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Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

If you remember Scottish post-rockers Pilotcan but feel like they haven’t been around for awhile, you’re not wrong. Well guess what? They’re back.

After fourteen long years this Edinburgh quartet has re-emerged with their familiar late ’90s sound, this time for a heartfelt tribute to the Live Music Capital. Mostly written here, recorded entirely across the pond, and inspired by the City of Austin and its residents, Pilotcan’s late 2018 album, Bats Fly Out From Under The Bridge is a knockout of alt-shoegaze post-rock. With another new record already in the can, Pilotcan promises more material in 2019 as well as a compilation of previously unreleased rarities.

For now let’s enjoy a treat from the tourists and Bats Fly Out From Under The Bridge, “Daylight Savings Time”!

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Happy New Year! We’re only a week into 2019 and we’re already thrilled for another year of exciting new music, so let’s get right to it!

In the late ’70s, multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Cohen entered the world of music banging on drum heads when he was just three. Fast forward to to the mid-2000s, where Cohen the “singing drummer” provided his talents for a variety of groups, most notably in The Curtains, Ariel Pink and Deerhoof. In 2012 Cohen took his solo psychedelic pop to the studio and has self-sufficed across several recordings since.

Chris Cohen wrapped up 2018 with his first new song in a couple years, doubling as his first solo material recorded with other musicians (Tuneyards saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and composer/pianist Jay Israelson), rather than entirely on his own. Cohen’s new single teases more music to come in 2019 so let’s highlight Cohen’s latest and start the new year off on a revisionist note with “Edit Out”!

Photo: Ebru Yildiz

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Recognize the name Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson? No?! If that doesn’t ring any bells, perhaps his musical moniker Júniús Meyvant does. This Icelandic singer-songwriter began writing and releasing originals after years of creatively-induced cabin fever cooped up in his parents’ home. The constant surge of ideas and unwillingness to slow down convinced Sigurmundsson to undertake the compositions all on his own rather than work with a band, and in 2014 Júniús Meyvant was born.

Sigurmundsson’s sultry vocals and compelling arrangements accommodate a folk pop aura with splotches of soul, and the latest from Júniús Meyvant is out on Friday. Júniús Meyvant second full-length Across the Borders is out tomorrow and you can get the pre-emptive mental klaxons firing with the record’s lead single, “High Alert”!

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

There are a ton of moving parts in the Chicago hip hop scene and one of the most active names in the community is Rich Jones. His current performance style lands somewhere between soul singing and laid back rapping but across all the solo singles he’s dropped and events he’s organized over the past few years, Rich Jones’ sound definitely doesn’t fall in one place.

Two years since he was voted second best rapper in Chicago (right after Chance the Rapper), Rich Jones is set to release The Shoulder You Lean On, an album that celebrates his singer-songwriter status and explores a sense of urgency, restlessness and life decisions. The record comes out this Friday but you can begin to drift towards The Shoulder You Lean On right now with a single featuring Second City multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, “Dreaming”!

Photo: Katie Levine

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

A quick listen to Austin singer-songwriter (and filmmaker) Willy McGee gives you two immediate impressions: light-hearted lyrics; serious music. McGee put out his self-recorded debut a dozen years ago (when he was still in high school) and through the films and records between then and now, he’s been building up his skills on vocals, piano, guitar and more.

Last Friday Willy McGee released a baker’s dozen of tunes in form of his brand new LP You Gonna Eat That? The record finds roots in Texas electric blues but bounces between songs that sound like Quicksilver Messenger Service, Aaron Neville, and even Christopher Cross. The new McGee is available online and on vinyl and you can dig into You Gonna Eat That with the album’s midway point (offering sage advice for the smartphone generation), “Double Text”!

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Sounding less like star-crossed lovers and more like bar-tossed brothers, San Antonio duo demitasse is one of the tightest acoustic groups you’ll ever hear. Erik Sanden and Joe Reyes consider this a side project to their art rock band Buttercup, and although “demitasse” describes a small cup of coffee, the close-knit chemistry behind the group brings a plentiful portion of folk pop to the table.

Tomorrow demitasse releases the follow-up to their 2014 debut record Blue Medicine, an eleven-track full-length affectionately entitled powercouple. In less than twenty four hours you’ll be able to enjoy the intimate acoustic arrangements on powercouple and for now, here’s “Sorry (I Only Wanted to Make You)”!

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Psych, jazz and hip-hop all together at once? Sign me up. Add some modern day Bhangra in the mix and you’ve got Brooklyn six-piece Red Baraat. Are they a party band? Undeniably so. That doesn’t change the fact that on their fifth album Sound The People, Red Baraat proves once and again that the biggest party possible comes in the form of cross-cultural unity.

If this brand new Red Baraat record sounds to you roughly like an international version of Run The Jewels, you’re not far off; RtJ co-producer Little Shalimar took the reigns alongside in-group producer Sunny Jain to create a bizarre and beautiful aural landscape. Aptly fitting in this nine-song forge, Sound The People pairs pop culture references with a discussion on South Asian diaspora, migration and the 2018 US political climate. Heems of Brooklyn hip-hop outfit Das Racist leads the discussion on the album’s title track, so perk up your ears and add a little extra heat to your summer weekend with “Sound The People”!

