Remember when mixtapes were almighty? Confucius and Fresh definitely do! Hear their take on the route mixtape culture has taken, plus some strategies to avoid over commercializing the genre in 2024, how The Breaks succeeds in a primarily non-black space and more on the latest episode.
Chief Cleopatra: “December All Year” (Live in Studio 1A)
Apologies in advance to all the Scrooges out there, but the winter holidays are on our doorstep. So if you haven’t already, prepare for in-store speaker systems, radio spots, TV commercials, and hell even carolers to give us our annual fill of festive favorites. And while the Bing Crosbys and Brenda Lees of generations past still pack an iconic charm into this last month, we love that the novelty of “Christmas music” hasn’t negated the creation of holiday-inspired originals from modern artists of all backgrounds, like our February 2022 Artist of the Month Chief Cleopatra.Cleo combines soul, rock, gospel, hip-hop, funk, R&B, and more into a non-genre-denominational sound that perfectly complements this singer’s eccentric and often ornamental sense of fashion. She blew us away at the onset of COVID with her eponymous three-tune debut, and made an even more memorable impact last spring with her Walker Lukens-produced follow-up EP Luna. Chief Cleopatra also wowed us with the wide arrangement on this past March’s “Weekend Warrior”, yet it’s the piece of DSII-produced yuletide joy we found under our tree this morning that reassure us how special this Austin treasure is.So much so that we invited Chief Cleopatra and a backing sextet to cut an extended live edition of “December All Year“ in our very own Studio 1A. A mellow Christmas miracle from its first full-band downbeat through its closing keyboard quote of “Jingle Bells”, Chief Cleopatra makes Mrs. Claus seem more like Ellen Griswold with register-spanning vocals that have us second-guessing if there’s mistletoe above us.
Cinnamontal: “P.R.P.P.P.”
If the corporate powers that be haven’t already ushered in the official start of Christmastime, December 1st will certainly flip the switch. So might as well ignite the yule log early with some new, locally-sourced aural ornaments, starting today with Denise Murray.
Better known by her nickname Cinnamon, and by extension, her creative handle Cinnamontal, this Austinite’s a classically-trained, Berklee, Spain-educated bassoonist, producer-singer-songwriter who’s performed on Slovenia’s Eurovision, rubbed elbows in-studio with Grammy winners, achieved semifinalist status at Montreux Jazz Fest’s Jazz Voice Competition, and become host of The Music Executive podcast. So, it’s easy to see that Murray’s plate stays pretty full even outside of the Thanksgiving season.
That said, this past year Cinnamontal’s taken some real strides in establishing her solo act, having released her debut streaming single “Gold Star” in mid-June and following it up with late August’s “Be Like U”, both of which have introduced us to a powerful new voice in Austin R&B. And while there’s no point in trying to snatch Mariah’s crown when it comes to most beloved holiday R&B song, Cinnamontal and her bassoon James sure have put a saucy twist on the iconic “Little Drummer Boy” melody with a tune that wraps voluptuous vocals, hearth-warming woodwinds, head-bobbing beats, and gift-ready guitar into a neat little Christmas package. So put “P.R.P.P.P.” on your holiday playlist and try not to imagine St. Nick getting seduced by its slinky sonics, kissing mommy or not.
Olivia Nowadays: “Damn This Is Real Bad”
In the era of the phonograph, when sound quality was essentially nonexistent, whatever got cut to the cylinder is whatever crackled out. Nowadays, there’s a huge divide in listener tastes when it comes to fidelity. On one side of the spectrum you’ve got audiophiles who demand nothing less than ultra-refined digital masters that make it sound like you just had an ear cleaning; on the other, there are the lo-fi aficionados who prefer a muddier analog sound over a pristine mix. And of course, there are folks smack dab in between who relish in a midway fidelity – which we’ll call mid-fi.
That’s not to say mid-fi is mediocre…far from it. It takes a certain sensibility to narrow down centrist sounds that please without being too pockmarked nor pristine, a talent imbued in Albuquerque duo Olivia Nowadays. The genre-defying pair’s first eccentric collection How to Be Okay With the Everyday dropped right before COVID, and since then, these self-proclaimed “basement boys” have only gotten bigger and bolder. This Friday they unfurl their sophomore full-length The Sky Doesn’t End At The Top Of The Page, featuring nearly a dozen new tunes that scratch that itch of oddball auditory stimulation with fascinating field recordings, admirable amounts of experimentation, and overall just awe-inspiring ambience.
