Jack Anderson

Cimafunk: “Caramelo” (Live in Studio 6A)

Congrats, we all survived another SXSW! There were some uncertainties going into the fest’s first physical iteration in two years, but it’s safe to say that the city pulled it off in a way that felt pretty dang close to the pre-pandemic days. While we take a much needed breather, KUTX will recap some of the best recordings collected at our Studio 6A showcases, starting today with airwave favorite Cimafunk. This Cuban-born singer (and his stellar backing band) proved that they truly can move a crowd and get heads bobbing any time of day, 9AM in the case of last Wednesday. Cimafunk brought the bari sax and trombone onstage well before noon and doled out some sweet Caribbean-style caffeine with a high-energy set that included “Caramelo”!

Barrie: “Concrete”

We’re in the final days of SXSW 2022 and many of us haven’t been able to see everything we’ve wanted. Either the long lines have intimidated us, the commute’s been problematic, or we simply can’t be in two places at once. Unforeseen circumstances have struck performers as well, considering the Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion had to make some last minute changes based on the availability of headliner Barrie.

Lindsay Barrie’s been touring her mononymous solo project but had to pull out for tonight based on potential COVID exposure. Kudos to her for playing it safe and trusting her early-30s intuition. Assuming she’s good to go, Barrie’s bounding across the pond for the UK leg of her tour in support of Barbara, out next Friday. At just shy of a dozen tracks (one more than 2019’s Happy To Be Here), Barbara is Barrie’s biggest release to date, and further solidifies her status as a must-hear indie songwriter with crushing numbers like “Concrete”.

Pillow Queens: “Be By Your Side”

Happy St. Patty’s Day! If you’re looking to celebrate with some contemporary but authentically-Irish live music, let Pillow Queens guide you into their court. The Dublin quartet dropped their debut EP Calm Girls in 2016 and have since captivated fans across the globe with a harmonic iteration of indie rock that cushions between punk and pop, while lyrically exploring the dissonance of queerness in a Catholic nation.

Pillow Queens are set to release their sophomore full-length Leave The Light On in April and have already teased out three of its ten tracks as singles. They had a double header for SXSW on Tuesday, play midnight tonight at Velveeta Room’s ‘Music From Ireland’ showcase, and perform 11:20pm tomorrow for the Royal Mt. Showcase at Valhalla. Even if you can’t see ’em for South By, you only have to wait a couple weeks for Leave The Light On (out April 1st). Either way, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the band’s discography, toss some tunes in your heavy rotation playlist, and let Pillow Queens “Be By Your Side”.

Femme It Forward: “Mother Nature” (feat. Tayla Parx)

You may not have known her name until today, but you’ve absolutely heard some fruits of labor from Tayla Parx. This Dallas-born L.A.-based singer is a credited songwriter on Billboard blowouts like Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next”, “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, “Infinity” from Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera’s “Accelerate”…and that’s just scratching the surface. As a solo singer, Parx caught plenty of ears with her 2017 mixtape Tayla Made, premiered her first full-length We Need To Talk in 2019, and followed that up the next fall with her sophomore record Coping Mechanisms.

As you can tell, Tayla Parx has paved a name for herself as a hungry songwriter and must-have collaborator. But she really shines when she’s on stage, mic in hand, something she hasn’t been able to do for more than a year. You’ve got a chance to experience just that tonight at Container Bar, where Tayla Parx co-headlines the Dr. Marten’s Showcase along with Dawn Richards. So peruse Parx’s repertoire when you can, and treat yourself to something from Femme It Forward’s Big Femme Energy Vol. 1 on behalf of Women’s History Month with the Tayla Parx feature “Mother Nature”.

Low Hummer: “Talk Shows”

South By’s in full swing and Song of the Day‘s got another recommendation for you – this time on behalf of East Yorkshire sextet Low Hummer. Low Hummer’s debut album Modern Tricks For Living dropped last September, exposing a post-punk potency not heard since the late-’70s or early-’80s. It’s almost as if Gang of Four expanded their iconic sound with alternating vocalists, crunchy synths, and a contemporary helping of reverb. Low Hummer plays three times over the next few days, 8PM tonight at Seven Grand, 9PM tomorrow at Valhalla, and 11PM on Saturday at BBC’s British Music Embassy. We’re hoping Low Hummer unleashes some of their latest stuff live, considering they’ve got new singles coming in June and November ahead of a sophomore album next Spring. Luckily this morning Low Hummer treated us to the record’s first work, “Talk Shows”, which may become syndicated in your playlist thanks to its MIDI percussion groove, detached lyrics, and explosive dynamics.

