Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

August 15, 2023

West 22nd: “Sweet!”

By: Jack Anderson

If this intense summer heat is starting to fry your synapses and your mind is in need of a holiday…but you don’t really have time on the calendar or money in the budget for proper R&R, there’s a broad sonic convoy right here in town that’ll take your brain places, for sure. We’re talking about Austin quintet West 22nd. Based on the campus-adjacent coordinates in their handle, you can probably guess where West 22nd got their start. But it’s worth mentioning that the five members have home state backgrounds ranging from Georgia to California, a critical piece of West 22nd’s “cross-country road trip” aesthetic within their indie-folk-rock excursions. For those staying connected with the Live Music Capital from outside the city limits, let West 22nd take you All The Way Home this Friday with their debut EP that shares the title. For the locals, West 22nd commemorates the occasion with a release show 8PM that same evening at Mohawk indoors alongside Daydream Twins, Knox Write, and Sounds by Moonbby. And for everyone, West 22nd simmers and shimmers on All The Way Home‘s latest lead single, “Sweet!”. Simple kick drum and snare rim, easy-strolling bass, and soft-swaying six-string warm this arrangement up before impassioned pipes bring this thing to a peak, but the inter-instrumental energy across this relatively complex song structure is really what escalates “Sweet!” past vapid and saccharine and into satiating and sanguine.

Episodes

November 4, 2026

Almost Heaven: “Fever Trying To Blow” [Live In Studio 1A]

Some songs can turn your day around, and “Fever Trying to Blow” by Austin’s Almost Heaven is one of them. This was the first song I heard from the band, and it’s stayed in heavy rotation ever since. I love how the song builds and moves between its sections without losing that infectious energy. It’s […]

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November 3, 2026

The Harms: “Tornado Row”

After more than a decade, Austin’s The Harms are releasing their sophomore album! Fronted by Austin music mainstay Chase Frank, the Beto Martinez-produced album is chock-full of earworms that splinter and showcase the wide world of psych rock. “Tornado Row” is a fun, hyped-up garage-surf tune with Frank’s harmonies adding an 80s Go-Gos like veneer. […]

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November 2, 2026

They Might Be Giants: “Get Down”

For music veterans They Might Be Giants, momentum is the secret sauce….or novel spice blend, attributing the “open-endedness” of their approach to the craft as the key to their continued popularity and intrigue after 44 years. Their latest album (and note: their 24th) The World Is to Dig is a largely upbeat- 18-track romp, bursting […]

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October 30, 2026

lluvii: “junii (llámame)” [KUTX Live At ACL Fest 2026]

As we round fourth base on October, we’re giving it up one more time for our Artist of the Month lluvii. The Latin pop/psych group made their ACL Fest debut at the beginning of the month, and they stopped by our backstage tent to delight us with a live version of the song we’ve been […]

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October 29, 2026

Serena Sun: “Tell Me… Please”

Happy early halloween, and what’s scarier than growing up? Vancouver based, Serena Sun takes a silky, honest look at releasing the pressures of having her own fate in her hands. This is a sneak peak of this track set to be released tomorrow.

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October 28, 2026

Masahiro Okamura: “A Wonderful World Of Death”

Tokyo-based singer-songwriter Masahiro Okamura explores the idea of finding peace in death on “A Wonderful World of Death,” a dreamy blend of dream pop and indie electronic. Featuring strings from Brooklyn-based violinist Pete Lanctot, the track is the focus song from Okamura’s debut album, Foehn

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October 27, 2026

Devon Gilfillian: “Time” [Live In Studio 1A]

We’ve been hitting that new Devon Gillfilian album Time Will Tell pretty hard this year and for good reason: it’s catchy, soulful, and sometimes downright cinematic. When he came through Studio 1A earlier this month and his touring pianist Jay Blaylock was already poised at our Steinway, our Assistant Program Director Deidre Gott had a […]

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October 22, 2026

Sophie Seng: “Marionette”

Halloween is 9 days away (but who’s counting?) and today’s Song of the Day, “Marionette,” will certainly put you in the mood. Sophie Seng, Austin-based singer and saxophonist, tells the story of the struggle for freedom and its subsequent constraints through the perspective of a marionette puppet. The vivid imagery of a marionette finding its […]

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