Last Week’s Jams (2.20 – 2.24)

Even after taking off Monday, we managed to get tons of coverage out there. I was stoked to hear that new Cindy song that I had been promised late last year. RayRay started pushing some of our SXSW introductions out with Pendant and Orions Belte. A handful of Austin acts tossed out new tunes, so check in on Hallo, Space Tan and Transy Warhol…a few who will be playing our just announced ATH vs SOTO SXSW Party. Plus, I got a bonus add by getting an excuse to post a little Braid to this site, on top of including my favorite releases of the week for streaming purposes. Get at it below.

RVG Announce Brain Worms + Share New Single

I’ve been high upon RVG since I first stumbled upon A Quality of Mercy, and now that there’s officially a new record on the calendar, I’m ramping up my support once again. Based upon this first single, the group seems to have picked up where Feral left us, taking giant steps into huge anthemic pop rock, with just a few more hints at some sheen and polish coming through on the new record’s first single. The guitars drive the tune forward, but you can clearly hear the passion in Romy’s vocals, which I can’t wait to hear when its live at this year’s SXSW festival; it’s one of the things that makes this band so captivating. Really stoked to hear where Brain Worms takes; it drops in June via Fire Records.

Top Aussie Releases of 2020

So, lists are pretty arbitrary, especially for a site like ours, where you mostly know what you’re going to get each day. But, still, I always fall for the “Best Of” lists, though this year, I’m personally staying away from the numbering system; it just doesn’t really mean much to me these days. That said, I do spend a lot of time covering Aussie acts, more than most, so for me, its fun to revisit my favorites. Without further hoopla…here’s my Top Aussie Releases of 2020.

Read more

RVG Share Perfect Day Video

Next week we’ll all finally get to hear the long awaited sophomore LP from RVG, one of the band’s I’ve been raving about for the last few years. Today they share their video for “Perfect Day,” which is just this huge twinkling pop song. The song uses these sharp guitar chords that seem to shine right through your speaker with Romy working her lyrical charms. One of the things I’m starting to notice with the collections of songs we’ve heard is how clean they sound, and I do mean that in a good way; it’s like the group just upped their pop sensibility with sights on being the biggest pop act in Australia. Feral is out April 24th via Fire Recordings. Oh…and the great video was shot by Geoffrey O’Connor of Crayon Fields fame!

RVG Share Christian Neurosurgeon Video

There are tons of great records on the slate for this Spring, but one that’s really high on my personal list is the forthcoming Feral LP from Australia’s RVG. I’ve been raving about the band for years, and they were my favorite SXSW acts two years ago…and now we’ve got a new tune. I was hooked immediately, as this has that sort of muted surf vibe opening into these crisp guitar lines that hop about your earholes. Romy’s vocals have a calming influence on the guitar, with the two elements trading the song’s focus back and forth. Another promising single from a record I’m sure to love; Feral is out on April 24th via Fire Recordings.

RVG Sign to Fire and Announce Feral LP

I’m super happy that there’s a new RVG LP on the horizon; they were hands-down my favorite act at SXSW a few years ago…and as I recall their new single was part of those live sets. There’s a little more polish to this track, but I actually really love that about it; the guitars have more sheen, making them sharper in their soft rings. I think thematically, almost every human can relate to this concept, so you should universally love it! But, most importantly, the video does an exceptional job of capturing the passion in Romy’s performances; you’ll be hard pressed to find a performer putting that much soul into every song. Good news is they’ve just signed with Fire Recordings to release Feral, out April 24th!

RVG Share Alexandra

A few years ago I claimed RVG the best band at SXSW; it was a year that acts like Shame, RBCF and Stella Donnelly really broke big…but for me, it was RVG. Romy Vager’s performances were nothing short of mesmerizing, fulfilling all my expectations having spent hours going through A Quality of Mercy. For me, that’s what I hear when I hear “Alexandra;” I hear the live performance, the passion in Vager’s voice. There’s this swelling in the song, a slight bit subdued, but I can picture the band unleashing that sonic blast in my face…and as my mind drifts I fall in love with this tune. This track is slated to appear on the group’s next album, and they’ve got a few N. American tour dates planned for June too (no Austin date, sadly).

New RVG Video for Eggshell World

Yep, I’m still super obsessed with RVG, as evidenced by my ventures to see them as frequently as possible during SXSW, not to mention my pre-fest fawning. This video from the band’s A Quality of Mercy album was one of the highlights from their live set, and is definitely one of the standout tunes on a pretty great LP. I think my favorite line from this track is “if there were two of me, well, one could be with you;” I’ll let you listen closely to make your own judgment. The video features Romy clad in silver, and even in the solitude of the video, you can feel the power that connects Romy to the audience. Dammit, I love this band.

SXSW Awards – 2018

Your friendly neighborhood ATH staff members have emerged from SXSW week and I think we’re all finally ready to reminiscence on what transpired. As we’ve done in the past, it seems like a perfect time to hand out some awards for the festival with superlatives that we made up like 5 minutes ago. Keep in mind we saw a lot of bands, had a bit to drink, and ventured out to more venues than we can possibly remember. So buckle up, hit the jump and see who we deemed worthy and deserving of our very prestigious awards.

Read more

SXSW Interview: RVG

You are probably aware already that I’m a huge fan of RVG. If you’re lucky enough to catch the Aussie act on their brief US jaunt, then you’re in for a treat. Their album A Quality of Mercy was a stunner, and to those who spent time with it, it sounds like everything pop music was meant to be. We caught up real briefly with the group to have them answer our little SXSW interview, which is below with their most recent video.

Read more

1 2 3