Jack Anderson

Nova: “Bird in the Hurricane”

Just like a ragtag team of survivors, when you find the perfect pack for your project, playing without them is like taking an axe to the face. So sure, choir singer and solo veteran Nova Barton has strong enough chops to create and command attention all on her own, as heard on her 2021 debut Novaville. But despite maintaining her project Nova‘s eponymous/mononymous status, the backing band of UT buddies she recruited in support of Novaville was just too killer to keep out of the studio the second time around.

Now we dawn on NovApocalypse, Nova’s sophomore LP that’s set for release this April. With the full four-piece of friends in tow, Barton’s already restorative and poignant songwriting (no doubt informed by her music therapy studies) takes a meteoric ascent with wider-than-ever arrangements. And thematically, NovApocalypse is set to sound sort of like if Towns Van Zandt wrote The Road instead of Cormac McCarthy, crippling isolation, excessive blood spurts, rampant deception and all.

While the storm of NovApocalypse is still a few months out, Nova kicks off the cataclysm with a single release show 10:30pm this Saturday at Captain Quackenbush’s Soundscape following openers Hover at 8:30 and Boomershack at 9:30. That single? “Bird in the Hurricane”. Ideal HBO intro credit material from its first guitar strums, “Bird in the Hurricane” soars with pizzicato plucks, light treading percussion, serene string harmonies, grounded bass, atmospheric and Barton’s moody, multi-tracked vocals that collectively “carry the fire”, no matter how bleak the future may look.

The Midnight Stroll: “You Can Escape”

Often the main ingredient in supergroup concoctions is a set of sonic similarities between the members’ preexisting independent projects. Other times, their territories barely border on each other, and yet the chemistry between the individual players is too good to pass up. So no, we’re obviously not talking about Lulu.

Instead, it’s The Midnight Stroll, a somewhat unlikely union between Ghostland Observatory frontman Aaron Behrens and Heartless Bastards lead guitarist Jonas Wilson. The Midnight Stroll began ten years back as a strictly solo venture for Behrens while GLO was on break, but after recruiting Wilson as producer and music director, it dawned on the pair to lean on their strength as equals. Wilson’s idiosyncratic interest in analog and homemade technology helped dictate the duo’s rock sound on 2015’s Heartbreak Boogaloo and 2017’s Western Static, before Ghostland beckoned Behrens back in 2018 and Wilson took up six-string duties with the Bastards. In the six years since then, we haven’t heard a peep from The Midnight Stroll. That is…until today.

This morning Wilson and Behrens rejuvenated the jaunt with “You Can Escape” a standalone single shared by Wilson’s own Mr. Pink Records. Its simplistic percussion rhythm lays the groundwork for Wilson’s grunge-ingrained guitar, stargazing synths, and Behrens wiry, weightless vocals, all for an empowering piece of retro-style alt-rock. So if Hump Day’s got you feeling like the walls of life are closing in on you, take this three-minute break to remind yourself…you can escape.

Psychic Seatbelt: “Double Dare”

Happy New Year! We’re back from a break and eager for a full 2024’s worth of new tunes and recommendations. But if you’re still easing out of 2023 and aren’t quite ready to squeeze Free Week into your post-work schedule, there’s a low-key live gig that may interest you.

It comes on behalf of Psychic Seatbelt, the project of multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Claire Hamilton, who first joined us in Studio 1A as part of Austin trio Queue Queue back in 2017 and has more recently provided bass for Thor and Friends plus Doom Dub. With Psychic Seatbelt, Thor Harris returns the favor to Hamilton by lending his talents on percussion and more, alongside Popper Burns’ Jake Lauterstein on co-composition duties, who also trades guitar responsibilities with Jon Sanchez. Together, the team made their debut with soft, dreamy dynamics on August 2021’s “Everything Comes for You”, following it up with last September’s witching-hour-ready anthem “330 AM”.

