Jack Anderson

Dawn Richard: “Bussifame”

Most amateur armchair psychologists can recognize a Type-A personality out in the wild, and even when she isn’t directly in the spotlight, it’s still hard to miss New Orleans native Dawn Richard. Her impressive list of extracurriculars have included being a martial arts instructor, owner of a vegan food truck, animator for Adult Swim, and cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets, all of which have co-existed with Richard’s ascension to pop superstardom.

Dawn Richard’s upcoming LP Second Line picks up where Beyonce’s Lemonade left off, with her own message of empowerment for Black women in the South and beyond, placing considerably more emphasis on women producers than previous endeavors. The narrative-heavy, character driven concept album drops on Friday but you can get a head start on learning your new favorite dance moves today with “Bussifame”!

Django Django: “Asking For More” (KUTX Live at Home)

Quentin Tarantino wasn’t the only artist igniting delight with a silent D in 2012; just ask London four-piece Django Django, whose eponymous debut full-length launched the same year. Since sharing that baker’s dozen back at the beginning of the past decade, these Brits have brought more and more joy with each new exploration of prog rock, psych, electronic, and indie, further weaving their undefinable sound.

Following the release of their fourth LP Glowing in the Dark in February, Django Django’s just announced a month-long European tour kicking off in October. And though we’re still quite a ways from the prospect of the group performing in Austin pandemic-wise, these Studio 1A veterans have offered us a socially-distanced set that you can enjoy in the comfort of your office, living room or on-the-go. Be sure to watch the full thing starting off with the retro-inspired Hall & Oates/Joe Jackson-style groove on “Asking For More”!

Nick Garza’s Get Along: “Another Bloody Morning”

It’s been a bit since singer-guitarist Nick Garza’s primary focus was at the front of Austin’s premiere stomp-folk project, Hello Wheels. Last year he began charting some new Tex-Mex territory with the launch of his eponymous side project Nick Garza’s Get Along, a sunny, solo-steered endeavor that celebrates Garza’s status as a thirteenth generation Texan with southern flavors best enjoyed in the Lone Star State.

After conquering an impressive string of collaborations, Nick Garza’s corralled the Get Along together for a thoroughly chipper double single, whose B-side “Family” begs for repeat listens, and whose upbeat A-side “Another Bloody Morning” receives a visual counterpart in the coming weeks!

John Splithoff: “WGYG”

Born and raised just outside of Chicago, singer-guitarist John Splithoff caught a lot of the soul, R&B, jazz, funk, and pop that blew over from the Windy City, and he’s kept those tones close at hand ever since. Splithoff’s been supplying us with singles dating back to his 2013 independently-released EP but after nearly a full decade, the songwriter’s understandably wanted something a bit more filling to sate his artistic appetite.

Well you can go ahead and gesture “ante up” all you want, but you’ll still have to wait ’til tomorrow to unlock John Splithoff’s debut LP, All In, in its entirety. True to its name, this inaugural full-length gives you an unfettered examination of John Splithoff, whose slick chord progressions and masterful vocal performances wrap up the moody-yet-upbeat record, and will keep your foot tapping with standouts like “WGYG”!

Calliope Musicals: “Can You Tell Me” (Social Distancing Pop-Up)

For the past few weeks (and perhaps beyond), you’ve been hearing a lot about our April 2021 Artist of the Month, Calliope Musicals. This fantastical Austin four-piece has been inching their performative alt-pop eccentricities nearer to insanity with each escalating endeavor, chiefly spearheaded by Calliope’s fearless frontwoman, Carrie Fussell.

Carrie and Calliope recently hosted their My KUTX session in anticipation of their upcoming EP, Between Us, out this Friday. And though the single “Can You Tell Me” already has a great music video, Carrie was kind enough to let the KUTX multimedia team drop by for a two-song socially distanced pop-up set (which also includes Between Us standout “Moonchaser”)!

