Last Week’s Jams, Today (5.2 – 5.6)

So much good music last week, and so much to cover. Well, we tried to get up as much as we could, plus Brian got some great photos of Good Morning and Packs. Here’s our weekly musical recap, with lots of awesome news, like new releases from Tan Cologne, Field Guides…and Voxtrot! I think the news of their Early Music compilation definitely made my week, even as I was held hostage in my classroom by state testing. Enjoy some jams from last week.

Urban Heat Shares Have You Ever Single

Jonathan Hortsmann has been a vital part of Austin’s music scene, but his work with his new project Urban Heat seems as important as anything he’s done. The pulsing synth work in this new single has a throbbing line that bursts to the front of the track, captivating you as Hortsmann wraps his voice around the tune. Lyrically, the song asks the listener to question their existence and their belief systems as a human…which, unfortunately, seems ultra-important as the US descends into a regressive cultural moment. Perhaps we can take the tiniest crumb of solace knowing that folks like Jonathan are going to continue to craft music that challenges us to not only enjoy, but to grow and be better through that enjoyment.

New Stuff from the ATX…

We’ve all got to represent our neighbors, right? So, here’s a few new tracks from Austin you should have on your radar. We’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shoutout to our friend Josh from Marmalakes, doing his solo thing under the name J. Halp. His Ahlen EP will be out at the end of the month, and there’s another sneak peak below; this one has a little bit more of an electronic vibe, giving off the range his EP will offer listeners.

We’ve also got the recently released tune from Urban Heat, the recently formed project from Jonathan Hortsmann (who used to play in ATH faves BLXPTN). There’s a bit 80s feel with his synth work here…and you know we feel you can never go wrong there.Go on and enjoy!

Sharing Some Urban Heat

Urban Heat Island Effect is now just Urban Heat. Austin’s Jonathan Horstmann (BLXPLTN, V3CO) has a vocal that is goth-wave perfection while the modular synth tones from Kevin Naquin move tracks forward and the bassline from Pax holds all things down. They now have the track “That Gun In Your Hand” up on Spotify at their new band page and this performance video for the remaining quarantine days below. Check it out and let me know what you think. I dig.