Americana

Rett Smith: “Stop Signs”

For well-established acts, keeping faithful to the formulas that first made ’em famous is often the key to longevity. We’re talking AC/DC, legacy acts that dare not alienate longtime fans by trying to fix what ain’t broke. But the big difference between AC/DC back then versus now is how frequently they put out new material. Yeah, for up-and-comers cranking out at least one studio album a year, staying in just one lane ain’t exactly a great strategy.

Like check out Rett Smith, who flexes the nexus between Austin and Nashville. His post-covid discography alone (of one release per year starting in 2020) speaks to Rett’s relentless work ethic. So with that impressive volume of work already under his belt in such a short time, weighing in on the steady shift towards “shoegaze-icana” isn’t necessarily a threat to Rett’s brand at all. No, we welcome the move for its variety, innovation, and evasion of letting Rett’s style get stale.

Sandwiched right in between a free Waterloo Records in-store performance 5PM today and a headliner show 9PM this Saturday at The Mohawk alongside Travesura, tomorrow we receive Rett Smith’s fifth, A Weighted Remorse, in its entirety. And to help give the LP its official green light, “Stop Signs” (and yet another abstract Super 8 music video that evokes the psychedelic side of “Old Austin”) ought to halt any RS haters dead in their tracks. Revving through tremendous dynamic range in just over two minutes, “Stop Signs” is the hard rock equivalent of alternating a souped up muscle car between peeling out and slamming on the brakes while commuting from a love making session to a late night dive bar gig. So just make sure you’re at least attempting to obey traffic laws when blasting Rett’s latest in your car stereo.

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.

Lord Buffalo: “Holus Bolus”

You might’ve caught last Thursday’s Austin Music Minute on Lord Buffalo. But even if you did, it’s a record release worth shouting out again.

You see, this Austin quartet’s been grazing across in the psych-Americana range for a dozen years now – spanning from their 2012 eponymous EP, their 2017 eponymous full-length, and their early pandemic installation Tohu Wa Bohu. And if you couldn’t tell from that last listed entry, Lord Buffalo’s got a real way with words.

Well, true to LB’s latest LP title (which translates to “all at once”), Holus Bolus gives you a bit of everything – post-punk, psychedelia, blues, and of course, Americana – across seven songs mixed and mastered by Danny Reisch and Max Lorenzen, respectively. The record dropped last Friday, just a few hours after Lord Buffalo wrapped up a release show at 13th Floor. But now that Lord Buffalo’s on the road and building up a new herd of listeners on a month-long national tour, we don’t want their hometown fandom to go the way of the…well…do we? So it’s best to set aside the full thirty-eight minutes to appreciate Holus Bolus front to back and uninterrupted, starting with the album opener, title track (and music video), “Holus Bolus”. Walking on water, banging drums against barren landscapes, shredding fiddle in the thick of the woods, curious coyotes, and enigmatic prisms – each cresting across dunes of heavy desert rock? Yeah, “Holus Bolus” has it all.

Amy Annelle: “East Texas Son”

When you look past the vast sea of love lyrics out there, songs inspired by natural phenomena are just about the greatest equalizer across music’s history. And it makes sense; there’s something so primal and timeless about evoking the rumble of thunder, the whip of wind, or the roar of the ocean. Sure, you can point to jazz or blues as place for many a rainy day refrain, but if we’re talking about a truly bucolic bond to nature, even in modern digital times, folk really relishes in reflections on the weather – be it good or bad.

Yes there are plenty of youngsters who appreciate that longstanding tradition, but here in Austin we’re doubly lucky to have a two-and-a-half decade veteran who clearly “gets” what makes folk tick – Amy Annelle. Going back to 1999’s Which One’s You?, this singer-guitarist (who also once went by The Places) has made her largely-percussion-less, Muir-esque musings a delight to listen to, whether you’re in the midst of a midday picnic or a weekend-long hike through the nearest national park. On top of a provably popular take on Townes Van Zandt’s “Buckskin Stallion Blues”, Amy Annelle’s rightfully earned opportunities to work with folk legends Bill Callahan and Daniel Johnston, and corralled her own octet of handpicked Austin talent to help enhance her transportive originals – The Velvet Hand.

Fortunately in 2024 Amy finds herself on the other side of a long struggle with chronic illness. With her health back in good shape and the life lessons of those tough years under her belt, Amy’s eager to pay that array of recent experiences forward with The Toll, out August 2nd. With the help of The Devil Makes Three’s Cooper McBean on production, Neko Case engineer-producer Darryl Neudorf on mixing, and industry icon Greg Calbi handling the master, The Toll is a one dozen offering of fine-tuned folk that sounds as pristine on home stereo as it would strumming and humming in a dilapidated deep woods cabin. At the tail end of this month, Amy Annelle’s set to play The Toll in full for the album release show on Saturday, July 27th at Scottish Rite Theater alongside opener Creekbed Carter, benefitting Communities For Recovery. But now that that’s in the forecast, let’s get back to nature.

