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Ram Vela & the Easy Targets: “Life Is Rigged”

Everyone benefits from the empowerment of self efficacy. And nobody wants to scrape by each day facing a sealed fate. Those truths must have at least subconsciously fueled the landmark success of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which endures as a surprisingly hopeful narrative despite its status as a relentless “hard R” sci-fi action flick. But as we’ve hinted at, you don’t need to be Sarah Connor going up against Skynet to appreciate the importance of altering a timeline.

Heck, with their latest single even Ram Vela & the Easy Targets have revealed themselves as optimistic revisionists. Over more than half a decade purveying power pop and alternative rock, the Austin quartet’s rarely strayed from themes of modern disenfranchisement, tough truths, and reality-aware humor. So if you feel the “no fate but what we make” principle of T2, you’re gonna love “Life Is Rigged”, on speakers, headphones, or in person for the single release show 8PM tomorrow night at Chess Club following openers Flags at 7PM.

We could totally see “Life is Rigged” playing over the end credits of T2 in an alternate, carefree timeline where James Cameron grew up as a West Coast skater. But T2 tie-ins aside, “Life is Rigged” is rich with that late ’90s/early ’00s intersection of angst, disillusionment, and pop culture references, aided in no small part by killer performances from each of RV&ETs four players, especially those full chorus “HEY”s in the hook.

Female Gallery: “Simon Says”

Scrolling through social media, watching ten-second clips of people’s little circus acts in the comfort of their own natural habitats…it can sometimes feel like a human zoo. So while we’ll never fully encourage those vapid grasps at short-term stardom, anything that detracts from the oversaturated landscape of bland masculinity in the entertainment sector’s worth the price of admission, right?

On that note, today we’re taking a gander at Female Gallery. The Austin-based four-piece sources their rock-meets-dance (dare we say indie-post-punk?) sound from the likes of Paramore and No Doubt all the way to Pink Floyd. But in terms of Female Gallery’s overall brand, the pairing of Queer identity with Latinx roots almost speaks louder than their literal influences.

And after starting off strong with two back-to-back introductory singles in Spring 2022, Female Gallery’s feel-good energy’s set to score the quartet a new force of fangirls with their upcoming debut EP Best Friends Together Forever, dropping just before Halloween ahead of a namesake tour next summer. As if to put a collective foot down proudly declaring their diversity against cis-heteronormativity, Female Gallery pulled the curtain on their latest, “Simon Says”, last Friday. An uptempo, reverb-washed original that effortlessly shifts gears throughout a sophisticated sequence, this four-and-a-half minute affair’s gonna make you forget all about following the leader and instead will get you fueled up to become BFTFs with Female Gallery six weeks from now.

BOO85: “Retrograde”

You’ve heard the excuse before. Ya know, somebody spaces on a date, forgets to turn in an assignment, or otherwise just kind of has a minor misstep. What do they say after shrugging? “Sorry, man. Mercury must’ve been in retrograde.”

Sure, scapegoating the cosmos for your own shortcomings isn’t the most mature thing…but neither is naming your band BOO85. After kicking things off last Spring with their streaming debut “Just Friends”, this Austin-based all-girl alt-pop-rock project’s still jigglin’, gigglin’, and making great tunes through 2024. And today BOO85 rounds out the summer by completing the pair that began with this February’s “Heart“.

Coincidentally falling on another astrological Friday after last week’s “Like a Sagittarian Archer”, “Retrograde” sets the horoscope for your weekend with a headliner performance 9PM this Sunday at Sahara Lounge after openers Alexi 8Bit and Jay Wanderer. And this latest original racks up another bouncy bop to BOO85’s already-busty brand with carefree sonics like viscous vocals, a breakbeat-adjacent drum pattern, top-gear guitar and bass work, infectious effects, and sanity-demanding lyrics.

Anna May: “The Show”

As much as we admire an intricate arrangement and a progressive song structure, not every tune needs to tout itself as a pocket symphony. I mean, we’ve already got one “Bohemian Rhapsody”, right? So while house and hip-hop may spring to mind when thinking about repetition, there’s an intrinsic simplicity to other styles of songwriting – chiefly in the acoustic corner of things – that makes “one note” compositions truly compelling.

With that in mind, turn your attention to Nashville’s Anna May. Hailing out of Connecticut, this rising singer-guitarist-songwriter specializes in what she calls “alternative tragic Americana”, an unyielding take on the classic Western sound through intimate intersections of jazz and folk. But despite Anna May’s immersion in the healing powers of meditation, so far she’s refrained from recording anything close to what you’d call a raga in terms of runtime.

