Jack Anderson

Already a veteran of the bands Suicide Pistols and Southbound Drive, local singer-songwriter Scott Collins has been pushing through whatever life throws at him by way of the Scott Collins Project. There’s no debating Collins’ right as a frontman, but he’s recently returned to his roots as a solo artist.

Collins teamed up with his old pal (and legendary producer) Chris “Frenchie” Smith to produce Roadmaps, a five-song EP recorded at Collins’ own Chicken Run Studios. Roadmaps is filled to the brim with poignant emotions, deeply personal storytelling and honest-to-God wisdom (not to mention some amazing vocal and instrumental performances). Collins will be hittin’ the road for a West Coast tour but not before the Roadmaps release show this Friday at Saxon Pub.

Let’s begin the journey on Roadmaps with a premiere of the album opener – an appropriately-titled alternative rock number  “Something Different Here”.

-Jack Anderson

Austin quartet Slomo Drags has been pushing the boundaries of pop music, beginning in 2016 with the release of their self-titled EP. You may not be too familiar with their work, but hey they’re only two and their discography is still limited. That said, this week Slomo Drags takes things at their own speed with their full-length debut (that visually and verbally evokes the work of Steely Dan) Deacon Bruise.

If you haven’t had a chance to catch ’em live, you’ve got two killer opportunities in the next few days! A taped Studio 1A session with Slomo Drags airs 9pm tomorrow night before the Deacon Bruise release show this Friday at the Mohawk! To prime you for the new Slomo, give a listen to one of the most upbeat songs you’ve ever heard about firearms and look down the sights toward this weekend with “Guns! (Baby)”

Try and take your mind off the triple digit heat and cool off with some summer hip-hop high-scorers! KUTX fans are already well-versed in the music of Third Root, the San Antonio-Austin trio that’s been no stranger to our local airwaves and stages over the years. With each performance, the politically charged and societally conscious rhymes of Easy Lee and Mex Step never fails to complement the production and turntable work of DJ Chicken George (and behind the scenes contributions from Adrian Quesada).

Third Root’s been doing pretty well since the release of Libertad back in 2016 and now they’ve got something even bigger on the horizon. Introducing Trill Pedagogy – a four EP series that correspond with the academic calendar (fitting for a group of educators). You can expect Fall Semester, Winter Flex and Spring Semester combined into one vinyl full-length sometime next year after those respective releases and you can treat yourself right with the first installment released a week ago – Trill Pedagogy: Summer Semester. Class is definitely in session from the get-go; track one features fellow KUTX favorites Black Pumas and cements Third Root in Texas hip-hop history – “Born to Rhyme”.

-Jack Anderson

If you’ve been a local live music junkie for the past decade, you’ve probably seen Joshua Logan belting it out with The Blind Pets. Nowadays Logan still romps around with The Pets, but he’s also adopted a new nickname in light of his latest project.

Chief White Lightning (or simply Chief when referring to the titular frontman) electrifies listeners with a stew of punk, psych, country and good ol’ fashioned rock. If that’s not enough for you, the chiefdom of their recent nine-song self-titled album was filled out with production from Battleme’s Matt Drenik and contributions from former Elliot Smith drummer Paul Pulvirenti and multi-instrumentalist Jonas Wilson.

It’s been an exciting past month for the Chief who released that debut album only a couple weeks back and returns from a national tour this Saturday night at the Mohawk as part of Hot Summer Nights!

Let’s pump some blood into the veins of this live music capital right now with “City’s Alive”!

Vocalist-guitarist Julia Jacklin has been enjoying a fruitful solo career for years, but joining forces with her two best friends, she now fronts Sydney trio Phantastic Ferniture. It’s a band name that sounds like it belongs on the marquee of an off-kilter money laundering front, but one listen sheds light on the enthusiasm that makes every track truly phantastic. They’re still building up an audience but really, who needs validation when you just want to pour your soul into your passion project?

Phantastic Ferniture has been infecting listeners with their energy by way of a couple of music videos, and this week you can finally hear their first record. We’re only halfway to Friday (when you can check out Phantastic Ferniture’s self-titled debut) but right now take a moment to step out of the work mindset and loosen up with “Gap Year”.

Think about one of the most populated countries in the world. Okay, now consider the honor of “one of the country’s leading singer-songwriters”. Put those two together and you have Indian guitarist-vocalist Prateek Kuhad.

Kuhad’s exposure to Western influences was limited until he enrolled at NYU, where he discovered the music of Elliott Smith. The stylings of Smith sent Kuhad down a rabbit hole of other acoustic composers who inspired him to reinforce his own guitar abilities. Fast forward past two EPs (one in Hindi, the other in English), a full-length, and countless internationally-acclaimed live performances, and we arrive at Kuhad’s latest and most emotionally complex album to date, cold/mess.

Written in India and recorded in Nashville, the six songs on cold/mess create a lush landscape that toes the line between orchestral folk and slow, poignant pop. Here in Texas we’re up to our armpits in summer sweat, so let’s welcome cold/mess with the album’s opener “with you/for you”!

