Song of the Day

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February 3, 2025

Gus Baldwin & the Sketch: “(She’s Gone) Arigato”

By: Taylor Wallace

After many years of winning the hearts and ears of Austin music lovers both as a solo artist and as a member of the psych outfit Acid Carousel, Gus Baldwin’s name has been in the mouths of bookers and promoters for years, and more recently, he formed Gus Baldwin & the Sketch. And while it still has the tight, catchy hooks of Acid Carousel, the Sketch hangs out in the garage: it’s fuzzy, bold, and full of adrenaline.

Their debut album The Sketch came out last Friday, and while you’ve been hearing their garage rock song “Luxury Television” on the KUTX airwaves, today’s Song of the Day leans a bit more on the power pop side, hitting more like a harder Hot Hot Heat tune than Ty Segall.

“She’s Gone (Arigato)” is just pure fun and adrenaline. It’s punchy, danceable, and it might take you back to the iPod commercials of the mid 00’s. Truly the only bad thing about the song is that it ends. And as highly anticipated as this album has been, the wait was worth it; the sketches were turned in because they were ready; not because it was 11:30.

“(She’s Gone) Arigato” is on The Sketch, out now. You can see Gus Baldwin & The Sketch before they take the album on the road on Thursday February 20th at 29th St. Ballroom with Grocery Bag, Blank Hellscape, and Guiding Light.


Episodes

January 10, 2022

Anastasia Hera & The Heroes: “Illusion”

We’re already one week intoLove Austin Music Month but’ve only scraped the surface of ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person – the new compilation fromAustin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program. One of the more well-known contributors is native Austinite Anastasia Hera, whose early inspirations of ATCQ, Jay-Z, and MLK Jr. helped shape her verbal abilities […]

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January 7, 2022

Deer Fellow: “For My Sake”

Going back to their 2016 debut single “Where I’ll Be”, guitarist-vocalist Matt Salois and violinist-pianist-vocalist Alyssa Kelly have been making listeners feel all warm and fuzzy inside with their project Deer Fellow. True to their name, this Austin duo’s shown a real camaraderie with the calming powers of nature thanks to an indie-folk-pop sound slathered […]

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January 6, 2022

Pleasure Venom: “Severed Ties”

As the nation marks one year since a high-profile socio-political event,Love Austin Music Month continues with theAustin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program and one of our city’s most politically outspoken punk bands Pleasure Venom. Fronted by fierce vocalist and unapologetic lyricist Audrey Campbell, Pleasure Venom’s been seeping its way into all the sub-genres of punk […]

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January 5, 2022

Quentin And The Past Lives: “Friends”

As Love Austin Music Month marches on, we continue our coverage of Austin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program‘s new compilation, ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person, with Quentin And The Past Lives. Quentin’s eponymous quintet may be a relatively recent endeavor but their high-octane brand of funk-infused pop-rock (polished with plenty of harmonies, dynamic virtuoso […]

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January 4, 2022

Natalie Price: “Tell Me”

Austin Music Foundation’s Artist Development Program has just entered their fifth year and in honor of Love Austin Music Month they’re releasing their third record, ATX Gen Next: Adventures in Person – recorded at The Bubble and produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith and Einar Pedersen. The album officially drops mid-January and the vinyl edition is […]

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January 3, 2022

Ben Buck & BoomBaptist: “Gene Wilder”

No one can deny how taxing 2021 was, and though we can’t make any guarantees for 2022, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recognize some gems that made the Winter season a little less bleak. Case in point: two of Austin’s most outspoken hip-hop creators, Ben Buck (who’s had a fruitful solo career as a […]

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December 17, 2021

Stephan Moccio: “Winter Waltz (The Music Box Version)”

Here we are at the final Song of the Day for 2021 and with just one week away until Christmas Eve, this one’s an extra sentimental seasonal pick. It comes from the mind of L.A.’s Stephan Moccio, who, outside of a successful solo career has some seriously impressive co-writing credits: “Wrecking Ball” from Miley Cyrus, […]

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December 16, 2021

José James: “Christmas in New York”

Born in Minneapolis and now based out of New York, guitarist-vocalist José James continues to inspire joy at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop. His discovery in London about a decade back led to legendary jazz label Blue Note Records signing James and releasing five of his albums between 2012 and 2018. Since then José […]

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