On the final day of last November, Psychic Seatbelt secured their discography for 2023 with the Hooky EP, a collection of five originals that’s truant from the overly-polished pop formulas of contemporary commercial radio. Instead, it taps into the off-kilter aural authenticity of Velvet Underground with delicate, minimalist arrangements without sounding too aloof. Buckle up for Psychic Seatbelt’s next gig 5PM this Saturday at Love Wheel Records and secure your self esteem in the New Year by reflecting on your inner bitch with the Hooky EP opener “Double Dare”.

Joseph Salazar: “The Main Sequence”

Here we are, y’all. It’s the final Song of the Day for 2023. We’ll be off starting tomorrow through New Year’s Day but picking up with some promising new music on Tuesday, January 2nd. With that piece of business out of the way, today we’re wrapping up the year with just one more premiere.

It comes courtesy of Austin songwriter Joseph Salazar, who on top of composing for short films and video games like the acclaimed Halo Infinite, has also carried his weight in the Live Music Capital with projects like Technicolor Hearts, The Cosmic Hour, Eternal Time & Space, and previous Song of the Day feature Dream 2 Dream. In a solo setting, Joseph Salazar’s proficiency on synthesizers, drum programming, and DAW production has been heard on the hypnotic instrumentals he’s sporadically shared since 2016. Listening through those selections, really hints at why Salazar’s style is a perfect fit for soundtracks; in light of an infinity-obsessed ethos that seeds rolling arrangements, Salazar’s chords and melodies remain unbusy without being idle; instead they provide plenty of space to occupy with thoughts, be they about blasting aliens, reflecting on life, or just making breakfast and preparing for your day.

Well with the clock quickly ticking away on 2023, this morning Joseph Salazar turned in his sole single of the year and first since last September’s “By This River”. While “The Main Sequence” sports the same kind of tones we’ve come to expect from Salazar, the inclusion of Megafauna guitarist Dani Neff and Dream 2 Dream bassist Mando Lopez really uplift it into a multi-chef-blessed baton-toss of winter recuperation. So let the kick drum complement your heartbeat, the bass replace your pulse, the synth’s mod wheel bend your senses, and the effects-swept guitar guide you through this climbing three-and-a-half-minute meditation.

Night Drive: “Summerwaves (Winter Version)”

Even before the days of Vivaldi and Stravinsky, the seasons have settled into their own sets of characteristic sounds. And while Spring was the belle of the ball in the classical era, modern installments ranging like “Autumn Leaves” and War’s “Summer” have since helped to level the temporal playing field. Of course, with the help of the industry, Christmas music dominates corporate playlists and has become a staple of this “most wonderful time of the year”. And yet, for younger audiences, anthems like “Hot Girl Summer” and “Feels Like Summer” definitely show more staying power than Old Man Winter’s catalogue.

That about brings us to our June 2017 Artist of the Month Night Drive, the Central Texas synth-pop trio who stole our hearts once again with their August EP Position II. You see, a few months back, Night Drive teased out Position II with a sleek electronic original that managed to cool us down in what would become a historic heatwave. However, since the crew is so keen on opening up their stuff to re-interpretations (including a remix from multi-platinum selling producer Gigamesh), Night Drive themselves swapped in some snow tires on that single for an end-of-year re-tinker.

Succinctly labeled “Summerwaves (Winter Version)”, this edition enjoys a calmer sense of wanderlust thanks to spacious piano, piano (soft) drum programming, and horizon-spying synth arpeggios that make for a perfect piece of reflection and meditation that may just inspire a resolution or two.

Graham Reynolds & Marta Del Grandi: “Linger In Silence”

With each new innovative installation of SXSW, it’s easy to think the tech character of Austin is eclipsing that of “the Live Music Capital of the World”. But have faith! Aside from those international conferences and meet-and-greet mingles, South By’s still an essential institution for creatives on the prowl for new collaborators outside the local scene, e.g. Austin’s Graham Reynolds and Milan’s Marta Del Grandi.Graham’s a longtime piano-playing KUTX favorite, who, speaking of tech, wrote the score for Rick Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, among a handful of others. And honestly, his extensive accomplishments in performance, production, theatre, dance, film, and television speak for themselves before you first spin his music. Then there’s Marta, a classically-trained singer who’s been coming up quick since 2021 and just released her debut full-length Selva at the tail-end of October.Well, in the time since this past March, Marta and Graham have made hay of their auspicious SXSW encounter with their still-fresh single “Linger In Silence”. Along with its Italian-language counterpart, “Linger In Silence” steals any need for commentary with serene strings, Reynolds’ idiosyncratic piano tones, and Del Grandi’s double-tracked unison vocals. By the tune’s halfway point, the expansive arrangement and cinematic dynamics step into the spotlight for a hell of a breakneck bridge before the alleviating final verse and chorus take you off guard from “Linger”‘s explosive finish that’ll leave you speechless.