One of The Toll‘s two originals that engage with the gargantuan aura nature wields over us all, the LP’s third lead single “East Texas Son” arrives especially poignantly as Tropical Storm Beryl leaves millions of fellow Texans without power. From flowing rivers and raging hurricanes to hungry quicksand and breezy, burning thunder, the ominous lyrical precautions of “East Texas Son” are elegantly offset by an optimistic orchestral, acoustic arrangement, one that reminds us of the healing power of nature, even after a catastrophe. But it’s also the sound of a seasoned songsmith returning to form at the top of her game.

Is that thunder you hear? No. It’s our applause for Amy Annelle.

Honey Luck: “Red Line”

Summer’s just over a month away. And with the birds and the bees still bringing new life into Spring, it’s a great time to appreciate fresh acts. So let’s stick a dipper into one of the latest projects to come out of Austin, Honey Luck.

This Americana trio was born out of an auspicious meeting between Brian Pounds and Beth // James’ Jordan and Mikaela Burchill during a Kerrville songwriting competition. The buzz between them was too good to pass up and ever since a session at the Burchills place years later, they’ve stuck together as Honey Luck. Now technically, Honey Luck only made things official this past January. But like a nectar-encrusted horseshoe ringing the stake on the very first throw, Honey Luck’s already had a prosperous start to what’ll surely crystalize into a long-preserved career.

By that we mean Honey Luck’s landed a sweet residency 6PM each Monday in May at the Saxon Pub opening for Austin icon Bob Schneider and recruited six-time Grammy Winner Vance Powell of Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson fame to produce their debut single. A viscous mix of vocal harmonies, heartfelt guitars, and Western fashion paired with a pseudo Super 8 music video that oozes with contagious laughter, sincere smiles, and joyous local performances, “Red Line” has given us our first taste of what’s to come from Honey Luck. And with more tunes already solidifying in their hive, we feel like Honey Luck’s good fortune’s still got a long way to go.

Jana Mila: “Somebody New”

In an environment as dense and competitive as Americana, a unique set of lens can really help you stand out. But if that habitat appears even remotely unnatural to others, every little bit of local color improves your odds of surviving in the long run.

Meet Jana Mila. Mila’s Amsterdam upbringing was spent in the cross-cultural intersection of her family members’ individual passions: Brazilian, Big Band, and Indian. Ultimately though it was indie folk Americana that inspired the rising multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter to take her originals to local Dutch stages at the turn of the last decade. Fast forward to Summer 2022, when Mila moseyed over to Nashville for a songwriting excursion. The connections she made there led to a strong start to Mila’s studio discography with her introductory “When Times Get Rough”, which has already raked in millions of streams.

Turns out Jana Mila blends in so well with the Nashville aesthetic that you’d never guess she wasn’t a native. And that’s absolutely reflected on her ten-tune debut Chameleon. Tracked and produced at Todd Lombardo’s studio in the heart of Music City, USA, this introductory LP carefully camouflages Mila’s unique character against backdrops of West Coast Folk, ’70s rock, and Tennessee country. The announcement of Chameleon‘s August 30th release came last Tuesday alongside the arrival of its lead single, “Somebody New” – an honest reflection on a mid-relationship self-revelation. At just short of three minutes, “Somebody New” is a no-nonsense, straightforward piece of intimate storytelling and an ideal addition to your next breakup playlist, with one hell of an earworm hook.

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace.

Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you know he appreciates all kinds of sandy, desolate miscellanea. Historically, Rett’s smithing has involved all things Americana blues. And while that’s certainly still his skillset, for his upcoming album A Weighted Remorse (out September 13th), Smith finds himself trudging through the dunes of shoegaze.

And the result is heavy as hell, almost bordering on sludge thanks to its subterranean six-string tone and massive drums. Alongside its music video, “Sunsets” feels less like hiking the Fort Davis trails and more like watching The Holy Mountain if it was shot on Super 8, ’70s abstract psychedelia and all. We’re getting major Black Angels vibes from this one, and we have a feeling that when Rett returns from his Western European tour, he’s gonna translate his travels into something else equally arid-inspired and aurally exciting.

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” a complicated thing to assess.

So let’s get a quick look at Ruel Thomas. The Native Austinite developed his guitar-vocals-and-harmonica style around folk-pop-rock icons like Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon while still in Australia. When he moved back to the Live Music Capital about a half decade back, everything fell into place to become a certified full-timer. And Ruel Thomas has done just that, with thousands of gigs in the bag across the Lone Star State, the Tonight and Myself full-length from 2022, and last May’s Texas Castle EP.

