Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

July 4, 2022

Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters: “I Suppose”

By: Jack Anderson

Major sonic shifts from artists with a well-established sound can be pretty polarizing. But think about all the albums that’ve become iconic simply due to how different they were from their predecessors. Among many others, there’s Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home, Trans by Neil Young, Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color and A Sailor’s Guide to Earth from Sturgill Simpson. And though they haven’t quite reached the status of those legends as of yet, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters are already dead set against typecasting their own style.

So far this Southern Indiana trio has found success with a consistent alt-country/roots-rock sound, especially on 2018’s All Damn Day and 2019’s Companion. Once COVID came around, though, Dittmeier & the Sawdusters confronted the draconian rigidness of country formulas and challenged themselves to innovate those stylistic preferences for modern, mature audiences. After sweeping the floor of their first phase shavings, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters added synths, loopers, and drum machines to their workbench and started cutting their third full-length, Heavy Denim. The title refers to the unofficial “uniform” of Americana, and by doing so, the hard left turn of Heavy Denim is executed with self-aware grace. Heavy Denim drops next Friday and the band’s on a national tour lasting through September. So while there’s a lot of commotion about being patriotic on the Fourth of July in a post-Roe America, the Sawdusters can at least celebrate independence from the genre constraints that’ve pigeonholed so many more Americans. That said, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters have treated us to one extra piece of fireworks from Heavy Denim, the previously-unseen music video for “I Suppose“!


Episodes

September 29, 2023

Tribe Mafia: “Take Me” (feat. Erik Goca)

It’s beyond satisfying to hear a homegrown Austin artist not just outside the local city limits, but in a piece of media that gets global reach. And while it may be impossible to top White Denim in the official Nintendo Switch trailer, we gotta give it up to Tribe Mafia for their recent induction into […]

Listen

September 28, 2023

Daniel Fears: “Say Something”

Here at KUTX and Song of the Day, we try to be as dutiful as we can in providing both an accurate representation of the Austin Music Experience and great tunes. But honestly, all talent aside, for some local artists we often have to dig around to find something that’s actually airwave worthy. Daniel Fears, […]

Listen

September 27, 2023

Nihiloxica: “Asidi”

What happens when you aggressive UK bass collides with testosterone-driven Bugandan percussion? Nothing quiet, that’s for sure. That specific combo of acoustic and electronic, of modern and traditional first came about with the formation of Nihiloxica half a decade back, when UK producers Spooky-J and pq linked up with Nilotika Cultural Ensemble members Isa, Sally, […]

Listen