Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

April 24, 2023

Charlie Bruber: “Bubble”

By: Jack Anderson

Prior to my career with KUTX, my main musical contributions were on trumpet as part of fifteen-piece’s hefty horn section. And speaking from personal experience, it’s incredibly liberating to spend time outside of a big group and redirect some focus towards solo songwriting. So based on his time playing bass with Minneapolis eleven-piece Black Market Brass, I’m sure that multi-instrumentalist/producer Charlie Bruber is having a ball breaking out and hopping behind the mic, front-and-center for the first time. This endeavor’s inception came when Bruber stumbled across the remarkably-rare EMS Polysynthi and picked up where Pink Floyd, Gong, and Tangerine Dream left off more than half a century ago. A bit before the start of the pandemic, Bruber holed up in his home studio and invited an assortment of friends and acquaintances to tinker around with the Polysynthi’s vast idiosyncratic potential. Next Tuesday the fruits of Charlie Bruber’s labor finally touch down with Finding the Muse. At sixteen tunes, Finding the Muse is a sprawling amalgamation of unfettered feelings, earworm melodies, and full-bodied arrangements that are a testament to unrushed, collaborative greatness. And today Charlie Bruber burst out with another infectiously-mellifluous offering ahead of Finding the Muse. Appearing at the LP’s halfway mark, “Bubble” confidently steers clear of over-saturated pop formulas with damp drumscapes, tranquil tempo shifts, and softly-sung phrases that sound like the vocal chords of Chaz Bundick, Roger Waters, and David Gilmour had a mellow lovechild.

Episodes

April 30, 2024

Grandmaster: “Castle Door”

Watch out, Golden Dawn Arkestra…there’s a new costumed collective in town, and they’re hunting for for fresh converts! But instead of frenetic Afro-inspired dance grooves, these fanatics have so far stuck to the slower side of ’70s-style jazz funk rock; think War whisked together with Steely Dan. Not that you’d be able to tell from […]

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April 29, 2024

Trip Cigs: “Comeback Kid”

When a seasoned musician wades out of their genre comfort zone, you love to hear it. Because the technical expertise, jam stamina, and songwriting skills are already in place, but opening the gate to different inspirations and influences is always a welcome breath of fresh air. So let’s talk Rod Gator, who – as you […]

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April 24, 2024

Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more hypnotic staying power through sheer repetition, especially in the realm of dance music. Now let’s […]

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April 24, 2024

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace. Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you […]

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April 23, 2024

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” […]

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April 22, 2024

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable. And yet it’s still such a joy to hear an artist explore new sonic territory, […]

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April 19, 2024

Melotheory: “Breathe”

When you have roommates, at least good ones you get along with, group activities naturally arise around the house. For most folks, it’s watching TV, recreational smoking and drinking, or maybe the occasional board game. For musicians, however, having a practice space within eyeshot of your bedroom door is too good of a scenario to […]

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April 17, 2024

Rhythm&Truth and Sakari: “Bring It All Back”

We won’t say that successful collaborations should mandate a solo artist’s trajectory. But if something built together leaves people wanting more, it’s not a bad idea to get back together and sate those desires, right? Because what’s unachievable on the individual level often just needs to get catalyzed by some good collabo chemistry. So let’s […]

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