Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

May 24, 2023

Bourgeois Mystics: “Gentrification of Planet Earth”

By: Jack Anderson

One of the biggest obstacles to a longstanding passion project is that when you get sidelined by the harsh realities of life, sometimes it’s too tough to keep creating. And amidst skyrocketing housing costs coupled with the deficit of live opportunities in the immediate aftermath of COVID, actively gigging with a band while living within Austin’s city limits simply isn’t the way it was ten years ago.

That brings us to Bourgeois Mystics, an art-funk hip-hop collective who first got together in 2014. Amplified by each individual opulent alter ego, this eclectic sextet has spent the past decade wowing crowds with high-energy, theatrical performances and upbeat originals that steer way clear of taking themselves seriously. Yet in 2023, splitting the bill six ways with some members already residing in satellite cities, the actuality of exorbitant rent prices and getting the gang together in one room is nowhere near as feasible as it used to be.

As such, Bourgeois Mystics have made the tough decision to go on indefinite hiatus. But as an Austin staple with as lively as theirs, of course they’re going out with a bang. This weekend Bourgeois Mystics release their second (and for now, final) full-length Gentrification of Planet Earth. While Gentrification finds the semi-fictional figures on 2017’s Eureka! now transformed into hideous Kafka-esque monsters and cartoonish song titles replaced with thematic, feature-laden fireballs, the zany energy that makes Bourgeois Mystics so great is well intact. The LP drops on Friday and Bourgeois Mystics commemorates the end of this era with a farewell show 9PM that same evening at The Parish with openers Lena Luca and Cilantro Boombox.

So while you plan out your pre-game for Gentrification of Planet Earth, dig into the album’s title track, one that sounds like Technotronic, !!!, and The B-52’s split a sack of high-grade salvia, downed some disco biscuits, and giggled their way into this fine-tuned piece of “funk-n-gunk” greatness. True to its name, “Gentrification” districts this three-and-a-half minute dance mania off into clearly defined individual sections for the funkiest piece of gerrymandering you’ll hear this year.


Episodes

May 29, 2024

Babe & The Crystals: “The Way You Love Me”

Sometimes all you need to reignite a long dormant project is just revamping the name. Well…that and maybe a brush with death for good measure. At least that’s what recently rekindled the creativity for Nashville four-piece Babe & The Crystals, who first started out a decade back under the handle Kid Freud. Kid Freud called […]

Listen

May 29, 2024

Sean Austin: “Mercy” (Remix) (feat. Lion Heights)

The rapid rate of single rollouts in hip-hop have really made us take remixes for granted. Because when it’s as simple as revisiting the beat, rewriting a verse, and inviting in a few new voices, “I like the remix better” becomes a given with pretty much any commercial success. Which is a shame, since remixes […]

Listen

May 28, 2024

Lavender Scare: “I Hate Saturdays”

Pride Month kicks off in just a few days, and to help you celebrate in style, we’re swirling the colors with a rising Queer project. And that’s Lavender Scare, whose midcentury reference of a band handle alone tips you off to their championing of LGBTQ identities. Chief songwriter Ruby Del Mar commands the quartet with […]

Listen

May 27, 2024

Cara Van Thorn: “Rage”

Lookin’ to rage this Memorial Day? Well we’ve got something that you might not’ve expected but’ll definitely do the trick. And that’s in reference to Austin’s Cara Van Thorn, initially born from Donkey Island ex-pats Adam Donovan and Carrie Stephens who continue to spearhead what is now a six-person wagon train. Since Fall 2019, this […]

Listen

May 24, 2024

The Cuckoos: “Dirty Pictures”

If you mainly draw inspiration from older generations, after taking a lengthy break, you may find that the needle on your tastes has moved forward in time too. At least that’s what we’re seeing unfold with Austin project The Cuckoos. Ostensibly the one-man band (who also operates as a four-piece) of flock leader/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Ken Frost, […]

Listen

May 23, 2024

Grandma Mousey: “When I’m Not There”

Ever since we first caught sight of them in 2022, we’ve continued to make room for Grandma Mousey in our wheelhouse, even after their initial nest expanded from three members to five. Yeah, Granny M’s grown on us so much over the past couple of years, that we don’t mind ratting on their talent again […]

Listen

May 22, 2024

Carson McHone: “I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face”

No matter how much success a young artist finds down the line, there’ll always be opportunities to pay respects to their predecessors and contemporaries. Whether it’s an early choice (Nick Cave & The Bad Seed’s Kicking Against the Pricks), a mid-career reset (Souxsie and the Banshees’ Through the Looking Glass), a later vocation salute (Bruce […]

Listen

May 21, 2024

Indoor Creature: “Cross The Line”

Although we’re bound to find a silver lining eventually, when we take the time to really look at the world we live in – gross injustices, grievous atrocities, shared struggles and all – it can make staying inside super appealing. And for sonic creators, as long as the bleakness doesn’t make the music meek, the […]

Listen