We’ve already received five of the eleven puzzle pieces, and this morning, Olivia Nowadays helped us visualize the fuller picture with an album closer actually inspired by a move to Austin, “Damn This Is Real Bad”. But don’t take the title at face value. This sans-lyric transportive wonder starts off simply enough with unhurried synth arpeggios, resolves tranquilly with horizon-cresting orchestral plucks, and swells smack dab in the middle with lush vocal harmonies and pulsing percussion. Not much left to say other than, “Damn. This is real good.”
Parker Woodland: “True Love Will Find You In The End”
First thing’s first. Parker Woodland isn’t a person; it’s a band. More accurately, it’s an Austin-based indie rock collective captained by activist/singer-songwriter Erin Walter. And although Walter, guitarist Andrew Solin, and drummer Keri Cinquina comprise the group’s core trio, Parker Woodland always welcomes a revolving cast of contributors both in-studio and on-stage for inclusive arrangements that complement the band’s hefty emotional weight. Between their placement at Rock the Park and as of last weekend, The Breakfast Boogie, clearly Parker Woodland’s earned their keep as a KUTX favorite and a can’t-miss curator of the Austin Music Experience in 2023.
As for next year, the gang’s been working towards the full-length follow-up to their February 2021 debut EP The World’s On Fire (And We Still Fall In Love). And as Parker Woodland passes the half decade mark of their run, we’re positive that this LP will leap off streaming services and warm hearts citywide. In the meantime, to wrap up this month, you can get a taste of the live portion with an all-ages, stage-filling affair 8PM this Thursday at The Mohawk with Sabrina Ellis and Sheverb. Sure, Live from Love Hill offers an honest representation of Parker Woodland’s in-concert chops, but obviously, the in-person experience is the real deal.
Fingers crossed we get a fuller preview of this new record, whose tunes like the Daniel Johnston folk-punk re-work “True Love Will Find You In The End” have already promised the inevitability of affection and adoration for listeners of any kind. To the naysaying loners, just try not to feel warm and fuzzy after pressing “play”, because this indie-folk fleur blossoms with gorgeous harmonies and optimistic orchestral flourishes before a final-minute sprint into punk-rock-inspired passion.
Kirk Smith: “This Debt”
For some creatives, dropping new tune is their sole bread and butter. For others, it’s just one more “could do” option within an already-busy schedule. But speaking to the latter, those folks who juggle a handful of demanding passions surely do deserve some leniency when it comes to big breaks between formal music releases.
Take a gander at Kirk Smith. Aside from his singer-songwriter status, Smith spends his time with sandlot baseball, remodeling houses, raising a family, instructing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and oh yeah, being a published poet-playwright. Safe to say we can cut Kirk some slack for the decade-and-a-half interval between his 2003 debut Suddenly Bright Out and the singles that would go onto become his sophomore full-length Ithaca. That said, the record’s a true return to form, a compelling comeback for someone who clearly gives a crap about this craft, fifteen-year hiatus aside.
After Ithaca‘s arrival this past June, Kirk Smith has been wading back into the live scene and gigging when he can. So before you catch Kirk at ABGB just before Christmas, consider seeing a full band performance 7:30PM tomorrow night at Meanwhile Brewing Co. alongside Nathan Hamilton. After all, with offbeat originals that champion carefully-constrained dynamics like “This Debt”, you owe it Smith to show out and show some local love.
Diddy, the Grammys, and Andre’s New Groove
Between P. Diddy’s salacious allegations, rumors about next year’s Grammy Awards, and of course, Andre 3000’s boldly bizarre return, there’s a lot to cover this week on The Breaks! Hear all that on top of Confucius Reads the News and Hip-Hop Facts on the latest episode.