XIXA: “Velveteen”

SXSW has officially arrived and Song of the Day is here to offer some recommendations for this week of shows, starting today with another set of four letters – XIXA. Unlike SXSW, XIXA’s not an acronym; it’s a bold, all-caps re-spelling of “chicha” – the South American tropical genre that’s one of many influences on this band’s sound. This Tucson sextet made their studio debut in 2016 with Bloodline, which sifts through gritty blues and sandy psychedelia to get to XIXA’s Latin core. XIXA unfurled their second LP Genesis last year, and has since shared a standalone acoustic version of one of the album’s most precious grains, “Velveteen”. XIXA’s given us several opportunities to see them live during SX; they’ll be playing at Flamingo Cantina this Thursday, 2PM on Friday at C-Boy’s Heart & Soul for the Chicha Summit Day Party, 4:30PM that same day at Hotel Vegas for Space Camp, and wrapping things up with Modern English this Sunday at 3Ten. You’ve got plenty of time to do research, so check out Genesis before you figure out which show best suits your schedule, or if you don’t have the time, just click play on “Velveteen”!

merci, mercy: “Sick To My Stomach”

You hear a lot of Australian music on 98.9, so much that you may wonder, “is this supposed to be the Aussie music experience?” But despite how well the continent’s handled quarantine, they haven’t stopped sharing great music, and we’re just trying to keep up. As of yet, though, we don’t have Sydney’s merci, mercy in rotation, but that may soon change.

This composer made her debut right at the beginning of the pandemic with her 2020 EP no thank you, no thanks, and has since garnered 12 million streams with her luminous vocals and immaculate sense of pop songwriting. merci, mercy’s set to share her sophomore EP later this year, and released one of its singles just yesterday. With a synth-heavy, retro-percussion groove, “Sick To My Stomach” could easily become one of your favorite bops of 2022, but don’t let that head-bobbin’ beat overshadow the earnestness of these habit-kicking lyrics.

Zakoor: “Chloe”

SXSW starts tomorrow and with how much is happening in person, it’s more-or-less back to its pre-pandemic state. That’s a huge contrast to 2020, when SXSW’s cancellation presaged the past two years of quarantine guidelines, in-person precautions, and varying techniques of social distancing. That same March singer-songwriter John Zakoor took the immediate impacts of COVID as a cue to split from New York City and seek refuge with family here in Austin.

Within months Zakoor began collaborating remotely with drummer Bryan O’Flynn on new music and by the end of 2020, Zakoor had released two EPs, One and Take Off Your Jacket. If you thought adjusting to work meetings over Zoom was a hassle, try writing an album over email and text. On their upcoming full-length Life Cycle, Zakoor once again examines life in a global pandemic while injecting elements of ’90s grunge and ’80s pop. It’s a little less bleak than Take Off Your Jacket or One, and embodies a bit more mature optimism over these ten new tracks. Life Cycle drops on May 6th and you can walk Zakoor’s tonal tightrope early with their meditation on memory, longing, and being on the brink of loss – “Chloe”.

Light Wheel: “Found”

The bond between singer Tyagaraja Welch and producer Evan Dunivan has only seemed to get stronger and stronger, having started off as strictly friends before becoming songwriting partners almost a decade back. With the addition of bassist Michael Sanders and drummer Ethan Yeager in more recent years, that Welch-Dunivan core has expanded into the boundary-challenging rock quartet, Light Wheel. Light Wheel’s first foray came in 2019 with the release of their debut full-length See Through, though the group’s maintained transparency that they’re best enjoyed live. While we wait for the next batch of Light Wheel gigs to safely roll out, the quartet’s been quietly refining their indie rock sound. They’ll be further exploring the spectrum of psychedelia and prog on their sophomore album that recalls the same lush warmth of See Through. Today the first single from that sophomore record, “Found”, has finally seen its way to the surface; its haunting vocals, eerie acoustics, and intricate rhythms will hypnotize you with their heart and dynamics even after several re-listens.

Pahua: “Mujer del Desierto”

For the first phase of her career, Paulina Sotomayor was strictly known as the namesake frontwoman of her family band Sotomayor, but in just a couple years she’s expanded far beyond and proven herself as an incredibly-driven creative. Nowadays she spends a good amount of time behind the turntables as a DJ and hosts an online radio program, but mainly steers her solo songwriting project Pahua. With Pahua, Sotomayor explores a vast landscape of sounds, ranging from Latin rhythms, lo-fi instrumental, downtempo, electronic, and more. Lyrically Pahua’s become renowned for touching on topics like femininity, nature, empowerment, and self-love, especially on her 2021 EP, Ofrenda. Because of that, Pahua’s a prime candidate to deep dive on International Women’s Day, and she’s just offered us a new jumping-off point with a bass-heavy, reverb-soaked, jazz-chord-lovin’ single that just dropped last Friday, “Mujer del Desierto”!