You might’ve noticed that time spent onstage and on the road outweighs studio offerings by a country mile. But remember what we said about moving the needle in new directions? Yeah, in 2024, Ruel Thomas has vowed to drop a new single every two months, no small feat for someone who needs to wrangle a band for every recording. And last Friday that new series continued with “I Am Today”, which sounds somewhere between a decades-old yesterday and a fast-approaching tomorrow in terms of classic influences and modern mixing – thanks to Luna drummer/NYC Producer Lee Wall. At just a hair over three minutes, the ever-rolling rhythm section behind “I Am Today” dangles tomorrow’s horizon in the distance, while Ruel’s rich vocals and Americana guitar keep you right in the moment.

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable. And yet it’s still such a joy to hear an artist explore new sonic territory, no matter how established they may be.

Having said that, we’re happy to hear that Nashville’s Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors will be joining us in our neck of the woods later this week. That’s right, on the heels of their ninth full-length Strangers No More, the Americana connoisseurs kick off a month-long national tour right here in town. The Find Your People Tour fires off 7:30PM this Thursday at the Scoot Inn, and our newfound neighbors will be stopping by Central Texas again for the Kerrville Folk Festival late next month.

And since Austin is such a hard left turn from Holcomb et. al’s Nasvhille stomping ground, the band gave us an early listen to their latest shifting of gears. On “Suffering”, the grit is real, and the rock is Southern. It captures the rudest elements of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Marshall Tucker band, albeit with that one-of-a-kind Holcomb character. Safe to say that if Southern rock is your bag, “Suffering” is so good it hurts.

Scott Ballew: “Mutiny”

Austin may be a metropolis, but it’s still smack dab in the middle of Texas, football fanaticism, Western legends, vast landscapes, and all. There are a lot of artists who embody that Lone Star aesthetic, but today we’re tippin’ our hat to Scott Ballew.

After his initial acts as football star and filmmaker, this central Texas troubadour is now living middle age to the fullest as a songwriter. Scott’s quick to point to his documentary work with Terry Allen as a pivotal moment in his career, and sure, you can see similarities in just comparing album covers , like the cresting scenery of their respective debuts Juarez vs. Talking to Mountains or the minimalist interiors of Lubbock (On Everything) vs. Middle Age Crazy. But that said, there’s something especially cinematic-minded about his cosmic Americana compositions that he couldn’t have simply copped from Allen’s outlaw country repertoire.

And that Western aesthetic really comes to a head on Scott Ballew’s third LP, Rio Bravo, out March 29th. Down to its already iconic title (Cat Ballou would’ve been too on the nose, right?) Rio Bravo is shaping up to be a ten-scene saga of survival, less in the realm of gunfighter ballads and more so contemporary confessions, like if Ennio Morricone brought his timeless Spaghetti Western magic to a newly-unearthed Townes Van Zandt album. Ballew started saddling up for Rio Bravo last month with “Suicide Squeeze” and galloped further today with “Mutiny”. Safe to say we’ll spend this next month patiently awaiting the rest of the stragglers, whose full posse of songs could’ve only been made in Texas, plain and simple.

Paige Hill: “Go West”

Last May we took a gander at a real Good Woman, Austin-born-and-raised and now Dallas-based singer-songwriter Paige Hill, who shared her debut EP of the same name last year. Pious yet uninhibited, motherly without hovering, and faithful to her state but enticed by adventure, Hill embodies those personal complications often overlooked in the Americana-country-folk-rock realm.

She’s the type of artist who soaks up inspiration wherever she goes and from whoever she meets, so it’s no huge surprise that she’s settled on People & Places as the title for her upcoming first full-length. Chronicling ten tender years over the course of nearly as many tunes, People & Places is set to showcase a seasoned sense of wisdom that can only come from a modern Texas woman.

So as we move towards People & Places – out later this Spring – we join Paige Hill on the journey she took from her native Austin out to the California coast way back when. Aptly “Go West”, this lead single makes us want to get up and move, plain and simple. While its instrumental arrangement is pretty tight, Paige’s soulful, reverberating vocals round out the song’s sense of space like a cross-country snow globe. And with an expert sense of dynamics that tracks Hill’s heeding of westward advice, “Go West” will encourage you to take the leap and make the changes you’ve been meaning to do from its first full-band downbeat through its final, optimistic chord.

The Lonesome Heroes: “Placebo Sun”

It’s nifty how different sorts of sporty recreation mingle with specific subgenres of music; think surf, skate punk, or yacht rock. But since you can also just longboard down the access road, sippin’ Ocean Spray to some classic Fleetwood Mac without a care in the world, the rules clearly aren’t hard and fast. What’s most important is the meditation in motion, a flow state inspired by the movement of the music itself.