Looking Back at 2023

As we start to wind down for the winter, Confucius and Fresh look back at some of the show’s 2023 highlights before continuing the debate of whether or not the dominance of female rappers will continue into 2024. Get that plus an Unpopular Opinion about establishments exercising discretion, Hip-Hop Facts, and Confucius Reads the News on the latest episode of The Breaks.

J Halp: “Alone Again”

All kinds of projects experience peaks and valleys when it comes to periods of prominence. But for one percussionist in particular, the passion for putting his sticks in the mix has never gotten tied down by any one group’s momentum. And no, we’re actually not talking about John Speice IV.

Instead we’re taking this Monday to appreciate native Austinite drummer Josh Halpern, perhaps best known to millennials as co-founder/co-composer for indie duo Marmalakes. Although Marmalakes’ heyday is well behind us, Halpern’s held onto his status as a must-have, must-hear contributor thanks to his work with Shearwater, Bayonne, Still Corners, and…frankly far too many other Austin acts to chronicle here. That said, he, like many other multidisciplinary creatives at the onset of COVID, began investing time into a solo-producer-singer-songwriter endeavor – aptly eponymized as J Halp.

Halpern’s been busy this past year backing up Rob Leines, but with only a couple weeks left in 2023, managed to reach a complete handful of officially released solo singles this morning. “Alone Again” kicks off with the type of perfectly-in-the-pocket drumbeat that made Halpern such a maven in the first place. But the moment the high-pass filter switches off, the real star of J Halp – Josh’s unstrained, melancholic vocals – really start to shine. With some killer keys gluing the whole thing together, “Alone Again” sits somewhere in between David Bowie, Arcade Fire, and Gorillaz for a moody mix of old and new. Love you, Halpy; keep up the good work.

Leti Garza: “Mi Amor (Español)

As far as Song of the Day is concerned, it’s the final New Music Friday of 2023. We’re taking an eight-day break beginning next Friday and’ll be hitting the ground running strong in 2024 for Free Week. With that said, this New Music Friday packs in both an Austin artist and an album announcement.

We’re looking at Leti Garza, who’s already cemented her status as a Live Music Capital treasure since her 2017 LP El Unico Para Mi and her 2021 EP Borderland. Leti’s ability to navigate all kinds of topics and genres in the local Latin space is near unparalleled, so imagine our excitement around this morning’s piece of news – Garza’s upcoming sophomore full-length Canciónes Sobre La Vida y La Muerte – guaranteed to include gallows humor, macabre musings, and optimism over the inevitable.

As hinted at by the record’s second lead single – the waltzy “Mi Amor (Español)” – Canciónes is set to break down the borders between folk, Latin jazz, pop, and new age, not to mention traditional and contemporary. Anchored by a charming orchestral arrangement, “Mi Amor” makes Garza sound like a Broadway star, almost like a curtain-pulling Act I opener for a musical that doesn’t exist yet. Leti…for the life of us, we love you to death, and we can’t wait for Canciónes‘ release in late January.

Kam Franklin: “Byrd And Shepard”

Admirers of modern Texas soul-funk-R&B ought to already be well acquainted with Houston outfit The Suffers. And if you’re hip to that group, you’re also aware that part of what makes them so special is frontwoman Kam Franklin.

