Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

July 12, 2023

Sap: “Pickle Song”

By: Jack Anderson

There’s been a ton of new music trickling down the Live Music Capital’s trunk this summer, so fingers crossed that the laziness typically associated with these dog days doesn’t slow that flow down anytime soon. Because among that gradual deluge of easily-accessible inoffensive homegrown genres, there’s also some seriously thick high-octane shit oozing out of Austin as well. Say, for example, Sap a trio who extracts direct influence from the golden age of ’90s grunge for a viscous mix of pre-millennium alternative hard rock and modern sensibilities. These three crude dudes started sampling their sound with a string of studio singles back in February. Titles like “Kiss My Kitty Cat”, “Big Fat Macho Man”, and “Hairy Jerry” paired with tormented-yet-cartoonish pieces of artwork quickly clue you into the uncouth juvenility of Sap, but the Nirvana-esque sonics and concise, catchy structures assure you that these are in fact well-seasoned students of their favorite styles, with mad instrumental discipline and songwriting chops to boot. Well, tomorrow Sap’s standing solidifies with their debut studio album Lard Baby a real gooey bundle of revivalist grunge joy. The fellas celebrate with a release show next Friday at Hole in the Wall opening for Violent Vira and Max Diaz and today you can make like hungry grunge bugs on a sticky limb by lapping up the new Sap with Lard Baby‘s final lead single. Far from a sour slurp, “Pickle Song” goes down real easy thanks to a soft, xylophone-fueled buildup, but once the lid comes off out spills a sporadic, bloodthirsty sprint. Put simply? “Pickle Song” kicks ass.

Episodes

November 26, 2025

Stephen Doster w/ the #9 Orchestra: “Goodness”

f you’ve been in Austin for any amount of time, and especially if you’ve called Austin home for a decade or few, you’re no doubt familiar with the #9 Orchestra, a group of musicians from a myriad of backgrounds who come together at least once a year to perform the songs of the Beatles and […]

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November 20, 2025

Judy Blank: “Cosmic Kids” (ft. SUSTO)

Growing up in the Netherlands, Judy Blank fostered an early love for classic American cinema. She’s married that love with her stamp of DIY-indie eclecticism, sometimes leaning more Americana (something she honed during her brief time as a Nashvillian) and sometimes dreamy indie-pop, but always poetic, seemingly effortless, and marked with that signature Dutch wit and brutal […]

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November 19, 2025

Matthew Payne: “Down In the Valley”

Singer-songwriter Matthew Payne‘s poetic Americana is salt of the Earth, evocative of both his Dripping Springs upbringing and nearly two decades as an English and creative writing teacher here in Austin. And with a stage roster that includes Hole In the Wall, Saxon Pub, and the Cactus Cafe, he truly is Austin Americana timelessness personified. […]

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November 18, 2025

Sweet Limb: “Who’s This”

While one taste may be in the name, the latest from Austin’s Sweet Limb is savory and brimming with umami. Historically, Sweet Limb founder Chris Robinson has performed with a band, but his new EP The Pastel Noise is all him, venturing into more experimental sounds and introspective lyrics, making the new direction more than […]

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November 17, 2025

The Goods: “April Fools”

Oakland underground music veteran Rob Good has been hard at work with his jangly, power pop trio The Goods, blending shimmery British Invasion-style energy with a bit of 90’s indie pop flair to create something simultaneously nostalgic and new. The follow-up to their 2023 debut EP is the full album Don’t Spoil the Fun. The […]

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November 14, 2025

Tess Clare: “Anemoia”

Last time we checked in with L.A.’s Tess Clare, we were talking about wanting more and the restlessness of sitting still for too long. Now, we’re reveling in anemoia, a feeling of nostalgia for a time or place we’ve never experienced ourselves. Like elder Gen Z-ers yearning for that night in 1991 when Nickelodeon premiered […]

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November 13, 2025

Moody Joody: “OOPS!”

Nashville shimmer pop trio Moody Joody are ushering in a new era of music for themselves and heeding he neverending call of “WE WANT MORE ANTHEMS!!” Or…dancethems if you wanna be cute. Lead vocalists Kaitie Forbes and Kayla Hall along with producer Andrew Pacheco have been working with Grammy-winning Scott Harris (Shawn Mendes, Dua Lipa, […]

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November 12, 2025

Born Ruffians: “Athena”

Across three decades, Born Ruffians have been a pivotal part of the Toronto music scene. And in that time, music has changed, artists have come and gone, leaving their various marks, and while many artists look around and see themselves surrounded by new generations and fall back, the Canadian quartet has marched forward, always pushing […]

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