Impasto Gardens: “Glass Dose”
Now that we’ve had ample time to metabolize our holiday meal, might as well move back to the normal programming with the final New Music Friday of November. And today we’re listening to Austin singer-guitarist-producer Joseph McCaffrey, who you might recognize as the cofounder of mid-aughts indie pop outfit Nightmare of You. It’s been a little over a decade since we last heard from NoY, and now that McCaffrey’s entered his 40s, he’s leaning into that middle aged call to cultivate.
That’s right, just last month McCaffrey formally introduced us to his new solo project Impasto Gardens, a visually inspired crossbreed of shoegaze, pop rock, and indie psych – tangled somewhere in between Ride, Slow Dive, Explosions in the Sky, The Stone Roses, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Late last month, the first single for Impasto Garden’s upcoming eponymous debut, “Support Systems”, made for a great introduction to McCaffrey’s newfound style, and has already racked up 40,000 spins on Spotify alone. And today he takes those textured nuances even further with the LP’s second harvest ahead of its release next January.
As the eighth of Impasto Garden‘s near-dozen tracks, “Glass Dose” provides a pivotal beat to transition into the album’s final act. Spacey guitar subdivisions and a complex drum pattern instantly paint a picture in the initial moments of “Glass Dose”, and as the reverb soars, so does the sense of translucent psychedelia in this succinct yield that’s strong enough to stand on its own – complete with quick-pan piano, un-buriable bass lines, and vegetative vocals.
The VYB Project & Tobias Lund: “Gradient”
SXSW, and by extension, the year-round Austin Music Experience as a whole, draws tons of international acts, eager to gain traction, to our fair city limits. And outside the live scene, our academic institutions also attract a ton of talent, and not just UT. No, it seems like ACC, in particular its Music Business program, serves as somewhat of a melting pot for artists ready to take their career to the next level.
At least, that’s exactly where Mumbai producer Trishant Bhatt (better known as The VYB Project) first linked up with Copenhagen singer-songwriter Tobias Lund. It didn’t take long for them to realize that Bhatt’s borderless production style and Lund’s soul-pop vocals could make for a colorful combo, and soon enough, they paired up and got to work. And just in time for the holiday, Lund and The VYB Project released the first fruit of their labor last Friday, in what we’re hoping will evolve into a cornucopia of collaborations.
Lund’s sultry pipes grace Bhatt’s crisp drums, evolving electronic arpeggios, easy-going guitar, and seductive synth chords on “Gradient” for a gliding piece of EDM and pop that’ll keep you warm throughout a full spectrum of upcoming winter weather.
Autogramm: “WannaBe”
Forty years after its original run, it truly feels like a piece of the ’80s is back with an attitude. And no…not just in terms of inflation, world conflicts, or a war on drugs; it’s the music too. Sure, there’ve been countless contemporaries who’ve incorporated a retro aesthetic into their modern sound, but we’re talking more about stuff that makes it hard to distinguish when it actually came out.
Take for instance Autogramm. The Vancouver quartet (with members also hailing from Seattle and Chicago) just wheeled out their third full-length Music That Humans Can Play last Friday, and just glancing at the cover, you can tell exactly which decade they’re trying to fit in with. Hell, even the title touches on that lovable Gen X-era sarcastic apathy. Made in the wake of their 2021 sophomore No Rules, MTHCP was a pandemic-stricken re-evaluation of the group as a whole, and goddamn are we happy Autogramm decided to stick with the program and add guitarist Lars Von Seattle to their ranks. Just like their 20th century predecessors, Autogramm’s transformed from artsy punk into synth-driven new wave and power pop, which, as mentioned before, makes this new material hard to separate from the authentic ’80s OGs.
If you happen to be in Western Europe next March, you’ve got ample chances to catch Autogramm live. If not, we recommend spinning Music That Humans Can Play in its entirety, whether or not you’ve got an old-school speaker setup because at a hair over a half hour, Music That Humans Can Play – true to its title – is plenty accessible. Shoot, you could probably get away with slipping the full album into your favorite ’80s playlist and no one would second guess that it came out this year. And that’s thanks to its big and bold production – processed to kingdom come but bearing the same simplistic formulas of chart-toppers like The Cars and Gary Numan. So without much more than the actual release date to convince us this record isn’t a long lost relic, if you love the ’80s, you’ll “WannaBe” in close company with Autogramm’s latest.