This powerhouse can make just about any subject matter sound groovy as hell, so as a performance artist, orator, and activist, it’s no surprise that Kam’s comfortable broaching some tough topics as well. Within her solo saga that really started picking up steam at the turn of the 2020s, Franklin’s recently tackled two notorious United States hate crimes, that of James Byrd, Jr. and Matthew Shepard on her aptly titled latest single “Byrd And Shepard”.

The weight and pain of all-too-real bigotry history doesn’t stop Franklin from soaring on “Byrd And Shepard”, in which a simple percussive pulse and tortured key-and-six-string pairings support Kam’s championing of checking facts and protecting poignant books that policymakers want to ban. Behold Kam Franklin as she joins the star-studded lineup that wraps up KUTX’s 10th Birthday Concert Series with Walker Lukens’ The Last Walt tomorrow night at The Paramount, and give “Byrd And Shepard” a few extra spins not only in the name of preserving our painful-yet-important past, but also because it’s a powerful ballad that could’ve been a Whitney Houston/Tina Turner-Highwaymen collaboration.

ISTA: “Do What Feels Right”

Down here in the South we like to brag that “everything’s bigger in Texas”. And while that’s true for a lot of things, up in NYC they consistently keep their collectives nice and large.So it’s worth bringing up Brooklyn’s ISTA, who solidified their lineup as a seven-piece in early 2020 and have since sewn together the threads between psych, rock, funk, and punk. With each new single, ISTA’s world of whimsy Big Apple earworms have only dug deeper, and with the recent release of their eponymous full-length, they’ve been effortlessly amalgamated into an idiosyncratic introduction. This baker’s dozen of driving pedal-heavy, vocal-harmony heaven is an absolute hoot from front to back, but if you want to mainline a hedonistic sense of freedom, mid-workweek, well, just “Do What Feels Right”. Like a just-unearthed lost tape from Laugh-In‘s counterculture vault, the visuals for “Do What Feels Right” perfectly complement the track’s fluid and frenetic dedication to the love of fun. And based on that alone, we’ve got a good feeling that ISTA’s the type to keep any party going and push it right into its prime

Midnight Maniac: “I Heard It In A Nightmare”

As time marches on, it’s so fascinating to notice which vintage words get assigned to which decades. For ’90s-early ’00s it’s “throwback. For ’60s-’70s it’s usually “retro”. But outside of “old school” one of our favorite labels is that most often tacked on to the 1980s, and that’s “flashback”. Which, especially for those awesomely-overproduced recordings of pop and rock, really does a great job of representing that in-your-face, cinematic, “you just had to be there” energy.Which brings us to Midnight Maniac. Made up of multi-instrumentalist-songwriters Jake Curtis Allard and Marshall Benson, this Austin duo has already dived headfirst into electronic-pop-laden hard rock. And sure, while they’ve certainly got the hair to match, the music alone sounds fresh out of an end-of-Cold War time capsule. And Midnight Maniac has big plans for 2024, so ahead of a full album and a nationwide tour, these two teamed up with Aerosmith/AC/DC collaborator Chris Athens to master their sweat-drenched debut single.Like a piece of sonic sleep paralysis, that’s just as impactful as it is brief, “I Heard It In A Nightmare” glistens from its first group vocals all the way through its final ass-kicking guitar chord. Whether you’re headbanging through your commute, or breaking out the brush microphone and air guitar at home, this debut single is a dark-yet-sparkling dream come true for processed hard rock hounds.

Cha’Keeta B Interview

The fun kicks off this week on an interview with Austin’s Cha’Keeta B to talk women in hip-hop and her upcoming EP Where the Wild Flowers Grow. After that Confucius and Fresh talk about accountability when it comes to violence against women in music, the baffling ambassadorship of Lil Yachty, and more.

Michael Nau: “Painting A Wall”

Between Cotton Jones, Page France, and his eponymous Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, Maryland’s Michael Nau‘s built up one hell of an indie rock reputation over his career. And as a family man fast approaching his forties, there’ve been some real waves of wisdom and maturity making appearances in his more recent music.