Photo: Bikramjit Bose

Big cats, stand up! After half a decade of solo storytelling and songwriting, North Carolina’s Steven Diaz is ready to re-emerge with his new musical mane, Mountain Lions.

Up til now Diaz has mainly been known as one of the Cleveland indie rockers behind The Lighthouse and the Whaler but 2018 has witnessed Diaz doubling down with his pride of Americana production. Nearly a full year since Mountain Lions’ debut EP, Diaz returns from the cave with a man eater of a record, centering on themes of nature, technology and emotions. The masterfully-crafted ten-song full-length We Are comes out at the tail end of this week when listeners can expect some flourishing indie folk that’s anything but tame. You don’t have to wait all the way until Friday, unleash the beast and enter the den with a track premiering today – “In The Valley”.

-Jack Anderson

Photo Credit: Steven Diaz

Calling all scuzz rockers! We’ve got some Goon for your Friday afternoon! Only a couple years into their musical career, this L.A. four-piece has been celebrating a lot of “firsts” in 2018, including their first-ever national tour, being signed to their first record label and the first physical release of their first two EPs.

On the note of that tour, Goon guitarist and singer Kenny Becker recently sustained an injury postponing their Texas and remaining national dates. That said we’re still happy to spice up your weekend with something from their double EP release that’s equal parts analog, electric and acoustic – “Green Peppers”.

Fifteen years after getting together and five since their last album, Minneapolis indie rockers Now Now are back and better than ever. 2017 was quite the period of intrigue for Now, Now, who silently withdrew from SXSW, deleted all their previous social media content, and announced that their longtime guitarist Jess Abbott had left the group. This less-than-stellar news came alongside the launch of a new website, their first tour in years, a couple teaser videos and oh yeah – brand new music.

Performing these days as a duo, Now, Now’s third full-length Saved came out at the beginning of summer to critical acclaim. They’ll be playing Saturday night at Stubb’s so here’s a quick preview: the final single from Saved – “MJ”.

When a band forms out of hometown friendship, the music usually makes you smile. There’s no exception with Catalonia-bred, Barcelona-based quartet MOURN, who put out their self-titled debut when the three eldest members were only eighteen. They may be young but MOURN continues to channel post-rock and alternative punk of past generations, fitting snugly in a playlist between PJ Harvey, Pixies, and Patti Smith.

At a rate of an album a year, MOURN showed off their rapidly maturing energy and contagious energy last month with their fourth studio album Sorpresa Familia. MOURN continues their national tour of the U.S. with a show next Tuesday at Barracuda with Chastity and Thin Skin and you can get riled up to one of the shortest and best from MOURN’s dozen new tunes, “Fun at the Geysers”!

We’re halfway through July and at this point, you probably know a little something about Austin group Night Glitter. Between John-Michael of The Happen-Ins, LouLou of Thievery Corporation and their talented backing band, it was a kind of a no brainer when picking Night Glitter as our July 2018 Artist of the Month!

Night Glitter first linked up in 2015 but only debuted their dreamy downtempo synthpop this past year with a handful of singles and their EP Hangin’ On A Dream. Night Glitter was kind enough to share their new sound with us in our own Studio 1A back in June, and if you haven’t heard them live, hop on the opportunity right now with “Tunnels”!

Three years since their last release, the wait for new Ume is coming to a close! Austin-based rocker Lauren Larson has had her hands full with both of her new babies – the child she just gave birth to and her latest album as Ume.

Larson wrote the ten new tunes on Ume’s upcoming full-length Other Nature working through physical ailments and newfound motherhood, two conditions that almost put the future of Ume in jeopardy. Already one of the hardest working women in the music industry, Larson overcame immense physical and mental obstacles into what is now a thoroughly personal record. Other Nature comes out this Friday but don’t you worry! Take those last three words to heart with a free download of one of Ume’s new jams, “Don’t You Worry”!

-Jack Anderson

Photo Credit: Katrina Barber

Exciting news, western swing lovers! Asleep at the Wheel has flipped Friday the 13th on its head with this good fortune: in two months time Ray and the gang will be tacking on some extra summer heat with their brand new album New Routes. Featuring new material for the first time in over ten years, New Routes marks album number thirty four for The Wheel in their nearly fifty year history, this time around blending originals with covers and maybe even a couple Avett Brothers!

New Routes comes out Friday, September 14th but don’t sleep on the new Wheel! The Wheel takes back the helm on a traditional tune Ray Benson re-arranged as the first of eleven on New Routes, “Jack I’m Mellow”!

Oakland-born Natalia Rogovin spent a good portion of her California days fronting the indie rock quintet Social Studies, but lately she’s adopted a new pop persona. Rogovin’s alter ego Human Touch found its origins in a forested home off the grid, where she spent months writing and recording in isolation. After a personnel-recruiting pit stop in L.A., Rogovin ended up with an album chock-full of ’80s-era synthesizers, silky guitar lines, and a hodgepodge of electronic and organic beats backing up her vocals.