Dog Beach Rebels: “Numbers”

Whether or not you wonder why reggae fetches more radio time every April 20th, it always seems like a good fit. So what better time to call up Austin four-piece Dog Beach Rebels, who, despite their scruffy handle, has written far from wet fur and has risen up in the ranks of reggae-rock since their debut EP last year.

The quartet’s got a couple new singles and a live album for 2021 (including “Lawman’s Daughter”, slated for late May), but given the numeric fascination behind this particular Tuesday, paired with DBR’s penultimate residency performance tonight at One-2-One Bar (9-11pm), it’s a perfect opportunity to premiere “Numbers”!

Lando the Nomad: “The Healing In You” (feat. Shiela)

If you kept up with Austin soul-funk project Resonant Frequency in their heyday then you’re already somewhat aware of how much talent comes from multi-instrumentalist Landon Reichle. Even then you might’ve missed wind of Reichle’s newfound producer pet project, Lando the Nomad, which finds the genre-traveler exploring those electro-alternative realms made popular in the mid-’90s/early-’00s: trip-hop and R&B.

Lando the Nomad’s set a clear path for 2021, having already released the first half of a two-part collaborative EP, whose latter portion features hip-hop vocalist Roof. The Healing In You, however, features the masterful singing of Shiela, thereby elevating Lando’s already-amazing instrumentals into the echelon of Massive Attack and Portishead, especially on the record’s title track.

Ley Line: “En Busca Del Agua”

Austin’s world music scene has been slowly growing for decades now, and while it’s nowhere near as robust as in places like Chicago or New York, we’ve still got some seriously impressive artists. Multilingual acoustic quartet Ley Line definitely sits around the top of that list, not only in terms of consistent quality, but frequent output, overall focus, and an innate ability to market themselves beyond the realm of singles and record sales.

Having already launched their eponymous Following Ley Line podcast in March, these Studio 1A alums are set to unveil a new visual album in mid-May, which’ll come off the heels of the group’s latest ode to the nature. Inspired by an ongoing worship of water, its healing and connecting character, and its overall lack of availability in Texas during the February cold snap, Ley Line’s first all-Spanish single, “En Busca Del Agua”, won’t leave you in search of any audio essentials for the weekend.

No-No Boy: “Imperial Twist”

Without getting too much into politics, I think we can all agree that the Asian-American experience has recently been catapulted into the national spotlight. And in concern to the historical context of that experience, nobody’s captured it in recent music as comprehensively as Nashville-born songwriter Julian Saporiti.

Appropriating the moniker No-No Boy from John Okada’s 1957 novel of the same name, Saporiti’s Ph.D. dissertation took him across the country to several Asian-American landmarks, often wrought with troubled history, to develop his concept album 1975. Saporiti’s dissection of what constitutes American folk isn’t obscured by his outspoken societal observations; rather the two march hand-in-hand across 1975’s dozen, sonically channeling the likes of Okkervil River, Shearwater, Grateful Dead, and The Avett Brothers while lyrically rising to the challenge of telling American folk tales from a different perspectives, perhaps heard best on “Imperial Twist”.

Lady Dan: “Better Off Alone”

Like countless composers before her, Austin singer-guitarist Tyler Dozier uses her craft to shed light on her true identity. Raised in Alabama amidst parental pressures, relationship strains, and religious restrictions, Dozier’s move to the Live Music Capital roughly aligned with the release of her 2019 debut EP, Songs for the Soulless, which also introduced us officially to her musical moniker, Lady Dan.

Everything’s coming up purple for Dozier in 2021, who’s set to expand on her indie-crossed country sound next Friday with Lady Dan’s first-ever full-length, I Am the Prophet. We’ve got a feeling that I Am the Prophet‘s gonna presage another chapter of growth for Dozier, at least judging by the record’s latest single, “Better Off Alone”, that despite only sharing surface-level similarities, gives Alice Deejay’s 1999 hit a sincere run for its money.

William Maxwell: “Dead Plants”

When it comes to standing out as a solo artist in an oversaturated scene, nobody does quirky quite like Austin’s William Maxwell. Sure the singer-guitarist is pretty reserved in person, but on the record he’s a full blown musical maniac. With his fearless performance methods and candidly off-kilter lyrics, The Oysters‘ co-founder has shown a real knack for songwriting both across his rap sheet of collaborations and with his 2019 baker’s dozen, Calm a Painter and Subject.