That’s not to call his earlier solo catalogue childish by any account; his 2016 single “Love Survive” has shown some serious staying power with nearly 50 million streams on Spotify alone, with several other album selects and standalones making millions of impressions in the interim between then and now as well. With that songwriting validation in tow and the best band of friends a man could ask for to back him up, Nau teamed up with The Killers/Lucy Dacus/Fruit Bats producer-engineer Adrien Olsen to create a new batch of tunes not too long ago.

Well after a disappearing overdub scare and two full-band sessions, Accompany finally came out last Friday. With a bit of psych-soul sophistication (robust arrangements and all) classing up the mix, these near-dozen newbies might just be Michael Nau’s modern masterpiece. It’s a swatch-swapping journey that deserves to be heard front to back, but if you just want a quick, colorful way to keep your beginning-of-work-week outlook positive, “Painting A Wall”, with its optimistic pedal steel and life-navigating lyrics, will put you in wonderful spirits.

nolo: “Appetite”

If you’re looking to get out of the house this evening and support some local music without just padding the band’s drink tab, we’ve got just the thing for you.

Consider this our official nod to nolo, an Austin alt-rock quartet whose four members first met up in rehab a half decade back. Don’t worry; the boys are all still sober. And as a matter of fact they’ve teamed up with Recovery Unplugged to create and host the Sober Sessions open mic series. So even though nolo’s put the hard stuff down, their energetic brand of rock is an intoxicating upper all on its own.

Lately nolo’s been working up their debut full-length, set for release next Spring. And this morning nolo served up the LP’s second lead single “Appetite” alongside a manic music video, silly string, strobe lights, white psych patient scrubs, and all. If you’re tired of shit stressing you out from this past work week, dance it all out with nolo 10:45PM tonight at our station’s neighbor Hole in the Wall. If you’d rather stay cooped up in your own resident looney bin, at least pump the fine-polished pop rock of “Appetite” again through your favorite pair of headphones or speakers.

Honey Hideouts: “Goodbyes”

By nature, the id of a creative is often occupied by abstract fragments, waiting to be manifested. But sometimes the spark to bring something new to fruition only arrives with a change of scenery. And a recent case of such comes courtesy of Denmark’s Markus Artved.

An accomplished producer who’s lent his ear to Lukas Graham alongside several Scandinavian up-and-comers, Artved’s also been praised for his sound design and music composition in Denmark’s theater and play circuit. Those endeavors already embedded in his aura, last year Markus made what turned into a pilgrimage of sorts to the U.S., a trip that unlocked a previously-oppressed appetite in Artved.

Enter Honey Hideouts. Less a departure from his typical wheelhouse and more an extension of his intrinsic passion, this solo aspiration takes cues from ’60s-’70s psych-pop icons with a twist indie and jazz here and there. The inspiration became a reality after a recent respite from the hustle and bustle of Copenhagen at Artved’s remote family cottage out near the North Sea, and today we received the inaugural dip from Honey Hideouts’ jar.

The first comb from what’s set to be a fuller hive in 2024, “Goodbyes”, despite its farvel-bidding title, is a warm introduction to Honey Hideouts. At a steady tempo that feels like stirring around a gloopy pot, crystallized electric guitar, a viscous rhythm section, and Artved’s unhurried, mellifluous singing, “Goodbyes” is just sticky enough to keep buzzing in your head well after the tune’s deliciously abrupt ending.

Uncle Lucius: “All the Angelenos”

If you missed out on some quality family time during Thanksgiving, we’ve got some musical kin for you who’ll help clean out any leftovers. We’re talking about our dear Uncle Lucius, an Americana rock endeavor spearheaded by Kevin Galloway. A beloved Austin institution since their 2006 debut Something They Ain’t, the fellas actually considered putting Uncle L to bed back in 2018. But with millions of streams still showing support, especially 2012’s “Keep the Wolves Away” (which racked up hundreds of such, eventually reaching Gold status), Galloway and the gang realized this unofficial family affair still had plenty of fuel to stoke the flames.

So, almost a decade after their previous LP The Light, this Friday Uncle Lucius returns with Like It’s The Last One Left. True to its title, LITLOL packages ten new tracks that find Uncle Lucius in tip-top form, and would hypothetically make for a mighty fine farewell if the circumstances arose. But since we’re not banking on the boys calling it quits anytime soon, we don’t see this as a Hail Mary. Instead its a mighty fine amalgamation of seventeen-plus years of tour-proven excellence, with some reorganized roles and restructuring as a sextet.