Back in her new home of Portland, Rogovin has completed Human Touch’s debut dream pop full-length, Promise Not To Fall, set for a late September release date. The album’s title track has already caught some exposure on 13 Reasons Why, and you can enjoy a free download well before the release date right now!

For five years now, Pennsylvania’s Kiley Lotz has surrounded herself with a rotating cast of characters that have (on and off) made up her rock outfit Petal. Through touring and songwriting, Lotz found herself moving from New York City to Philly but not too long after her decision to come out to live openly as queer, she returned to her hometown of Scranton to tackle mental health issues. These intense ups and downs can be heard in Petal’s sophomore album Magic Gone, released just a month ago. Magic Gone divides itself into two halves, separated by pre- and post-treatment outlooks (Side A: Tightrope Walker and Side B: Miracle Clinger, respectively). As a whole, Magic Gone lyrically explores themes of responsibility, accountability and adulthood and sonically puts Petal on a pedestal.

Petal joins us for a live performance in Studio 1A tomorrow afternoon at 2pm and later on that evening at Barracuda. Until then, interject some deeply personal rock into your hump day with the album opener from Magic Gone, “Better Than You”!

KUTX listeners may already be familiar with Young Chicago Authors, the writing and poetry after-school organization that introduced the world to Chance the Rapper, Jamila Woods, and most recently Matt Muse. Like Chance, Matt Muse is all about education, critical investigation, self-love and redefining Black masculinity through hip-hop.

Muse first showed off his talents as an intellectual lyricist and determined producer on last year’s The Sikk Tape and this week he’s taking it up a notch with a brand new EP! Like a modern-day Samson, Muse cultivates strength, power and more by growing out his hair, a sentiment reflected in the album’s title, Nappy Talk. Nappy Talk exudes energy and confidence through its subversive lyrics, multiple features and naturally, Muse’s production and performance. Nappy Talk releases this Friday but you can get a free sample featuring fellow South-Sider Shawnee Dez – “Shea Butter Baby”.

Though you may not have known it, you’ve probably already heard Nashville singer-songwriter Amy Stroup in some capacity or another. She’s provided the soundtrack for shows like The Walking Dead and Grey’s Anatomy and national ad campaigns including that of Lexus and Calvin Klein. Of course, this Boston-born, Abilene-raised artist has her own impressive body of solo work that got her to this point, and she’s testing the waters with her upcoming full-length album.

The next step in Stroup’s career Helen of Memphis, coming out on August 10th. Helen of Memphis sees Stroup and her production team taking a new beat-heavy and electronic groove approach for a familiar but fresh sound. Stroup couldn’t help but share a couple singles in advance, so listen to her latest, forget your manners, and go ahead and “Stare”!

Three decades after he began experimenting with electronic sounds, (and eight years since his last full-length) Norwegian producer Bjørn Torske is re-defining his sound and returning to his stripped-down 20th century roots. This frequent Röyskopp collaborator has already pushed the boundaries of house, techno and trance in Scandinavia and beyond, and today he releases his fifth solo album, Byen.

Byen showcases Torske’s affinity for bouncing four-to-the-floor disco rhythms and warm, syncopated bass-synth grooves, and due to some carefully-crafted structural layering, only one of the album’s seven tracks runs under seven minutes. No complaints about that, though! Kick off your weekend dance party a bit early with the full download of one of Torske’s lengthy new tunes, “Clean Air”!

-Jack Anderson

Based out of the Big Apple, BODEGA puts punk rock back in the context of its artsy seventies roots. When this five-piece performs together, you feel like you’re transported back to the glory days of CBGB or Max’s Kansas City, watching an act wedged in the middle of Devo and The Velvet Underground. The lyrics themselves are quirky and fun but not without their own set of quick-witted observations.

BODEGA’s been teasing fans with a set of singles and accompanying music videos, and this Friday they release their full-length Endless Scroll. Most of the album’s fourteen tracks clock in well under three minutes but altogether provide for a cohesive and intriguing tonal journey. BODEGA last joined us in March for SXSW and they’re returning on Saturday August 4th, so get a jump start with one of Endless Scroll’s more tame offerings, “Charlie”.

-Jack Anderson

Massachusetts-based singer songwriter Marissa Nadler is pushing her limits on her latest folk endeavor. She’s already spent the past decade and a half honing her talents on guitar, piano and most of all, her luminous mezzo-soprano vocals.

Nadler surprised listeners with the announcement of For My Crimes, her eighth full-length record due out in late September. For My Crimes is an inherently feminine and introspective album, featuring original artwork from Nadler and further enriched with contributions from some of the most talented women she’s shared the studio with: Patty Schemel of Hole, Sharon Van Etten, and KUTX favorite Angel Olsen – who lends herself to the album’s dark title track.