Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

August 29, 2023

Nuclear Tourism: “Dad Brains”

By: Jack Anderson

So hot right now! …poolside music videos that is. But also, yeah…patrolling the U.S. south this time of year almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter. So with mutually assured destruction still a bit too close for comfort, nuclear tourism seems like the next best thing. Yet we’re not predicting a windfall of Trinity testsite visitors post-Oppenheimer. No, we’re actually talking about Athens, Georgia garage punk rock quartet Nuclear Tourism. These dastardly slackers got started a half decade back with their debut album Scraping By and ever since, when they’re not getting stoned as a bone, bombing hills, or slurping up greasy slices, the four-piece is going full-power in their practice space, shredding through raw reflections of dissent and affection. And as Nuclear Tourism basks in the fallout of their eponymous sophomore record that dropped in February, they also cool off in a newly-issued music video for “Dad Brains”. Bridging timeless embodiments of angst and contextualizing The Graduate for the next generation of unmotivated miscreants, Nuclear Tourism channels Dustin Hoffman’s iconic despondency in the only way they know how; by slappin’ the “plastics” out of those patronizing paternal synapses and instead bonding over Marlboros, beers, and cannonballs. Making apathy look as flashy as it does nasty, “Dad Brains” begs for a drink-a-long lobotomy…just wait ’til you get home from work before diving in and putting ’em down.

Episodes

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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February 6, 2025

Scott Collins: “Aphophenia”

Austin singer-songwriter Scott Collins has been ever-evolving in both songwriting and sound and now he’s started leaning in more to letting himself define his sound, branching out and seeing what feels right. His 9th EP And All This Happened serves on the title’s promise: it’s all happening. But the early 00’s indie sound is still […]

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February 5, 2025

Small Engine Fire: “Good Old Day”

Who said that energy and introspection can’t co-exist? It wasn’t me. And it certainly wasn’t Small Engine Fire. The new Austin band is made up of members of Lola Tried and Quiet Company, and together they create something a little nostalgic, like taking a ride out to Wilco with your Grandaddy. Small Engine Fire throws […]

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February 4, 2025

Her Mana: “Oh This Moment” (ft. Sarita and Gene Evaro Jr.)

We love a side project, don’t we? Especially when ace collaborations are involved. For a couple of years, Ley Line’s Emilie Basez and Kate Robberson have been creating music as a Her Mana, honing an even earthier and more ethereal sound with the same incredible complex guitar noodling, harmonies, and wide range of world instruments […]

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February 3, 2025

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

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 […]

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January 31, 2025

Glassreel: “Myself Included” [PREMIERE]

Winnepeg’s Glassreel is a masterclass on the hard-to-nail trifecta of layers, technique, and breathing space. Nothing is simple, but everything is effortless. Following their 2022 debut Lustre, the group returns with “Myself Instead,” a song that shows the further fine-tuning, cohesion, and boldness the quartet has been building on. While the Belle & Sebastian and […]

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January 30, 2025

Lola Tried: “Degrader”

If Mama tried to steer you right, Lola Tried is here to steer you wrong. So very, very wrong. Known for masterfully blending the emo hooks of teenage Millennial yore with garage and power-pop sensibilities, the group has always been like the adult charcuterie board to pop-punk’s Lunchable. After nearly a decade under those influences, […]

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January 29, 2025

Valley Flower: “Run Buddy”

Rolling into Austin like a quiet, yet alluring fog from the Midwest and Appalachia is Valley Flower, a groovy bluegrass quintet that brilliantly weaves in those regional influences to offer something a little different to the stalwart, homegrown scene here in Austin. And 2024 was very fertile for Valley Flower. They opened for several national […]

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