Song of the Day

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October 24, 2022

Pale Dian: “Misanthrope”

By: Jack Anderson

Back in my day if you wanted to be one of the first to lay eyes on a new music video, you basically had to stay locked onto TRL. And if you wanted your music video to get played, you probably had to have an industry contact in the early internet era. So no disrespect to Carson Daly, but our ability to showcase Austin visuals freely is all thanks to you.

And since our Fall Membership Drive steers near to Halloween, skies are grey and pallor is back in seasonal fashion. Which brings up to Pale Dian. Spearheaded by visceral vocalist-synthesist Ruth Ellen Smith, Pale Dian purveys a Post-Punk-meets-Shoegaze style that’s been deemed “Nightmare Pop”. Since their 2016 debut Narrow Birth, these bleak dissociations have trickled across time and genre, in way where a Roy Orbison collaboration with Cocteau Twins wouldn’t be unheard of.

Like a double-exposed dream dipped in desire and doused in delight, Pale Dian dropped their sophomore follow-up Feral Birth yesterday. The band celebrated with a record release last night at Hotel Vegas two weeks before their upcoming appearance at the Galveston Art Festival. But you won’t need to make a beach trip to enjoy Pale Dian’s off-kilter optics; today they’ve unleashed a one-of-a-kind counterpart to Feral Birth. Animated by longtime Richard Linklater collaborator Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, etc.) “Misanthrope” will momentarily transport you out of the beginning-of-week mindset so you can turn on, tune in, and drop out to watch reality melt.


Episodes

September 19, 2025

Parker Woodland: “Get Me to the Show”

Austin’s Parker Woodland are back with potentially their rawest song yet, and certainly my favorite one to date. Standing firmly in their vintage pop-punk sound comes “Get Me to the Show,” a punchy tune packed with earwormy hooks and raw, female-led energy fueled by Erin Walters’s signature vocals pivoting between pop harmonies and Sleater-Kinney-like attitude […]

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September 17, 2025

Tear Dungeon: “Kill For Health” [Live In Studio 1A] RE-RUN

It’s Weird Wednesday, and I aim to keep it that way. And what better to stay on theme than to revisit a recent favorite of mine from Studio 1A? Tear Dungeon is truly to be seen. Between the uniform of all-white street clothes paired with leather gimp masks and the perpetual question, “what will hit […]

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September 16, 2025

West Texas Exiles: “Division” (ft. Kelly Willis)

All musical motifs of the Lone Star State converge in Austin’s West Texas Exiles. The quartet, made up of members hailing from El Paso, Amarillo, and Lubbock, draws inspiration from all squares of the Texas music quilt, from Willie to Buddy and everyone in between. Their debut full-length album 8000 Days came out last Friday, […]

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September 12, 2025

Yuno: “Blest” [LIVE IN STUDIO 1A]

Jacksonville, Florida’s Yuno is DIY-defined. The self-taught musician and producer has been fine-tuning his brand of indie-pop mixed with reggae, hip-hop and skate culture influences to boot for some time, and that perfect mix of luck and talent caught the eye of Shabazz Palace member and Sub Pop rep Ishmael Butler, and the rest is, […]

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September 8, 2025

Lola Tried: “Hot Shot Barbie” [PREMIERE]

After several amuse-bouches of singles, Austin’s Lola Tried are ready to let us feast. OG members Lauren Burton and Ray Garza are joined by newcomers Gianni Sarmiento and Austin Norman for the group’s third EP, out this Friday. Perfect for your workout (or rageout) playlist is “Hot Shot Barbie.” She’s got her foot on the […]

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September 5, 2025

Noods: “Slip Up”

As the not-so-great Kyle Cooke once said, “Summer should be fun.” And to remind you that summer doesn’t end until September 22nd is the latest single from Brooklyn’s Noods. The ironically fully-clothed quartet returns with their sophomore album I Never Dream About You next month, and today they release its debut single “Slip Up.” True […]

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September 2, 2025

Silvana Estrada: “Dime”

No longer in her ingenue phase, Mexico’s Silvana Estrada has maintained her wunderkind rise. With her birdsong voice and her signature Venezuelan cuatro guitar as a vessel to carry her stories of love, grief, and growth. Ahead of her newly announced international tour and album, Vendrán Suaves Lluvias, out in October, Estrada’s released “Dime,” a deceptively […]

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September 1, 2025

Grackles: “There Will Be Time”

Well howdy! Happy Labor Day! The weather may or may not be participating in our final romp of summertime, but Austin’s Grackles are here to make the day sunny despite Mother Nature. What began as a side project made up of touring and studio musicians for A-list artists such as the Chicks and Paul Simon […]

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