Dance Yrself Clean with Sensual Harassment

1166The most important thing about kicking things off on a Monday morning is to get things going in the right direction, and I think this tune from Sensual Harassment will do just the trick for you.  This Brooklyn duo has a new EP titled Escape From Alpha Draconis coming out on Tuesday (it’s free if you trade your email), and based on this it’s going to be filled with danceable hits to get your weekend parties started.  If you like what you’re hearing, you can check out the band on a brief little tour as they make their way into Austin for a stint at our little festival, SXSW.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/01-Make-Me-Human-Again.mp3]

Download:Sensual Harassment – Make Me Human Again [MP3]

Desert Rock from Deconstruction Unit

dunit_colore6d46575a465It’s interesting to see the interest in the heavier side of music again, especially considering the dull releases of late 90s metal.  One of the group’s that recently caught my attention was Deconstruction Unit, due to the group’s history with Jay Reatard.  While the guitar work has a dark-tinged garage feeling to it (bleeding into psychedelia) the vocals have this historic Danzig quality to them, which is fitting with the group’s home near the Arizona desert. They’ll be releasing their Void LP on February 19th via Jolly Dream Records before heading out on the road to tour with Milk Music; they will also be making their way through Austin during SXSW and Chaos in Tejas.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Evil-Man.mp3]

Download:Deconstruction Unit – Evil Man [MP3]

The Besnard Lakes Are In The Sticks

Mentioned yesterday that I was geeked to see The Besnard Lakes. They also happened to release a teaser track from the new album Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO due in April on Jagjaguwar.

“People of the Sticks” is a gorgeous and flowing piece that pendulums away from the stadium and closer to gaze, but we’ll wait to see what’s what for the overall feel of the album when it is released. They certainly were a favorite of mine from SxSW a few years back so I will be stalking them from the best day parties all the way to their big showcase.

No download available yet. Hopefully the Youtube embed doesn’t offend (or use ATH radio up over there)…

SxSW 2013 – Over 1,000 Bands

SxSW just announced another chunk of bands, around 200 more. This latest group is probably the best of the bunch. You want some highlights for the sets you’ll be jumping fences for this spring break?

A few that jump out for me…

Alah-Las, The Besnard Lakes, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, The Ettes, Fol Chen, Frightened Rabbit, Joywave, Lemuria, Local Natives, Calvin Love, Psychic Twin, Pure Bathing Culture, Races, Royal Teeth, Snowmine, The Thermals, Useless Eaters, Chad Valley, Vampy Weeks, Wax Idols

Read the full list of 2013 showcasing acts here.

Top Live Shows in Austin in 2012

Our year end coverage begins with the three chiefs over at the ATH offices reveling in what was an incredible year in Austin, musically speaking.  Tons of rad bands blew us away with their live sets, and, well, there were just tons of bands.  I think we did more show coverage this year than in previous years, but as always, the great thing about our site is diversity.  We’re also linking back to our full reviews and photos of some of these nights, so you can get more of a feel of our thoughts, not to mention, checking out Brian’s great photographic 2012. Read on for thoughts on live acts from the three main contributors.
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New Dreamy Pop From Ash Reiter

It seems like ages ago that up and coming pop songstress Ash Reiter was here in Austin playing our SXSW garage party.  We honestly haven’t heard much from the band since then, which is oh so sad, but imagine our joy when we got sent this new jam “I’ve Got Something I Can Laugh About”.  It’s a heartwarming tune that’s reminding me why we booked the band to play that show a few years ago.  It’s dreamy and sunny, all the while being a nice breath of fresh air in the ATH offices.

A new LP entitled HOLA is coming out November 30th on 20 Sided Records.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/01-1.-Ive-Got-Something-I-Can-Laugh-About.mp3]

Download: Ash Reiter – I’ve Got Something I Can Laugh About [MP3]

Show Preview: Mr. Gnome @ Stubbs (11/15)

Date 11/15/12
Location Stubbs
Doors 9pm
Tickets $10 @ Frontgate

Mr. Gnome is a great up and coming band that I caught during SXSW last year, and I can honestly say that they can fully deliver in the live setting.  Those looking to get a good show in before the craziness of this weekend ensues should head on down to the indoor stage at Stubbs on Thursday to see this rocking good band live.  Local upstarts The Baker Family will be more than adequate in providing your opening support for the evening.  You’ll enjoy it.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/01-The-Way-1.mp3]

Download: Mr. Gnome – The Way [MP3]

Veronica Falls Gets Smooth

Veronica Falls was one of my absolute favorite sets from SxSW 2011. The band continues to trickle songs out to the world, the latest an offering is plugged-in below from their Souncloud page.

Waiting For Something To Happen lands via Slumberland in the USA on Valentine’s Day 2013. This song, “Teenage”, is very refined and beachy. It isn’t quite as hollow and jangly as early tracks. I love it, nice breakdown as the song let’s you off easy. This is the song made to finish a show.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/66749368″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=false&color=ff7700″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

ACL Spotlight: Gardens & Villa

When looking at the ACL lineup, we ATH kids always get really excited about the middle of the day bands.  For starters, those are typically the bands in the prime of their career, coming off a recent well constructed album.  Not to mention that the crowds aren’t quite as big and you’re just getting into that mid-day buzz.  While perusing those afternoon bands this year, I first took notice of upstart Santa Barbara group Gardens & Villa.  Follow the jump for more.

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FT5: Top 5 Austin Musical Fallacies

The last week or so has seen the Austin Interwebs go a little haywire, with Austinist vs. Michael Corcoran in a debate on the status of Austin as anything more than mediocre. We only talk about music, so we’re not going to worry about the discussions on traffic or eateries…we’re just looking at the music here. I grew up in this town, and I’ve been actively participating in the music scene since 92′, so I feel more than qualified to hold a discussion here.  I do want to say that I actually think both parties make some valid points, which sort of leads me to think that there’s a lot of us in Austin, music or otherwise, that realize our town could make some improvements–whether they’re all the same or not doesn’t really matter, as we should be working together to unify the scene.

The following list is compiled of things that stood out to me in both articles (linked above), or that I just sort of came to on my own terms as an active participant in the “scene.” They’re ordered into a Top 5 to stick with our occasional Friday theme, but the order is irrelevant for the most part. Please feel free to comment on these things, as I think the best thing for our city and music is to have some actual discussion about it rather than make accusations–that’s just a dick move that gets us all nowhere.

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