Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

June 2, 2022

The Suffers: “Don’t Bother Me”

By: Jack Anderson

Without traumatizing yourself too much, try to tally up how many major moments of turmoil our society’s experienced over the past half decade. It’s a lot. And without trying to sound too hippie-dippie, we’re not going to heal with more hatred. Although she primarily applies it to the constant grind of songwriting, recording, and touring, Kam Franklin of The Suffers shares a similar philosophy, that “it starts and ends with love”.

Tomorrow this one-of-a-kind Houston soul octet drops their third studio full-length It Starts With Love. This record reinvents The Suffers’ sound by exploring the retro synths and drum programming of the 1980s, like a modern day take on the Miami Vice soundtrack. But thanks to mixing from Grammy winner Adrian Quesada and mastering from Chris Longwood (who’s worked with both Khruangbin and Parliament-Funkadelic), It Starts With Love rounds out nicely with the group’s existing catalogue. It Starts With Love comes out tomorrow, and The Suffers play this Saturday at The Mohawk with fellow Houstonian Fat Tony. Between Franklin’s fierce vocals, lyrics grounded in America’s afflictions, and Latin-inspired percussion and horns (all of which can be heard – and seen – in “Don’t Bother Me”), the unbeatable energy of It Starts With Love absolutely demands a comfy set of dancing shoes.


Episodes

August 28, 2025

Adrian Quesada: “Bravo (ft. iLe)” [Live In Studio 1A]

At this point, Adrian Quesada is a man who needs no introduction. With a musical curiosity rivaling Beck, project to project, he conjures up albums thoughtfully marrying tradition or inspiration to Quesada. On both iterations of the Boleros Psicodélicos albums, Quesada explores the centuries-old, Cuban-rooted tradition of the Bolero, beautiful, dramatic love songs deep with […]

Listen

August 26, 2025

Jane Leo: “Goldmine”

Song of the Day has returned from vacation, and I can’t think of a better way to come back than with my favorite dance-pop group this city has to offer. We’ve been following the rise of Jane Leo since its origins, and since the last time we checked in with the duo, they supported indie […]

Listen

August 14, 2025

Team Trust: “Wuggis”

Team Trust call themselves art rock, which is somewhat fitting, but if we want to be specific, I’d call them quirk-punk. The Austin trio sounds a bit like Being Dead and your cool, Gen-X brother’s punk demos he recorded at home the summer before they wound-up on tour with Black Flag, opting for a rotisserie […]

Listen

August 8, 2025

Russell Taine, Jr.: “Sidewinder”

Austin’s Russell Taine, Jr. blends indie rock with an Austin and Texas twist. It’s indie music powered by chords and melodies that you imagine being played at dusk in your cool friend’s backyard with a chain link fence and an oak tree in the background. It sounds like Hole In the Wall. Their latest single […]

Listen

August 7, 2025

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

Andrew Chasen. With the Disciples of Creation, he takes you to church. With A Giant Dog, he takes you church. Sweet Spirit makes you want to dance the night away, and Tear Dungeon drags you to the basement, ties you to the St. Andrew’s Cross, and says flogging and bastinado are for the faint of […]

Listen

August 6, 2025

Jack Greenwood: “Four Walls”

Jack Greenwood’s new single is dance music for sad lads. On “Four Walls,” a song about feeling trapped, the Austin-by-way-of-Wisconsin singer and producer presents a fantastical escape, evoking the moodier side of the 80s synth. The opposing dichotomy works well here; what begins with sunny textures and a fun, melodic bass spirals into a manic […]

Listen

August 4, 2025

Mae Powell: “Contact High”

Bay Area singer-songwriter Mae Powell‘s debut album on Karma Chief Records, Making Room for the Light, serves up a West-coast brand of vintage, pastel-colored, jazz-meets-indie-pop beauty akin to Atlanta’s Faye Webster. Her latest single “Contact High” has origins in conversations with Powell’s elderly neighbor about a song with the spirit of being high socially, but […]

Listen

August 1, 2025

Celestine Gravely: “Kill the Heather”

Despite having a name that sounds like it belongs to a member of the Cramps, Austin’s Celestine Gravely‘s brand of rock is more attuned to the likes of Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, balancing the sounds of those eras and the power of their vocals with her own stamp of songwriting. You’ve got it all […]

Listen