Friday after next William Maxwell releases his sophomore LP, It’s Been Here Changing For a Long Time, ten tracks that are perfect for a post-pandemic mindset (whenever that may come) along with a twenty-four-page art booklet. And since we’re officially into spring and past the trauma of the big freeze here in Texas, now seems like a good time to appreciate the newfound greenery with It’s Been Here‘s fifth and final single, “Dead Plants”!

Melissa Carper: “Makin’ Memories”

Although she’s right here in Austin, upright bassist/singer-songwriter Melissa Carper has maintained a wealth of wanderlust across her career. It’s brought Carper some big opportunities, like founding her eponymous trio The Carper Family and subsequently landing a spot on Prairie Home Companion, all the while allowing her to brush up on her own tastes and soak up everything she can from jazz legends to mid-century folk and beyond.

On “Daddy” Carper’s latest endeavor, the boldly-titled Daddy’s Country Gold, Melissa sheds the pressure of bass performance to focus solely on vocals and production, allowing this auteur to blur her already-bucolic pallet of Western Swing and Country from contemporary to classic. The result is a twelve-song, vintage-capturing masterpiece of rustic styles, and you can dive right into the nostalgic sentimentality with the album opener for Daddy’s Country Gold, “Makin’ Memories”!

Benny Sings: “Run Right Back” (feat. Cautious Clay)

Having been born in Western Netherlands in the late ’70s, singer Tim van Berkestijn grew up with a thorough understanding of what a good time is. Fast forward to the turn of the millennium where Berkestijn began building up his reputation on bass with Dutch hip-hop outfit Abstract Dialect, before popping off his solo career as Benny Sings with 2003’s Champagne People. Since then, this ambitious multi-instrumentalist has been fizzing with nothing but fun, earning van Berkestijn collaborations with the likes of Mac DeMarco and Mayer Hawthorne and performances alongside The Free Nationals, Tuxedo, and more, not to overlook the consistent quality of his steadily expanding discography.

Today he invites you to join him on the maiden voyage of the appropriate-yet-succinctly-titled Benny Sings Music, packing some serious yacht rock vibes along with solid R&B and ’70s-style soft pop, making Music a shoe-in for your summer playlist with high profile features like “Run Right Back”, featuring KUTX favorite (and Studio 1A veteran) Cautious Clay.

Scott Ballew: “Talking to Mountains”

As is the case with many creatives, sometimes you just wanna cross the wires and try something out of your comfort zone. That’s how things went for native Austinite Scott Ballew, who, after directing a documentary on Texas legend Terry Allen amidst a lengthy SoCal-based filmmaking stint, hunkered down in a house in Lockhart to record his debut LP of acoustic originals.

Talking to Mountains captures the charm of solitude with its cinematic lo-fi and emphasis on conversation with Texas nature, best seen in the album opener’s music video and heard most-explicitly on the record’s title track, “Talking to Mountains”!

Texas Textbooks: “Hemisfair ’68”

It’s officially syllabus day for our 2021 Spring Membership Drive so get ready to receive some rustic, surreal reading material! I’m talking about Austin duo Texas Textbooks, whose love of the Lone Star State is anchored by their outspoken political beliefs, both of which lend themselves to the band’s signature sound: “twangcore”. The twangcore twosome got started in 2017 and dropped their debut LP Pecos and Matamoros a couple summers back, writing the foreword to Texas Textbooks’ latest chapter.

Recorded over the past year as the duo’s slacker country style evolved, BIRDS has already proven an achievement in psych-folk artistry, not to mention aural ornithology with its satisfying production choices and flock of eclectic tones and timbres, guaranteed to give you some just-north-of-the-border nostalgia as sonic sightseer with originals like “Hemisfair ’68”!