Rad Gnar: “Buddha”

When you name your band after two monosyllabic slang words, you know it’s gonna be good. Case in point: Rad Gnar, whose members overlap with those of Basketball Shorts, Big Bill, and Breaklights with more than a decade of live show experience. Rad Gnar reels in the space between indie and punk and keeps their brand of rock as high octane as possible with every given opportunity. Rad Gnar’s style of music is best enjoyed in a live setting, where electricity reciprocates onstage and into the crowd. Fortunately for us, Rad Gnar’s got a couple of non-South By South West gigs over the coming days. You won’t need a badge or wristband to see them this Sunday at Volstead Lounge nor next Thursday at Hole in the Wall, where they’ll be tearing into their new EP Dead Strings. At three tracks totaling just over ten minutes, Dead Strings is a well-packaged quick listen, perfect for your lunch break, commute, or just whenever you need to spaz out to some lively rock. So find your own personal favorite from this concise collection, but Song of the Day recommends the shortest, sweetest, and arguably most salivating song, “Buddha”!

Nnedi Nebula Agbaroji: “How High” (prod. Emilie Basez)

You may have already read into Project Traction earlier today, but if you haven’t, here’s the gist. Producer-Engineer Jim Eno of Spoon and Public Hi-Fi Studios is tapping into his resources at hand to diminish the frustrating imbalance between men and women behind the board. The stats are pretty telling – women only represent under 10% of engineers and producers in the music industry – but Eno’s initiative puts his diverse rolodex to good use.

On Project Traction, Eno pairs one Austin producer-engineer with another rising Austin songwriter, for a total of eight female/non-binary-led collaborations. You’ll hear familiar Austin icons like Gina Chavez, Mariclaire Glaeser, and Sara Houser translate their prior studio experiences into these recordings. With its launch so close to International Women’s Day, Project Traction has a big potential to level out gender disparity in the studio and make the most of these infectious new tracks. First out of the gate for Project Traction – Ley Line guitarist-vocalist Emilie Basez teaming up with Nnedi Nebula Agbaroji (of Trouble in the Streets) for their retro-style synth-pop single, “How High”.

The Ghost Wolves: “End Of It All”

Elden Ring‘s been out for a week, so you may think already have a certain type of spectral canines on your mind. The Ghost Wolves, however, aren’t playing any games. This Austin two-piece has more than a decade of experience under their fur, having toured across the globe and landed their original music on programs featured by Netflix, HBO, and MTV. Together, guitarist-keyboardist-vocalist Carley Wolf and drummer-singer Jonny Wolf have played more than a thousand shows in every venue imaginable, even in spooky spaces dungeons and caverns typically fit for a traditional spectral haunt. On Tuesday The Ghost Wolves shared two new singles off their upcoming third full-length Never Die, out June 3rd. It’s definitely a departure from their previous stuff defined by guitar distortion and subdued percussion. But this dark, heavy material still conjures the same gritty, blues-adjacent noise-rock spirit that makes The Ghost Wolves so great. You can hear some of the new tracks live at a free, all-ages show 9PM this Saturday at ABGB along with Veronica Peach and you can get into Never Die early with the eery, organ-driven bounce of “End Of It All”.

Bruce Hughes: “What’s Inside Your Head”

For the vast majority of players, you genuinely can’t know how talented they are until you see them perform live. However that’s not the case with Bruce Hughes, who’s been a musical man about town for four decades. Hughes co-founded several Austin groups (including The Resentments – who play 7:30pm each Sunday at Saxon Pub – The Scabs, Ugly Americans, and Poi Dog Pondering), earned the distinction of Austin Music Awards’ “Bass Player of the Year” in both 2008 and 2015, and became the Musical Director for the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s also no stranger to the road life, having toured alongside Bob Schneider, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Fastball, Sly Curtis, and Jason Mraz.

So with a rap sheet that impressive, you can imagine how good Hughes’ solo stuff is. It’s been four years since he dropped his fifth solo album Christmas Street, but shook off any assumptions of having gone stale with the genre-spanning full-length Late Night Polaroids. True to its name, Late Night Polaroids is packed with sentimentality and nostalgia, not to mention some straight up sexiness. Case in point, one of Late Night Polaroids‘ most seductive snapshots, “What’s Inside Your Head”!