Karima Santi: “Space”
No matter how immense a musical talent is intrinsically, sometimes resetting your surroundings can be the biggest catalyst to moving on up. Like, look at singer-guitarist Karima Santi, who cut her teeth in jazz, folk, and punk groups on the other side of the decade up in the Raleigh-Durham area. Sure, those bands kept Karima busy, and yet at the same time, none of them managed to quite suit Santi’s specific niche of styles and tastes. So by the time she moved down here to Austin, COVID creeping up behind, Santi’d already begun zeroing in on solo songwriting, releasing her streaming debut “You in 3/4” that August.
Since then, Karima’s repertoire of indie rock originals has reached the hundreds, and her connections with local industry heavyweights has only expanded after recording at feel flow studio back in 2021. Case in point: Karima’s recently collaborated with a dream team of Austin talent plus Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Bubble to give her Mazzy Star-meets-Cat Power compositions their best set of legs possible. On top of that, she just made her SoFar sounds debut on Veteran’s Day.
So while it’s easy enough to admire Karima Santi in this still-fledgling phase, we can also appreciate the anxiety that must come from starting fresh in a new town with a lifetime’s worth of tunes in tow. And following October’s “Underwater”, Santi speaks to that unease with her deceptively downtempo latest, “Space”. Its overlapping guitars and unwavering drums forge an acoustic-electric garrison around Santi’s emotional vocals for a four-minute masterpiece of moodiness.
Avara: “BABY BLUE BEAMER”
It’s Native American Heritage month, but hopefully we’re all hip to the fact that an “American Indian” is not the same thing as an Indian-American. That’s important because today we’re shining the spotlight on Avara Ellorie, best known by her mononym Avara.
Born in New York City and raised in Atlanta, Avara’s pilgrimage from one musical metropolis to another has led to her latest home base here in Austin. And it’s here that her journey as a songwriter and producer – one that began with a Taylor Swift record back in grade school – has really begun making impressions on listeners. With her Indian heritage front and center to her lyrical identity, Avara avoids any obvious Eastern instrumental influences in her arrangements, instead absorbing the best of modern Western R&B to create an accessible, lush brand of soundscapes – somewhere between Alina Baraz, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd.
And 2023’s proven awfully auspicious for Avara, considering she’s dropped a handful of singles (whose aesthetic alternates between all caps and strictly lowercase) ahead of her debut EP – out next February. And today, just in time for the weekend, we received that inaugural EP’s final lead single “BABY BLUE BEAMER” – a rock-oriented R&B banger that lets off the gas pedal to coast through nearly three minutes of breathy falsetto, hypnotic vocal effects, glued-to-the-pavement percussion, and tire-screeching guitar – all for a cinematic getaway chase of pensive sensuality.
Kenton Mackay: “Royalty Free”
You wouldn’t download a car would you? Heck yeah I would! That’s right, at least for my generation, internet piracy was a moral middle ground. Sure Lars Ulrich didn’t get the extra million he was hoping for, but in an era before streaming services became ubiquitous, the high seas were a great place for millennials to develop their musical tastes. And that’s more or less the origin story for Austin’s Kenton Mackay, who despite an upbringing smack dab in the middle of nowhere, was able to grab a guitar, put his ISP to work, and inundate himself in the likes of Nirvana, Radiohead, and Beck.
Once that baseline was under his belt, Mackay moved to our fair city limits and quickly caught onto mainstays like The Black Angels and Broncho, launching his own fuzz rock songwriting career not too long afterwards. Fast forward to this year, when Mackay and his backing band The Sensors have been working on their debut EP In Good Taste, an indie alt-pop-rock endeavor mix and mastered by the legendary Erik Wofford and set for release next Spring.
Mackay and the Sensors find a grunge-pop sweet spot on In Good Taste‘s second lead single “Royalty Free”, which finds Kenton’s robust baritone sarcastically begging for funds and recognition – almost a wink and nod to his early not-so-legal musical exposure. But that doesn’t mean you can’t support Kenton Mackay when he plays midnight next Saturday at Hotel Vegas for a single release show following Born Twins at 10 and Flags at 11. And at just under three minutes, who needs Limewire when you can just cue up “Royalty Free” on your favorite streamer, smash that “repeat” button, and let the numbers speak for themselves?