That is, until today. This morning Anna May rolled out her lengthiest original to date, “The Show”. At almost eight minutes, the duration might be daunting to those who haven’t already pressed “play”. But rest assured, once you fire up “The Show”, you’ll be fully engaged in the jam. Because not only does it showcase Anna May’s endurance, innovation, and country-adjacent charm on both vocals and six-string, but also the poetic, stream-of-consciousness, and scene-setting lyrics that makes old school blues so timeless.

A bit “one note”? Of course. But intriguing front to back? Absolutely.

Deer Tick: “Sacrosanct”

When it comes to asking about major milestones like birthdays and anniversaries (whether it’s a piece of media, a pet, or a friend’s kid), sometimes the answer leaves you thinking, “it hasn’t been that long…has it?”. Well that’s exactly what went down when we recently realized that in 2024 Deer Tick is officially two decades old.

Yes, just like other early-mid-aught memories that feel like they just happened yesterday, we’re amazed that the passion project of these Providence rockers is nearly of legal drinking age. To clarify, we’re not saying anything like “ew these dudes are old and irrelevant now”. No. Quite the opposite. Instead, we’re pleasantly impressed with the endurance of these indie alt-Americana darlings and their ability to try out fresh formulas and latch onto new listeners while maintaining much of their signature, twang-adjacent sound – particularly if you keep major musical migrations of the past twenty years in perspective.

And there’s ample evidence beyond Deer Tick’s big list of upcoming headliner tour dates. Just look at Contractual Obligations, album number nine that rolled out a little under a month back. Collating the eight absentees from last June’s Emotional Contracts, Contractual Obligations proves that for Deer Tick, even the stuff that initially ended up on the cutting room floor is worth well more releasing to the masses, and not just as shoddy demos. If you haven’t yet heard Contractual Obligations, we won’t hold you to it (at least not in a binding way). But we do insist you spin the EP opener and lead single “Sacrosanct”. Because on top of the high probability it’ll entice you to enjoy the remainder of the record, the sheer quality of “Sacrosanct” makes us reflect on its titular descriptor in a different way; Deer Tick, seemingly determined-as-ever, is simply too vital for the state of modern music to upend anytime soon.

SPRY: “All In Good Time”

It’s our Summer membership drive! And to help say thanks for all of your generous contributions, we’re giving back with some KUTX-clusive premieres for the rest of the week, starting off with a rockin’ rebrand.

If you’ve kept up with Austin outfit Mohawk Bends, you might’ve caught wind that they’ve recently called it quits…at least under the previous handle. Yep, following the departure of a longtime member after five years of firing up crowds, these indie-alt-rockers are putting the Mohawk Bends to bed…but fortunately picking up where they left off with a fresh face on bass (Kyle Russell) as SPRY.

True to their new namesake, SPRY’s already leapt into action with a promising roadmap. They will be pulling Mohawk Bends’ self-produced 2018 debut Stay a While from digital platforms soon, but plan on replacing it with an updated, re-recorded take as SPRY. And even though we might end up personally stylizing this rendition as Stay a While (SPRY’s Version) for the sake of clarity, fans of the first one definitely won’t mistake this as the original; although four of Stay a While‘s favorites are still intact (two of which have already hit streaming) a salvo of five new tracks fires off this next chapter as SPRY.

So catch SPRY 11PM this Friday at Coral Snake alongside Knetx at midnight and our April 2015 Artist of the Month Abram Shook at 10PM. You may accidentally deadname SPRY a couple of times between now and the show, but as with any new transition, adjustments come “All In Good Time”. And boy oh boy is this first installation a behemoth. Walking that tricky alt-rock tightrope of heavy and mellow and anchored by an exceptional mix, “All In Good Time” is like the arrival of a long awaited sonic sequel, and an awesome way for the boys of Mohawk Bends to resume their much-missed, enthusiastic work in the live scene. Go get ’em, SPRY.

Rival Waves: “Time’s Up”

When you’re in the high seas, you’re at the mercy of rogue waves. When you’re in Texas during the summertime, you’re at the mercy of heatwaves. But if you’d prefer to get thrashed around and work up a sweat without ever facing the sun or leaving port, here in Austin we’ve got Rival Waves.