Frozen Orange: “Stream Of”

As we finally (fingers crossed) bid farewell to winter and invite some sunny spring weather into the Lone Star State, a bit of Frozen Orange sounds pretty satisfying right about now. Originally an offshoot of the Austin group Maryann, Matt Hudson and Evan Kaspar recruited AMA’s Blair Robbins and Poly Action’s Zane Frisch to record Frozen Orange’s debut EP travels in November 2018. With the addition of bassist extraordinaire Andrew Stevens, this five-piece isjust ripe enough to reap a new batch of their collective songwriting efforts.Frozen Orange’s sophomore record Sunshine marks a maturation of their indie-alt sound and understated, all-lowercase aesthetic while exploring themes of nostalgia, nature, and personal bonds. You’ll be able to bask in the rays of Sunshine soon, and today you can get a slice of that sonic citrus by dipping your toes into “stream of”.

The Southern Bells: “I’ve Got To Tell It”

Although Song of the Day tries not to play favorites, in these final hours of Black History Month 2022 we’ve just gotta give you one more Memphis soul rarity from Sacred Soul: The D Vine Spirituals Record Story Vol. 1 & 2. This killer compilation’s now available on LP vinyl so you don’t need to jockey between singles on twin turntables, or if you’re strictly on streaming, you can just kick back and press play on Sacred Soul.

These singles are drenched in both faith and finesse, and now that they’re archived digitally, they’re not going anywhere. So share the twenty-eight tracks off Sacred Soul with a fellow soul-fanatic, especially today’s final highlight from The Southern Bells, “I’ve Got To Tell It”.

Nané: “Buona Sera”

Anyone who’s ever had an in-depth discussion about performing and recording the music of others knows that covers can be a contentious conversation – especially when the new version is “too close” to the original. And although it’s hardly a rule of thumb, it seems like the older the originals or less-expected the genre swaps, the bigger the kudos from fellow creatives. Our January 2021 Artist of the Month Nané‘s had a knack for those hard left turns within their own songs, so it’s not a huge shock to hear that same innovation in a cover. This six-piece (who goes on national tour Tuesday after next) perused through legendary crooner Louis Prima’s catalogue and masterfully reimagined of his most iconic tracks”Buona Sera”, peppering in some infectious indie flakes that beg for seconds.

Grandma Mousey: “LOUDER”

With the popularity of acts like Greta Van Fleet, it’s pretty clear that people enjoy classic-style rock in the contemporary realm. But that doesn’t mean modern rockers need to double down on being derivative to get attention. Take for example Austin three-piece Grandma Mousey, who’ve patched a path between ’70s hard rock, ’90s alternative, and current flavors since spring of 2019. On top of their timeless style, Grandma Mousey keeps new fans of all ages from scurrying witheye-popping stage sets and an impressive balance of discipline and charisma. Grandma Mousey drops their EPWith Subtitles tomorrow and plays at the stroke of midnight tonight at Valhalla. Be sure to bring your earplugs because when GM plugs in it’s bound to get “LOUDER”!

The Shaw Singers: “My Time Ain’t Long”

With less than a week to go in our celebration of Black History Month, we’ve gotta keep sweeping through the amazing compilation Sacred Soul: The D Vine Spirituals Record Story Vol. 1 & 2. Engineer Clyde Leoppard and Producer Juan D. Shipp poured their hearts into this ’70s Memphis label and recorded some of the steamiest gospel ever heard. Now that these nearly thirty singles are crisply remastered and on streaming for the first time, there’s no need to dig in the crates to curate a playlist of strictly D Vine Spirituals. Instead you can throw the record on and instantly transport yourself back a half-century with breathtaking pieces of Black History. They all capture a singular snapshot of ’70s Southern soul with lyrics applicable to both society and spirituality, such as those heard onThe Shaw Singers‘ “My Time Ain’t Long”.

Sophie & The Broken Things: “Fire And Ice”

Nashville can get pretty chilly this time of year, but that doesn’t hinder the never-ending flow of musicians fanning their creative embers, be it performing on Broadway, recording in renowned spaces, or just staying at home and songwriting. Singer Sophie Gault’s taken part in that ecosystem since moving from rural Maryland in 2014 and has continued to bring the heat following her Americana outfitSophie & The Broken Things‘ eponymous debut in 2020. Sophie & The Broken Things caught the ear of critics and new listeners alike, as well as Grammy-winner Ray Kennedy, who lent his talents to SBT’s upcoming full-length, Delusions of Grandeur – out this Friday.

Delusions of Grandeur features ten intriguing tracks packed with timeless folk instrumentation, relatable lyrics, and of course, Gault’s enthralling vocals. And while the world waits for George R.R. Martin to finish up Winds of Winter, Sophie & The Broken Things have taken a few cues from ASOIAF for the latest, cinematic single off Delusions of Grandeur, “Fire And Ice”!