Honey Made: “FYC”
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re already salivating over all the fixings, dressings, and sauces that await us next week. But if you want something homegrown that’ll slather up your ear drums and keep you full ’til the proverbial turkey gobbles, serve yourself up some Honey Made.
The Austin-based nine-piece started oozing out of the jar at the turn of this past decade, and in 2020 alone put out not just their debut EP Couple Few but also their first full-length Brand New. Now, as with any horn-heavy stage-filling ensemble, Honey Made is best enjoyed in a live setting, so we can’t really blame them for taking their time in terms of subsequent studio releases. That said, this Friday Honey Made unfurls their sophomore EP Charge It To The Band Fund.
On top of an edit of last summer’s “Upstairs”, CITTBF totes six new tunes that attest to Honey Made’s impressive perseverance and undying efforts towards shaking rumps and sating the parched. As someone who used to play in a fifteen-piece, I can tell you that the band fund is all-too-real, and honestly a better bet for pooling towards the next big thing. So chip in as much as you can at the Charge It To The Band Fund EP release show 10PM Saturday night at the Skylark Lounge with openers The Reverent Few at 8PM. And if you want to get some mileage out of your stank face before settling in with your relatives, loved ones, or whomever you share Thanksgiving with, turn the volume all the way up, plow onto your couch, and get kickin’ with “FYC”. Whether or not you take your shoes off is up to you…
NOA: “Ba Li” (feat. CHRON!AC)
For as many hurdles as it faces, Austin’s hip-hop/R&B scene only seems to keep getting stronger in recent years. And for the sake of variety, thankfully it’s not just macho monotone mumblers either; there’s been an influx of soul-informed female acts whose styles straddle between rapping and singing.
Among those to keep an ear out for is Noa Belillti, better known mononymously as NOA. Now, NOA’s been doing her thing here since 2011, but only dropped her debut EP In Your Dreams this past February. The Israeli-Moroccan’s since gone on to share a stage with KUTX favorite BLK ODYSSY at SXSW, compose and perform for Iram Reyes’ From Where I Stand, and continue to enjoy a residency at Half Step on Rainey Street every fourth Wednesday. It wouldn’t be fair to call NOA’s talent dynamite, because that would imply that a fuse that eventually fizzles, a big bang that begets silence. No, NOA and her pulchritudinous pipes are more like a never ending sequence of firecrackers, sparkling with sassy sensuality and popping with deservedly cocky confidence.
Just yesterday NOA stamped her hip-hop passport with an east-of-Java jet-setter that finds her once again teaming up with international producer CHRON!AC, (who lent their talents to the In Your Dreams closer “Call Me Up”). Eastern sensibilities surge throughout the instrumentation of “Ba Li“, building a tropical trap backdrop for NOA to absolutely go off. Between its bangin’ BPM and rapid-fire lyrical style switches, we’re wondering how much of “Ba Li” is NOA’s idea of self-empowered security versus the manifestation of an indulgent rager yet to happen.
Talking Hip-Hop: Journalism vs. Gossip
Sure, rumors are intriguing. But why has hip-hop talk moved from music journalism to celebrity clickbait? And when it comes to club culture, forget your section! Bottle wars simply don’t rack up to club-wide celebrations. Hear all about it plus Hip-Hop Facts, Confucius Reads the News, and a particularly Unpopular Opinion that may upset Keke Palmer fans on the latest episode of The Breaks.
Voxtrot: “New World Romance”
Hamell On Trial: “Jelly” (feat. Ruth Theodore)
Despite their sonic dissimilarities, folk and punk have always shared focal points of dissent through scathing societal commentary and rallying behind the modern working class. Yes, for every Woody Guthrie there’s been an equal and opposite Wattie Buchan, but of course, there are also plenty of folk-punk poets that perforate the norm with their own outraged acoustic discourse.