Sara Niemietz: “Lovely Lies”

You might not recognize the name Sara Niemietz right off the bat, but there’s a good chance you’ve seen her onscreen or heard her voice in a major soundtrack. The Los Angeles-based actress/singer-guitarist launched her career all the way back in 2002 portraying a young Carol Burnett in the pre-Broadway production of Hollywood Arms, and released her debut live LP the following year. Since then Niemietz has skyrocketed into the cultural zeitgeist, lending her eerie vocals to The Exorcism of Emily Rose, CBS’s Under the Dome, and ABC’s Scandal, not to mention long-term collaborations with West Wing composer W.G. Snuffy, adult contemporary icon Melissa Manchester, and yes, even B.J. Thomas.

Between all her endeavors, Niemietz has never stopped bulking up her own discography, building up her reputation as a Renaissance woman with her mastery over genres ranging from gospel and blues to jazz, pop, and rock. And following up last year’s aptly titled LP twentytwenty, Niemietz has kept busy in 2021, having already delivered three studio singles within the past few months, including the seductively smooth “Lovely Lies”!

Leti Garza: “Derecho De Nacimiento”

Multilingual Austin songwriter Leti Garza has spent a good portion of her artistry bridging gaps, whether it’s Texas folk to Latin jazz, independence to motherhood, and even just English to Spanish. This Studio 1A veteran left us wanting more with her eclectic 2017 knockout El Unico Para Mi, and only a couple weeks back the singer-songwriter finally delivered with her EP Borderland.

Released right around the same time she dropped by for her My KUTX session, the five originals on Borderland round out at just over four minutes, providing a seamless, bilingual, genre-spanning experience perfect for worldly reflection or simply a quick siesta. Either way, Borderland‘s arrived in time for Spring, giving you plenty of room to find some solid additions to your upcoming summer playlist with heat on tracks like “Derecho De Nacimiento”!

Shakey Graves: “Unlucky Skin”

With the arrival of folks like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, there’s no doubting that Austin’s changed. But one of the Live Music Capital’s biggest mainstays continues to help shape Austin culture with his folksy arrangements and sweaty live performances. I’m talking about Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known to the world as Shakey Graves, who’s escalated his fame well past the local realm (though he does have his own official day here) and become a defining Texas troubadour for younger generations.

Graves self-released his debut LP Roll the Bones a whopping ten years back and to commemorate the journey since then, today he’s released Roll the Bones X, a tenth year anniversary full restoration-remaster along with a second disc that digs up and dusts off some of Shakey’s greatest rarities. Roll the Bones X dropped this morning and Shakey Graves plays a sold out show tonight at Nutty Brown Amphitheater, so give Roll the Bones X a spin when you can, starting a layer up on the aural epidermis with “Unlucky Skin”!

Metal Mallet: “Meditation”

The world of music can be so troublesome. Between controversy, genre drift, and a compilation of other issues, music has an uncanny ability to stress listeners out. So in the spirit of growth and reflection after a challenging year, we’re nixing the Song of the Day in favor of something more meditative.

Take this moment to breath and gaze inwards. What clouds your thoughts? What do you need in this life? What can you do to help you fellow human? Whatever you need to think about, go ahead and do it; you’ve earned it.

Mackenzie Shivers: “Martha’s Vineyard”

Dating back to her 2014 debut Neverland, multi-instrumentalist Mackenzie Shivers has always been about making her listeners feel less alone. So you can imagine with the quarantine conditions of the pandemic that that task has evolved into a gargantuan one. But despite the hurdles of socially-distanced recording sessions and remote collaborations, the New York-based songwriter was up to the challenge, hauling her piano, family heirloom guitar, and voice box into the studio and coming out with a masterpiece.

This Friday Mackenzie Shivers shares her third LP, Rejection Letter, an album whose ample ten tracks will pierce you with their lush arrangements (including a string section), cinematic atmospheres, and lyrics that build a bridge between anecdotal and universal. Don’t write off Rejection Letter as just another pandemic release; instead stay tuned for the full thing this weekend and expect some more powerful compositions on par with “Martha’s Vineyard”!