Starting with their 2018 debut full-length Transducer, this quintet’s ebbed and flowed through all kinds of rocky channels, ranging from alternative and indie to grunge and punk. Sure, the tides of mainstream music have shifted, and we’re at least a couple decades removed from most of those genres’ commercial heydays, but that hasn’t stopped Rival Waves from making a big splash in the local scene and beyond; just check out their respectable streaming numbers between last August’s A Meaningless Chaos and late April’s NAMI EP alone.

Well, ahead of a single release show 8PM next Friday, June 21st at The Courtyard ATX, Rival Waves has a foreboding message to any remaining naysayers: “Time’s Up”. Like the training montage soundtrack that escalates to a final climactic battle, Rival Waves crash against high octane punk and melodic alternative with an almost operatic song structure and chord sequence on “Time’s Up”. But in terms of Rival Waves’ still-cresting career? They’re not stopping the clock any time soon.

Holy Roller Baby: “Speaking In Tongues”

Since its advent at the turn of the millennium, the term “swag” has lent itself to plenty of manufactured personalities. We don’t hear “swag” much anymore, which is fine by us, since swagger ought to come naturally; it shouldn’t be too sophisticated.

You take one look at multi-instrumentalist Jared Mullins, who (in the best way possible) looks like a mix between Robert Plant and Big Lebowski‘s “The Dude”, and you know right away he’s a shining specimen of swagger. And appearances aside, Mullins’ project Holy Roller Baby – now half a decade strong – even refers to their spectrum-spelunking style of rock (heavy more often than not) as “primitive swagger”. HRB’s debut LP Frenzy was a ferocious feast that kept us pretty full for the pandemic’s first couple of years, but we sure were pleased to get a second round of standalone singles starting last March.

Well it turns out the Austin quartet’s already got another one in the can and ready to let loose in the coming months. They announced their next full-length Smile In Heaven (set for release August 23rd) last Friday with the record’s lead single “Speaking In Tongues”. We won’t recommend making out in the middle of train tracks for obvious safety concerns, but we will urge you to check out the Super 8 music video for “Speaking In Tongues”, since it’s such a powerful emotional accompaniment to what sounds like Holy Roller Baby’s Central Texas twist on Radiohead’s “Creep”, high contrast dynamics, unhurried grunge arrangement, impassioned vocal performance, and all. Rock on, Rollers. Rock on.

William Maxwell: “Dead Plants”

When it comes to standing out as a solo artist in an oversaturated scene, nobody does quirky quite like Austin’s William Maxwell. Sure the singer-guitarist is pretty reserved in person, but on the record he’s a full blown musical maniac. With his fearless performance methods and candidly off-kilter lyrics, The Oysters‘ co-founder has shown a real knack for songwriting both across his rap sheet of collaborations and with his 2019 baker’s dozen, Calm a Painter and Subject.

Friday after next William Maxwell releases his sophomore LP, It’s Been Here Changing For a Long Time, ten tracks that are perfect for a post-pandemic mindset (whenever that may come) along with a twenty-four-page art booklet. And since we’re officially into spring and past the trauma of the big freeze here in Texas, now seems like a good time to appreciate the newfound greenery with It’s Been Here‘s fifth and final single, “Dead Plants”!

Kaiti Jones: “Gettin Around to It”

As is the case with many songwriters, storytelling is core to Boston singer Kaiti Jones‘ character. And for Jones, her story began to be told back in 2009 with her first EP, Arise Child, followed by the 2013 four-track Growing Things, and eventually the Vows LP in 2017, offering a substantial amount of material to listeners who drew affectionate comparisons to the flawed, human rock of Sharon Van Etten and Julia Jacklin.

Today Jones has shared a sneak peek of her next record, Tossed, out March 5th, throwing us fans a bit of pre-weekend pep and post-workweek chill in its earnest-yet-light sophomore single (and music video), “Gettin Around to It”!

King Air: “Last of a Breed”

As the city continues to change, a comparatively few amount of veterans from the old school scene have stuck around to release new stuff in 2021. But for four talented musicians that’ve performed in Austin since the ’90s, they’ve merely adopted a new handle and begun to share fresh material at this turn of a decade.

Channeling the likes of alternative pioneers Velvet Underground and R.E.M., King Air cast forth their debut EP Tracks Made in Dust on Christmas Day, staking their claim of atmospheric royalty with just as many songs as members and rounding out the record with a real trance-inducer, “Last of a Breed”!

12th & Chicon: Juggling the Demands of a Business

Meet Vivian Linden and Kathy Duffy, co-owners and practitioners at Rosewood Acupuncture & Ayurveda on Chicon. The office is the manifestation of a business plan they created in school to provide affordable health care to everyone.