Psych Fest Preview: Dummy
In a weekend filled with legendary acts like Galaxie 500 or Kim Gordon or Dinosaur Jr, there are other acts waiting for you to fall in love with, and Dummy is one such band you need to catch at Psych Fest.
The LA outfit has roots in the indiepop/dream pop scene, but they’ve left that past behind, which we first encountered on their two early Dummy EPs. They moved forward one step with Mandatory Enjoyment, which took some of their noisier tendencies and mashed it into this electronic fusion that drew comparisons to acts like Stereolab and Broadcast. That said, if you caught the band live on those early tours, they were anything but just a nod to influences, ripping through a set with an intoxicating mixture of synthetic textures and dissonant guitar vibes.
Nowadays, they’ve stretched themselves even further on their most recent LP, last year’s Free Energy. They left a few breadcrumbs to their previous efforts, but what I loved (as did the masses) was that they pushed further into the intersection between electronic vibes and rock, at times even leaving the rock aspect in the distant past. It left listeners with a transformative listen that illustrated the band’s willingness to meet pop music on their own terms, with their own set of influences. It’s even led to a masterful remix album titled Bubbelibrium DLC, out this June.
They’ll take the Janis stage at 6:05 on Saturday.
While I’ll be toiling away administering the brilliantly designed STAAR Test today, I wanted to leave you with a set of brilliant tunes designed to make your world a little better than mine. What better way that to dip your toes into the quieted beauty of this new track from 
I thought good old Mark Monnone was playing a trick on me when I first press play; I mean, I didn’t expect a vocal sample in a different language! But, as the guitar lines begin to sound familiar and friendly, that’s when I notice that 
Leicester’s 
A fairly busy week as we got a little more back on routine writing last week, and we were especially excited for all the pop fans out there. New stuff from Jeanines, the Perfect English Weather, Lightheaded, and Lost Film had what cures the ills, and man, were there some special tracks mentioned above. Circled around to hear some Austin, and Austin adjacent stuff with Little Marzarn, BS and former ATX resident Lauren Green and Tan Cologne. Plus, M. Maly gave us a peek at what’s in store for Pscyh Fest, throwing in some coverage with King Hannah being highlighted on the playlist. Plus, great new albums from the Convenience and Mythical Motors rounded the week out properly. What was your fave?