Pleased to Meet You: Commercial Breaks
The perks of running this old site for as long as we’ve been at it are that the world, particularly in the Austin scene, comes full circle. For instance, Commercial Breaks, a brand new band with a handful of kick ass demos to share features a couple of brothers, one who I taught…and who I later put out on vinyl when he played drums in Tres Oui. His little brother is part of Austin’s super rad Gus Baldwin and the Sketch, so you can kind of hear a recent history of Austin’s garage tendencies peeking through from behind the curtains, particularly in some of the great guitar wiggles. Obviously, there are some production touches, like the real drums Doran promised, but a song like “The Cloud” has the fuzziness and the pop gifts to whet my whistle! They’re playing their debut show on July 12th with Guiding Light here in Austin at Hotel Vegas! See you there!
I want to be forthright and acknowledge that we’ve put out records by 2/3 of 
Austin’s Masculine Pain are fairly new to the scene, though its various members are longtime staples of the music scene here. You’ll recognize the vocals of Eric Braden of Big Bill, while Nate Cardaci of Tres Oui/Literature and Tim Bond round things out. This one’s a slow-burner, building over beats and a bobbing bass line; it’s the perfect setting for Braden’s vocal delivery, matching each syllable to the movement. Dreamy guitar notes filter in from the background as Braden sings “I’m not in control.” For me, the climax comes right at the 1:50, the mood twists, guitars and synths wash in more of a dream vibe, and as the vocals match, it’s this huge wall of euphoria blasting you right in the face; I should have been expecting this. Putting great songwriters together doesn’t always work, except when it does…and here, it does.
Everyone has their own definition of indiepop; but I tend to ascribe to the original craft where DIY aesthetics and a softer response to punk were all the rage. But, to each their own. So I went through last year to compile what I think is a pretty all encompassing Best of Indiepop 2018; there’s no order, just a collection of really great indiepop. Some of the below are songs, some are albums, some are just bands or labels that were important. Click on for my picks and a playful playlist. 
Thursday night is as good a night as any for a rock show, and all of Austin is in for a treat, should they choose to visit Hotel Vegas on said night. You get two great traveling acts in the Molochs and 
Looking around at various spots, and it looks like this show this evening over at Cheer Ups is the best place to maximize your good times/good music. For starters, Talkies are celebrating their Tape Release tonight, so you should go on over and support a local band. But, if you’re not one to support local music, at least cheer on all the bands, as Nothing Song has gotten together a pretty solid bill; you’ve got Tres Oui, Talkies (of course), Springtime and the Changes, and the Hermits. All of these are reason alone to venture out, but I’ll throw in a hit or two below to further entice you. Doors are at 9!