When next February arrives, folks will be clamoring to get their hands on the new Bill Callahan LP; he crafts timeless ballads, buoyed by his distinctive voice that for many of us feels like coming home. On this new tune, there’s a slight shift when the instrumentation arrives subtly, adding a bit of life to the song. That said, the song folds and changes in the midst of itself, remaining one of the key elements that makes Callahan’s music so attractive. Below you’ll hear another reason to head over to Drag City to get a copy of My Days of 58.
If you need to get the cobwebs out of your head, then turning on this new track from Pullman might just be the right thing to do. The song allows you to float into the week with really carefully looped instrumentation, building slowly so that the song begins to blossom into something deeper. Light percussion rolls into the scene, with deepened string orchestration brushing against it, all the while there’s that consistent loop of acoustics holding the song tightly to its core. The group will be releasing their newest effort, III, on January 9th, courtesy of the good folks at Western Vinyl.
Music, more than ever, is a commodity; you’ve got to churn out hits and content to keep the algorithm happy, unless, you’re like Dennis Callaci and L. Eugene Methe. These two songwriters approach songwriting in a different fashion, pushing aside trends and genre studies to push for a purity. Today, we bring you news that the two have collaborated on a joint venture titled The Last Chance Lottery, where Methe handles the music and Callaci handles the vocals and wordsmithing. L. Eugene Methe’s craft can immediately set you on edge, beckoning from shadowy corners of harrowing atmospherics; this is furthered by Dennis’ performance, almost scratching at the speakers with the way his voice haunts the listener from the confines of what feels like a very cramped little space. It’s a captivating introduction to the LP, which arrives via Gertrude/Shrimper Records on January 23rd.
The weather is cooling all over it seems, so perhaps you’re sitting with a warm drink, staring off into that fireplace or chiminea or firepit; your eyes will catch the flickering flames doing their deathly dance, and perhaps you’ll hear this track from Bad Flamingo. This new tune from the duo embraces the slow burn, opening the song with just a little flame, a light burn that begins to build, the flame growing larger as the duo builds the textures beneath the vocals. There’s this smokiness to the vocals, adding to the fire imagery, but a voice that straddles both country and indie rock in its presence, making this the perfect jam for the start to your day or a way to wrap it up as you cozy up for the night.
When the latest single from Fazed on a Pony opens it doors, you better latch onto that galloping rhythm as it runs the course of the song’s entirety; it’s peppy, driving the tune forward at all times. Interestingly, even with a speedier bit of guitar work, Peter McCall manages to keep himself locked into his own performance, calmly delivering the vocals while the music moves at a speedier pace, crafting this perfect contrast. Speaking of that contrast, the space between gets filled with really nice string accents, fleshing out the sound into something larger than its parts. Really looking forward to hearing Swan, which drops on January 23rd via Meritorio Records and Melted Ice Cream.
Please stay with us, as this may be a long-winded rant of a post. For starters, let’s begin with Tammy Ealom, the frontperson behind the new project, The Tammy Shine. You might recognize her as the tour de force behind legendary Denver band, Dressy Bessy; we were huge fans of the band’s work, so we’re already really excited just thinking about Tammy’s songwriting. Then, I start to think back to 2009 when we hosted Dressy Bessy at our SXSW show at the Victory Grill; it was there that I met and partied with my wife for the first time! Now, as life comes full-circle, our friends at HHBTM Records are putting out The Tammy Shine’s debut, and we’ve got the brand new video fresh for your ears. This track opens with a fuzzy little riff wiggling back and forth before settling into a locked groove that allows the vocals to take their place. What’s clear on this single is the way that Tammy takes ownership of the song, and the art she’s putting out; you can hear in the bite from her voice that this is a take-no-prisoners brand of pop rock…the best sort, if you ask us. It’s crunchy with a smattering of hooks, and you’ll be able to find it all on Ok Shine Ok, which comes out on February 20th via HHBTM.
When Voxtrot reconvened a few years back, I was over the moon, both for myself and for the band. They dropped a few LPs, one of combined 7″ singles and the other a rarities compilation…and we all felt like this could be the band making it back for good. Yesterday, news broke that the band are officially releasing a new LP, recorded at bassist Jason Chronis’ studio in Lockhart. The new lineup is a little bit slimmer, but huge Austin music fans will notice the sparkling backing vocals from Jennifer Moore, whose band Deep Time is sorely missed in my opinion. On the new song, you can hear the driving rhythm section, which is one of the band’s strongpoints, allowing Ramesh to weave his storytelling through these stellar pop moments. Really happy to hear they’ve got a whole new record, Dreamers in Exile (February 27), and looking forward to seeing the band when they hit the road in the Spring.
Over the past decade, Lindsey Mackin and Annabelle Chairlegs have been one of the better kept secrets from the confines of our fair city. It looks as though all the stars have aligned, finally, for the band to hit bigger stages, as Waking Up seems destined to break out into the masses. This tune encompasses everything that’s always impressed me about the songwriting from the group, pulling a soulful brand of pop then smashing it to pieces with psychedelic garage sounds; it’s a fusion between hooks and fuzz, leaving listeners with the ability to dance a little bop or bang their heads and scream along. Like I said, Waking Up is full of promise, and we’ll all know more when it drops on January 30th via TODO.
UK outfit Dog Chocolate have sat in silence the last several years, but they’re quiet no more, returning today with the announcement of So Inspired, So Done In. They offer up the first single too, which is sort of this off-kilter, punk adjacent rocker, operating with sharp angular notes and a mixture of vocal approaches. Rob’s voice is a little bit of a drone, coming to terms with his self-employment; Andrew takes a different approach, offering up a very British appeal in which he discusses his role of playing a cog in the machine of industrialization. Look for the group’s new LP to arrive next February via Upset the Rhythm.
One of the many albums on our radar for next year is the new long-player from Cootie Catcher; the group have been on our pages countless times before, but they seem to be building towards huge buzz in 2026. Their brand new single finds the group locking into the modern guitar pop boldness; they feel like they’re playing in the same territory as the most recent Beths record. For a band that employs all sort of playful harmonies, this track is all about the driving guitars and smattering of drums, creating this noisy pop rock sensation that should make you rush to pre-order the LP. Such a great song, and we’re thinking that Something We All Got is going to be equally as great, so pick it up from Carpark Records.