Take for example Austin’s Ed Hamell, who’s been challenging establishments and offending the straight-laced since nineties as Hamell On Trial. Ever equipped with his ’37 Gibson acoustic, Hamell’s shared stages with everyone from The Pogues to Ani DiFranco, travelled hundreds of thousands of miles on tour, often with his son Detroit, and preserved his crass satire on seventeen studio albums.
The latest of which, Bring The Kids, comes out this Friday, alongside a record release show with fellow Austinite Giulia Millanta 8:30-11:30PM this Saturday at Captain Quackenbush’s Soundscape. New York producer Matt LaBozza helped escalate the phone recordings that formed the basis of Bring The Kids into the most beat-heavy, arrangement-drenched sound Hamell’s ever handled. That said, the album still rings true with Hamell On Trial’s DIY philosophy, hand-painted aesthetic, one-man energy, offbeat unapologetic humor and all. So have a laugh before Saturday with one of Bring the Kids four lead singles, starting with the latest (and dare we say loveliest) of which that features Brit troubadour Ruth Theodore, “Jelly”.
Walkabouts: “Sinner”
When you’re surrounded by skyscrapers 24/7, it doesn’t take long to forget; here in Texas…we’ve got plenty of dry, cinematic wilderness. But for those of us who simply can’t squeeze in a road trip in every weekend? Our next best bet for a cinematic desert escape is some good ol’ fashioned Central Texas psychedelia.
That said, don’t let the genre label limit what to expect from Walkabouts, because true to their name, this Austin quartet doesn’t stick to just one corner. No, they chart an incredible amount of middle ground between dream pop and desert rock for live sets and albums blessed by psychedelic stream of consciousness. On top of that, this calculated hippie hermitage has already set a purposeful pace instead of ambling around like so many up-and-comer groups; in just over a year Walkabouts have evolved from playing frontman Sam Shaffer’s solo record Valley of the Living Water into the theatric four-man affair who just released their debut LP Bloomin’ Ocotillo last Tuesday.
Like lush lips on an arid shrub, wrapped up in the very fabric of the universe itself but never taking itself too seriously, Bloomin’ Ocotillo is a half-hour sonic journey, no doubt. But if you’re a psychonaut like me who loves the nuances of a live performance, drop out with Walkabouts 8:15PM tonight at Far Out Lounge in between CLTTR at 7 and Audio Sex Drive at 9:30. And especially if Election Day’s got you out of sorts, get in touch with your inner grunge with Western-ready wind gusts and the heavy-as-hell fuzz bluster that is “Sinner”.
Shane Renfro: “Come On Down”
Aside from professional full-timers who can realistically sustain themselves with their craft, it’s easy to assume that musicians are putting all their extracurricular hours towards songwriting, recording, touring, and performing. But of course, musicians are as humans as the rest of us, and will take every bit of recreation they can get.
See: Shane Renfro, who’s floated all across Texas, from Grapeland to Marfa, and even to L.A. before settling back down in the Lone Star State. As the frontman behind our August 2019 Artist of the Month RF Shannon, Renfro’s spent a considerable amount of time here in Austin, but his home base is decidedly a stone’s throw away out in Lockhart. And it turns out that Renfro’s become somewhat of a slugger in recent times. Alongside his fellow Lockhart creatives, Shane Renfro co-founded the Lockhart Sandlot Baseball Club last year, who have since gone on to fundraise for community non-profits, volunteer for political rallies, and even ump local little league games. And yeah, unsurprisingly, between all the clean hits, beer-shotgunning tie breakers, and post-game pizza and BBQ, Lockhart Sandlot’s gone on to release some great collaborative records off the diamond.
Last Friday they knocked ten central Texas-bred tunes right out of the park with Sandlot Season One: Lockhart. If you manage to snag a copy of SSO:L on vinyl, you’ll notice that Renfro is first up to bat on both sides; following this May’s Red Swan in Palmetto, Side B starts off with a demo version of RF Shannon’s “Tangerine Marigold”, and the Side A welcomer “Come On Down” serves as Renfro’s solo streaming debut. Capturing that iconic Texas twang from its first downbeat, “Come On Down” is a grand slam of mellow sounds somewhere between Mac Demarco, T. Rex-era Marc Bolan, and classic country Americana.