Song of the Day

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October 29, 2024

Ben Brown: “Until the Dead Rise”

By: Jack Anderson

Everyone’s favorite holiday is rapidly descending upon us, and we’re commemorating the occasion by counting down to All Hallow’s Eve with some of the spookiest stuff the city’s had to offer over the past month or so. And we’ll start with Ben Brown, a decade-and-a-half veteran of the local scene who’s historically shared the spotlight with Austin acts The Savage Poor and No Show Ponies. This side of the pandemic though, the singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer’s been plugging away at his eponymous solo project, pushing his bold baritone to the center of attention.

Following up 2021’s Sayonara Sorrow and last Summer’s King of Air, Ben Brown kicked off October with his third album Funky Dracula. Brown’s first full-length foray into seasonal curation, Funky Dracula positions itself as a “horror pop satire”, sinking its teeth into all kinds of subgenres and shadowy figures across nearly a dozen tracks. And we appreciate how well the minimalist drum programming and arrangement complements Ben’s far-from-sincere, in-character lyrical musings.

But that’s not to diminish Ben Brown’s status as an impressive performer; his guitar, synth, and vocals collectively invigorate the energy necessary to resurrect that iconic camp of golden age Hammer Horror throughout Funky Dracula. Don’t believe us? Stir your most ghoulish spirits with one of the LP’s centerpieces, “Until the Dead Rise” and see how these tunes extend past mere novelty and enter the annals of legitimately catchy pop-rock Halloween anthems like “Werewolves of London” and “Dead Man’s Party”.


Episodes

February 19, 2025

Maddy Kirgo: “Spare”

New Orleans’s Maddy Kirgo writes music not only akin to the eclectic, all-embracing attitude of the Big Easy, but also to the sounds currently pouring out of its venues, or in her case, the buskers on the corner. To that end, her sounds simultaneously evokes the California country rock sounds of the nudie suit era […]

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February 17, 2025

MIEN: “Evil People” (Live In Studio 1A)

We all know that when an artist is featured on a song, it’s likely that they recorded it remote and sent the track to the main artist. But how does it work when you’re a quartet and only 2 of y’all live in the same place? To ask the members of Austin experimental psych band […]

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February 14, 2025

Kowloon: “Heart Begins With You”

L.A.’s Kowloon is truly a one-man operation. Songwriting? Him. Instrumentation? Him. Recording, production? Yep, all Kowloon. Backed by a full library of effects and music gadgets from various eras, Kowloon released a string of singles last year, demonstrating his affinity for the darkwave sounds of the 80s a la the Cure and Bronski Beat. Ahead […]

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February 13, 2025

Tommy Francisco: “Tommy’s Groove”

Even a piping hot bowl of tokontsu ramen can’t fully shake-off today’s bone chill, but maybe the headspace of partying on a yacht in Mallorca can. Austin native Tommy Francisco hit the scene in 2020 with “Fever,” giving him an international audience and proving his ability to blend his Latin and Indigenous backgrounds into a […]

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February 12, 2025

Serebii: “Verrans Corner”

Auckland, New Zealand’s Callum Mower, known as Serebii, has always focused on pushing forward. Forward musically, forward personally, and now, forward into naked vulnerability.   Serebii’s upcoming album Dime finds Mower at his most vulnerable. Historically, Mower has relied on his mastery of instruments and production with others, namely fellow New Zealander Arjuna Oakes, but […]

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February 11, 2025

Slept All Day: “Asteria”

Austin duo Slept All Day may be new on the scene, but don’t sleep on them. Together, the two create moving soundscapes a la Bonobo and Washed Out. And they use their vocals as an element of the scape instead of its driving force. And despite the electronic instrumentation and vocal effects, the music is […]

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February 10, 2025

Middle Satre: “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)”

Welcome! Today’s theme is vision and reimagining. After spending a childhood in Salt Lake City, Hunter Preuger moved to Austin to sow oats with his project Middle Sattre. The project quickly expanded into a six-piece…and then an eight-piece, and a year after the release of their debut album Tendencies, the experimental folk outfit returned to […]

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February 7, 2025

Death Palmz: “IL2H2LU”

I’ve heard your week’s woes, I know it’s been one, so Aunt Tay is here to deliver a little Friday elixir to shift you into weekend mode as you get ready to burn rubber in the parking garage. Austin’s Death Palmz is another project from Exotic Frutica, and if you’re familiar with the punk band, […]

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