So even though roller skating may be most closely associated to disco (at least historically speaking), there’s an Austin outfit putting those trucks on a whole new set of wheels. That’s The Lonesome Heroes, who’ve endured the rinks of the local live scene (and far beyond) for nearly twenty years now, weaving between the best parts of indie, country, and Americana. Most recently, this veteran quintet scored another milestone with their sixth LP Seasons Change, which has already racked up some impressive streaming numbers in the short time since its November release.

And in line with frontman Rich Russell’s decision to open up the record’s writing process to a few Austin friends, these hometown heroes are lookin’ a little less lonesome in the album opener “Placebo Sun”‘s new music video…as a matter of fact they rounded up a whole roller posse to kick off their boots and strap on some skates! To fully soak up the authentic cosmic Americana radiance of “Placebo Sun”, you’ll have to keep The Lonesome Heroes company 10PM tonight at Hotel Vegas ahead of Alien Eyelid at 10:45, Shinglers at 11:30, and Automatic Weekend half past midnight, no paddling, skiing or interstellar travel required…maybe just a show-stealing, shot-bombing pooch.

Creekbed Carter Hogan: “If I Was”

In the past half decade, we’ve witnessed some surprisingly progressive turns in the historically conservative field of folk and country music; be it Orville Peck eclipsing his contemporaries in the mainstream, a Tracy Chapman cover dominating charts, Kacey Musgraves’ ongoing expansion of the genre’s inclusiveness, or Lil Nas X making people debate what even constitutes a country tune. It’s beyond refreshing to watch these tides shift, and thankfully for us Austinites, it’s not just a national trend.

So while we can certainly point to Pelvis Wrestley’s Benjamin Violet as a force for the androgynous queer cowboy visual aesthetic, when it comes to clear-cut alt-country and folk music, we gotta give kudos to Creekbed Carter Hogan. See, in the short time since Hogan shared their debut 2021 Good St Riddance, we’ve seen huge leaps not just in terms of musical maturity, but indeed through major milestones like legally changing their name, having their uterus removed, and publishing their first book. And through this transition, CCH has created a powerful advantage that makes him stand out in the crowded world of Americana-country-folk, and that’s his unique vocal register, much higher than the majority of men but not necessarily feminine in character.

Well, following up last Spring’s Split EP, Creekbed Carter Hogan is taking things to the next level with their eponymous sophomore full-length Creekbed Carter, out March 22nd. Style-wise it maintains the same blunt, clever, and intrinsically queer twist on roots music we’ve come to adore. But strictly speaking to audio quality, it’s a huge step up from the CCH’s relatively lo-fi discography thus far, with glistening sonics that’ll fill a stereo just as well as it could the Grande Ole Opry. Based on what we’ve heard so far, we’re even willing to wager that Creekbed Carter could challenge Golden Hour when it comes to the finest mixes in acoustic music. So as these Texas temps slowly creep up, crawl into the Creekbed with Hogan for a single release show 8PM this Saturday at Radio/East alongside Large Brush Collection, Kind Keith, and Leila Sunier. Until then, show Hogan some love in the streambed by giving a spin to the record’s first offering, “If I Was”. Because at five-and-a-half minutes, bordered by the prettiest instrumental string arrangement we’ve heard all year (which includes Pelvis Wrestley’s Zach Wiggs on pedal steel and Little Mazarn’s Lindsey Verrill on bass), and joined by Large Brush Collection’s Nora Predey and Grabiela Torres in its climax, “If I Was” marks a melancholy beginning for trans folk’s next generation.

Emily McLoud: “Nothing Ever Keeps”

With Free Week behind us and SXSW still a way’s out, we’re officially filling up our radar with a ton of promising releases for 2024. And that of course includes a wealth of Austin talent.

For example, last weekend we got another glimpse at some new material from Austin’s Emily McLoud. An addict for the outdoors, a loving mother, attentive caregiver, and veteran of the local live scene for the past decade and a half, we prefer to think of McLoud’s surname less like “loud” and more like “cloud”, thanks to her airy vocals and delicate country-folk sensibilities. Emily’s solo career first emerged for many in the fall of 2022 with her debut EP Sugar Shine, and recently she’s been plugging away at its sophomore follow-up.

Well last Friday Emily McLoud picked up where last November’s “Caroline” left off with that latest record’s second lead single, “Nothing Ever Keeps”. An Americana treat throughout its four-minute runtime, “Nothing Ever Keeps” ushers in this new season of vulnerable songwriting for McLoud with gentle harmonies, a tastefully-light rhythm section, and personal lyrics that ain’t too proud to admit to the temporariness of it all.