Like It’s The Last One Left also went the inclusive route, inviting in collaborators like Reckless Kelly fiddler Cody Braun, who graces the album’s final lead single “All the Angelenos”. Speaking of other towns, Uncle Lucius heads over to Houston this weekend before performances in Dallas and Goliad later this month, which’ll bookend a gig at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater 7PM on Saturday, December 30th. So put a positive spin on Austin’s ever-increasing population growth with “All the Angelenos”, because you really can’t get enough new folks to stop by and meet their new Uncle Lucius.

Chronicling Resilience in the Rio Grande Valley

In the series finale of Mind of Texas, Ike uncovers the threads between historical research, community engagement, and minority mental health in one of Texas’ most troubled regions. You’ll hear from Dr. Monica Martinez, author of The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas, alongside researchers Stephanie Childress, PhD/Assistant Instructor for UT’s American Studies Department and Alexandra Salazar, PhD for UT’s Mexican American and Latino Studies department.

Gary Devlin: “Waves”

We’ll never deny the merits of lyrical therapy. Then again, the staying power and worldwide accessibility of meditative genres like classical and jazz has little to do with curated words. And more often than not with that universality, comes positivity.

Cut to El Paso-born, Arlington-based songwriter-guitarist Gary Devlin. Sure, Gary’s got the makings of a great singer, as heard on his 2016 debut Pick Your Heart’s Desire, but he also appreciates the intrinsic power of letting his six-string do the talking for him. That’s no doubt thanks to Devlin’s upbringing in a golden age of rock composition, when Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Zeppelin, and the too-many-to-list rest were the standard for quality songwriting. The way he sees it? Why put a perimeter around genres when you can make your mission statement “feel good pop rock”?

Well, to get the ball rolling on his as-of-yet-untitled 2024 LP, last Friday Devlin imparted some of those lessons onto a sans-lyric love song. And because it’s inspired by that-most complicated emotions, this sprawling five-minute instrumental doesn’t really stick to one lane. Instead “Waves” weaves smooth acoustic guitar jazz with ’70s-inspired prog rock that doesn’t pause until a final cathartic repose.

The Tibbs: “Ain’t It Funny”

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again; the retro-soul renaissance of the last 10-15 years has been one of the most refreshing trends to break into the mainstream. And it’s been especially intriguing to hear countries outside of the U.S. tackle that classic Motown/Stax sound with their own takes on those brassy, upbeat, vocal-driven formulas.

And of those who’ve represented Western Europe, few have done it quite as long as Amsterdam’s The Tibbs. Starting off with their cover-stuffed 2014 LP Cleaned Out, this septet’s spent the past decade-plus scoring millions of streams thanks to a tenacious work ethic and unwavering dedication to the iconic ’60s-’70s aesthetic, even down to their album artwork. In terms of American soul interpolations, The Tibbs don’t just make a pastiche of the classics; they mix in a timeless potpourri of garage grit, sophisticated jazz-funk, mid-century pop, and even a little bit of blues and ska to boot.

Well, with a respectable amount of records already under their belt, last Friday The Tibbs announced their third full-length, Keep It To Yourself, set for release late next month. At a dozen tunes, Keep It To Yourself is expected to at least go toe-to-toe with Fall 2020’s Another Shot Fired. Yet with that extra element of post-COVID compassion, and the invaluable few additional years of experience, Keep It To Yourself may turn out to be The Tibbs finest work to date. And based on the LP’s lead single, which came last Friday alongside the release announcement, we’re willing to take that bet straight to the bank. Because between the transparency of its music video (which shows off the seven-piece’s live chops), some unforgettably in-the-pocket horn lines, an undying rhythm section that effortlessly support keys and guitar, and of course Roxanne Hartog’s soon-to-be-iconic pipes, “Ain’t It Funny” can only make us laugh in terms of how friggin’ good it is.