-Jack Anderson (Host, Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)

Song of the Day

By: Taylor Wallace

Ahead of the release of his fourth solo album as GUM, multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson admitted that at this point, he doesn’t even pay attention to what kind of music he’s making, he just does it. Traversing a buffet of genres that serves-up everything from prog rock to disco, Watson seamlessly stitches them into Jay’s Psychedelic Dream Coat, allowing the trademark sounds of his other projects Tame Impala and Pond to spill over while maintaining his own flavor. Watson’s passive-if-not-self-deprecating modesty is noted in everything from his decade-long silent involvement with Tame Impala to the GUM discography itself, yielding names like Glamorous Damage, Flash in the Pan, and the current [the] Underdog, but the caliber of his psych-rock disco casts a shadow of irony across his effort to make incredible music under the radar. Give yourself some boogie-room for this one, chief.

“The Underdog” is the title track to GUM’s latest record, out now via Spinning Top.

-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli

Song of the Day

By: Taylor Wallace

The list of achievements already acquired by 18-year-old Austinite Christina Cavazos reads more like a bucket list of many musicians twice her age. Radio play several times over, gracing several of Austin’s most illustrious stages, and having her choice of some of the country’s most elite programs available to college-bound recording artists. Cavazos’s music and songwriting is folk elegance at its best, earning a reputation for being mature, reflective, and introspective, with each component of every song carefully conceived and placed, culminating a sound that is commanding but controlled. Proving you don’t have to have the amp juiced-up to 8 or a cache of catchy pop melodies to make compelling music, her 3rd EP confirms her place in the Austin songwriter’s spotlight, proving she’s not one of the city’s Americana artists to watch out for, but one you should already have firmly in your crosshairs. Truly, she belongs on a Spotify Essentials playlist alongside Kacey Musgraves and Margo Price.

“Forever” appears on her Mile Marker EP, out now. Catch Christina at the Continental Club Gallery on Thursday, July 5th with Jaimee Harris.

-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Described once as a sort of “punk rock Randy Newman”, Spencer Garland didn’t need much more impetus when he started his local band PR Newman around three years ago. Garland has centered his own virile vocals over much of the group’s compositions, allowing for a beyond-compelling dynamic range across the band’s discography. PR Newman doesn’t just shine in the studio; their live performances are a captivating breed of their own, thanks in no small part to Garland’s genuine sense of humor, wit and general ability to move a crowd.

Piggybacking off of last Monday’s Austin Music Minute, PR Newman has the pleasure of entertaining audiences each Monday this month as part of their June residency at Cheer Up Charlie’s, continuing tonight at 9pm with Indoor Creature and Magic Rockers of Texas. Make the next several hours go by a little bit quicker with an exclusive live recording from PR Newman’s appearance in our own Studio 1A this past January, the album opener for their last LP Turn Out – “Go To Hell”.

–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Los Angeles-based professional pianist and beat arranger Kiefer Shackelford, best known simply as Kiefer, is back with a baker’s dozen of bangers! You may have already heard Kiefer’s subtle production contributions on tracks by artists like Anderson .Paak, Kaytranada and more. Kiefer’s investment in the tried and true pairing of hip hop and jazz stems from his array of inspirations, ranging from his contemporary Karriem Riggins, all the way back to classic icons like Bill Evans.

Kiefer’s newest musical exploration comes to us today as Happysad, thirteen tracks whose vague titles leave blurred lines across the emotional spectrum. In contrast to the straightforward bleakness of Kiefer’s 2017 debut Kickinit Alone, Happysad leaves the tone up to the listener, allowing them to soak up every note, beat, chord and nuance. Be sure to burn through the whole record at some point this weekend and you can start right now with “What A Day”.

–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)

Song of the Day

By: Taylor Wallace

Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell and Crybaby’s Danny Coughlan have been friends and mutual fans for years and have talked about collaborating for over half a decade, but it was the untimely passing of Camera Obscura’s keyboardist Carey Lander in 2015 that both put off and put into motion the duo’s new project, aptly named Tracyanne & Danny. Taking a break from music after Lander’s death, Campbell and Coughlan finally came together to record their self-titled debut, a ten-song effort that sounds like a well-blended indie smoothie of the two musician’s individual sounds.

“Alabama” appears on Tracyanne & Danny, out May 25th via Merge.

-Taylor Wallace// host, Thursdays 8-11P & Saturdays 2-6P; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

Fastball fanatics across Texas have another opportunity to see some of their two-decade-old rock favorites played live! KUTX listeners and Austin music aficionados are quick to peg Fastball as somewhat of a cornerstone of the local music scene, with six studio albums recorded and released since their debut all the way back in 1996. Fastball intermittently emerges for a quick series of shows between releases and because eight years has passed between the last two albums, the need to see them when they do perform live is all too real.

Fortunately for fans old and new, Fastball plays tomorrow night at 3Ten along with fellow ’90s rock genre-benders Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers before kicking off a quick regional tour across their native Lone Star State with stops in The Colony, Houston and New Braunfels. Can’t make it to one of their shows? No trouble – Fastball came by KUTX’s Studio 1A last April for a live broadcast session and now almost exactly one year later you can enjoy a free download of some of their most recent live material from the latest album Step Into Light – “Just Another Dream”.

-Jack Anderson (Host, Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)

Song of the Day

By: Jack Anderson

One of the most talented Texas blues musicians is back with some old and new material! Johnny Nicholas has been entertaining listeners and live audiences for decades on end across the nation and right here in the Lone Star State. His idiosyncratic songwriting and guitar and vocal performance style continue to captivate after all these years, and in the spirit of that timeliness, Nicholas is set to re-release his 1977 album, Too Many Bad Habits. Too Many Bad Habits accompanies an album of brand new material Fresh Air – and the pairing truly illustrates the versatility of Nicholas’ talent 40 years down the line. Check out the re-released version of Nicholas’ cover of Son House’s “Grinnin’ In Your Face” before you catch him performing this afternoon – 5:00pm at Waterloo Records and this evening – 9:00pm at Antone’s.

–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)