE, but let’s talk about the song. Of late, the band have filled the spaces with textured artistic flourishes, but on this number, the band allow for the track to mellow in its own vast expanse; it serves as a breeding ground for the vocal harmonies shared between Leslie Sisson and Cara Tillman. Lyrically, you get the sense that Leslie, and Julie, truly understand the plight of being a voter in Texas…apathy, anger and yet looking for that ray of hope on the distant horizon. Here’s to that, here’s to Tuesday and here’s to helping ‘us cure these Texas Blues.’
We’ve long been supporters of Leslie Sisson’s outfit, Moving Panoramas, and we might be even more impressed by the group’s newest single. It starts with this krautrock cum psychedelic guitar and keyboard line, pushing the pace from the get-go before we even get a hint of the vocals; it’s a fairly primal power, which works in contrast to Sisson’s voice. And what a performance by Leslie here. She carries this pristine sparkle to notes that dreamily soar over the top of the musical mix, aided by some warm “aahs” to flesh out the vibe. It’s one of those rare tracks that balances the walk between heavy and saccharine; you’ll find this track on the band’s next LP, In Two, dropping in February via Modern Outsider.
There will be records. There will be pizza. There will be beer. There will be records. There will be t-shirts. There will be cassette tapes. There will be a bunch of record labels from across the state of Texas. There will be ATH Records. So, tomorrow, from 3-7, your job for the early evening is to set out to the ABGB, swing by the Texas Record Label Bazaar. You know how you always tell your friends how much you love live music, and how much you support it by going to shows? Well, you can also support the labels that hopefully serve as another cog in the Austin/Texas music machine. Thanks to Modern Outsider, ABGB, Texas Music Office and KUTX for the organization and support! For a list of the labels present, check the EVENT PAGE.
We love you Austin.
Everyone is already looking forward to doing it again. More on that later. I took photos, we did our shimmy thing, records were sold, merch was sold, group shots, industry discussions, ball-busting, cider sampled, dogs joined in, kids were indoctrinated into collecting vinyl.
Modern Outsider, Super Secret Records, Western Vinyl, Holodeck Records, Launch Cycle, Chicken Ranch Records, Keeled Scales, Saint Marie Records, Nine Mile Records and, as Nate said, our own little ATH Records all had the booths up and running. We had the musical stylings of The Sour Bridges and A. Sinclair.
Please enjoy my little photo essay on the Austin Record Label Flea Market. Click through to see what you missed or reminisce…
While Austin musicians get a lot of love for their hard work, there’s anumber of incredible Austin record labels that work equally as hard to make it all happen. This Saturday at 3Ten ACL (right below the Moody Theater), you can come see a handful of those labels setting up shop and selling their records and moreover at the 2nd Annual Record Label Flea Market.
Labels involved: Modern Outsider, Super Secret Records, Western Vinyl, Holodeck Records, Launch Cycle, Chicken Ranch Records, Keeled Scales, Saint Marie Records, Nine Mile Records and, of course, our own little ATH Records.
Entry is free. Open from 1-5 PM. Performances by The Sour Bridges and A. Sinclair!
Here’s a new A. Sinclair tune I hope we get to hear too:
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As year-end lists get more and more arbitrary, I decided I didn’t really want to play that game with our local Austin scene. Instead, I wanted to celebrate the excellent year Austin had, musically speaking, and encourage you to go grab copies of the things that suit your fancy. As it gets harder and harder for our musicians and labels to survive, lip service, sadly, just doesn’t cut it. So why not pick up something for all those you love…or just wish had better tastes!
Next week you’ll be able to get your hands on the delightful new EP from Walker Lukens, and before it comes out, you may as well give a listen to his brand new track . If you’ve been listening to Walker for a bit, as we all have, you’ll surely notice the broadening sound he’s adapted…not to mention studio time with Jim Eno. There’s just such a huge bit of energy to what he’s doing it at the moment, and I can’t see myself turning this song off today. He’s releasing the EP via our friends at Modern Outsider next Friday, with a rad show at ACL Ten to celebrate. Turn it up loud and enjoy yourself!
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Ok, I’ll say it: Mirror Travel is one of my favorite underrated bands to come out of Austin… even if they’ve relocated to New Mexico. With each new single they release in anticipation of their upcoming album, Cruise Deal, I get a little bit more excited to hear what they’ve got in store for us this time around. “Aasim” shows the same sort of heavy guitars and big sound that they’ve treated us to with other single, “Yesca,” but this one is a bit more of a slow jam. Make sure you listen below, catch them sometime when they’re around town for SXSW and get ready forCruise Deal, which will be out very soon on March 11th viaModern Outsider.
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