Song of the Day

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September 6, 2022

The Best Around: “Kissing Your Ass”

By: Jack Anderson

From the surrealist theatrics of Oingo Boingo and Devo to the esoteric lyricism of Hunky Dory, it seems that not taking yourself seriously can give you a big leg up in the world of art rock. And as with the escapism given to us by those ’70s and ’80s greats, modern day art rockers like Austin’s The Best Around cross the wires between absurdist, non-sequitur humor and biting social commentary. In Spring 2020, Ten years after his indie punk outfit Safeword tapped out, singer-songwriter Camron Rushin created The Best Around along with multi-instrumentalists Todd Pruner (of English Teeth and Kodachrome) and Jon Merz (of Montopolis, My Jerusalem, and Soul Track Mind). They began exchanging stems of new songs and building up arrangements remotely, one instrument at a time, in accordance with pandemic-mandated social distancing. That patience (cue Karate Kid training montage music) lends itself to the work ethic of The Best Around, whose uncouth goofiness may cause cursory critiques to overlook the trio’s underlying discipline.

With Cobrai Kai making its fifth season premiere this Friday and Karate Kid culture back in the zeitgeist, The Best Around are making the most of this moment of Kairos with a new studio single. It’s part of The Best Around’s upcoming debut full-length, which was mixed and mastered by Erik Wofford at Cacophony Recorders here in Austin and is set for release sometime in the next several months. This latest one is a testament to the fact that there’ll never be a demand shortage for breakup songs, and there’ll always be another, more irreverent way to bid farewell to a former fling. Layered with LFO synth flairs, Fastball-style group vocals, bluesy guitar, and mid-’90s Beck-esque production techniques, “Kissing Your Ass” (and its soon-to-be-shared music video) is a perfect funk-rock complement to pop breakup bangers like “thank u, next”.


Episodes

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 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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January 28, 2025

Yahtzee Brown: “Take It Back”

I know you’re already fantasizing about your first road trip of 2025, so here’s a new add for that tried and true playlist. Austin’s Yahtzee Brown takes a myriad of inspirations to create his own brand and generation of country-psych, or what I prefer to call Cosmic Country. And while the songs of Townes Van […]

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January 27, 2025

Skateland: “Postcards” (Recorded Live in Studio 1A)

As Love Austin Music Months enters the home stretch, let’s visit a recent Studio 1A from an old friend. Skateland played our Free Week Show in 2023, and the next month he was our Artist of the Month ahead of his debut EP New Wave Revivial. In the almost two years since, he’s played SXSW […]

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January 24, 2025

Kirk Smith: “Julian”

Kirk Smith has been kicking around Austin and our airwaves for some time, and last Friday he released “Julian.” “Julian” opens with a melancholy, bossa nova shuffle, setting the stage for a worried heart. But it’s not love, it’s sadness for someone you watched from afar decades ago. Lamenting the tale of a John Bender […]

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January 23, 2025

Futon Blonde: “3 Color Flag”

The imagery of rebirth and change in winter might be the only thing you remember from your Robert Frost lesson in English class, so let’s go back to school and compose a short essay on the significance of featuring this song during this season. Just kidding. Austin’s Futon Blonde have spent the last decade making […]

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January 22, 2025

Yes Sir, No Sir: “Spiritus Heist”

Get a preview of this Austin quartet’s sophomore album, out Friday.

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