This is fine.
While Nathan was solo on Thursday, the ATH crew rolled deep on Friday night with a full crew hitting almost every venue offered by Levitation Festival. While the rain dampened spirits a bit to start the evening, things ramped up once the skies cleared and we took full advantage of the full variety of musical styles on the lineup. We covered a ton of ground and saw a plethora of bands, all which you can read about after the jump.
Austin’s The Well have been at the game of 70s doom psych for a long time, but they’ve just dropped a new single, “Death and Consolation,” that shows a slight change direction for the trio. This new track is a trip into less of the jam band genre and more into the tighter knit gothic realm, a-la The Cure or Joy Division. While the song begins in the typical hazy-trance-like state, I’m most interested in the change up at the end of the track, at roughly the three minute mark, when you get an eerie, haunting build of vocals in the background while the guitar part is going wild. A lovely slice of gothic psych, “Death and Consolation” offers a taste of what’s to come on the band’s upcoming LP by the same title, which will be out April 26 via Riding Easy Records. Pre-order it here.
A few weeks ago, I shared this new song from Austin’s own The Well. I’m pleased that the band has struck again and released another great single in anticipation for their upcoming album,Pagan Science, which is coming out October 14th. This track, “Drug From The Banks” builds upon the sound that you grew acquainted with on the last single or with previous releases– that kind of heavy psychedelic branch of rock you love to pair with slow head banging and perhaps a power stance. This track has got a bluesy vibe that joins the already psych rock base and the result is a great four and a half minutes of jam. Take a listen and get stoked for the new album.
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If you haven’t already acquainted yourself with the music of Austin’s very own, The Well, you should probably fix that…now. The Well are a three piece psych rock band that hinges on the metal side of the spectrum. They’re on their way to releasing a new album, which is called Pagan Science, and is about to make big waves for the band. Before that album comes out, you can listen to the first of their new tracks below, called “Black Eyed Gods,” which is a furious explosion of heavy guitar riffs and gang vocals that’ll have you screaming along. Get ready for their new album, which will be out October 14th, and be sure to go pre-order it here, via Riding Easy Records.
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There’s a great local event going on this Saturday evening in Austin: American Icon Christmas Bizarre at Hotel Vegas. What is it, and how does it fit into the ATH music coverage? Well, for starters it’s like a Farmer’s Market for what’s cool. There’s 13 vendors selling vintage clothes, jewelry, records and more; so you can get your Christmas shopping done before things turn crazy. But, accompanying the weekend sale are killer bands that you know we love such as Pharaohs, Grape St., Loteria and more! You get to shop, you get to drink, you get to see great bands, which pretty much means that this is a dream come true. Entrance is $7, and that money goes to help the bands live and breathe; it’s worth every penny. See ya’ll there!
Download: Pharaohs – Prettiest Girl [MP3]
I’m sure that I’m probably thought of as the punk rock/twee specialist of this here site, but I definitely like to dabble in other arenas, particularly those realms influenced by folk traditions. Megan Reilly caught my attention when she recently released The Well a bit ago, and I’m glad that she’s getting some attention from the likes of NPR and others. She’s got a great way of telling personal stories, and I appreciate the familial link on this number. Plus, there’s a bit of haunting effect created by the slide guitar, as well as the other instrumentation, that accompanies Megan on this song.
Download:Megan Reilly – Lady of Leitrim [MP3]
