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KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

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Blush Fantasy: “Dreamboat”

Over the last several years, Kenneth Frost has made his mark in the Austin underground scene with his band the Cuckoos, a group that blends classic rock sentiments with neo-psych and club beat attitude and punctuation. Now Frost is stepping into a new project, a six-piece outfit called Blush Fantasy. Blush Fantasy is like a fresh look back in time. The beats dance somewhere between the disco floor and 80’s clubs (much like Chromeo) until the power chords cut into to plant you a bit more in the 80’s, but now you’re in an entirely different club, still dancing, but not asking too many questions. You’re here for the ride! It’s a true celebration of all of Frost’s favorite influences. Even his vocals are like David-Bowie-meets-Michael Hutchence.

“Dreamboat” features Hey Cowboy’s Sydney Harding-Sloan joining Frost on the mic, setting the scene and creating an ethereal, fog-machine like mysticism. She is the mysterious dreamboat, and she will be seen and celebrated.

You can see Blush Fantasy tomorrow night, March 27th at Hotel Vegas, and this Saturday, March 29th on the indoor stage at Mohawk.

Julian Neel: “Mermaid of the Rodeo”

Austin’s Julian Neel grew-up in Lubbock surrounded at home by the music of artists like Joe Ely and the Flatlanders. Then he spent the last half of the 2010’s on the road with Molly Burch touring the US and Europe. All the while, he was fronting his own band, and he released his debut album Call the Mountain in 2020.

After years of getting his music thirst quenched, Neel filled his cup with the vines of entrepreneurship co-managing the popular Austin wine bar Lolo. But, two cups can be filled at the same time, and Neel has never stopped writing. What musician can?

Neel is back with the heavyweight-studded EP Gallery Show. Members of Chaparelle, Voxtrot and Tele Novella along with members of Weyes Blood, Devandra Banhart, and Tim Heidecker’s bands fill out the record. Neel at the lead takes us through a series of vignettes spanning a motely cast of characters and situations in a small, non-descript Texas town. Each story is given its due time as the EP maintains a leisurely pace, not dallying, but appreciating and exploring.

The characters exist somewhere between the Lynchian and Tarantino spheres, illustrating a place and time that seemingly only perfectly exists within itself, and we’re being treated to a peek inside.

Nick Garza’s Get Along: “Silver to Hold”

Austin’s Nick Garza is Texas music personified. The 13th-generation singer-songwriter uses his baritone voice to add an extra layer of salve to his beautifully-crafted songs that embody not only Western music, but plenty of notes and nods to various Texas-centered genres like Tejano. He’s even collaborated Texas with music stalwarts like Augie Meyers and Los Texamaniacs. And it’s not just Austin who’s locked-in on Garza’s inevitable rise as the singer-songwriter has garnered praise from music critics and lovers all over the state.

Garza’s latest EP Silver to Hold is a three-song release that includes Colter Wall’s harmonica player Jake Dillon Groves on the title track, joining the rest of Nick Garza’s Get Along. “Silver to Hold” is a slow, rich waltz that perseverates on lessons learned and the advice that follows. And Garza’s vocals alone will keep you transfixed and heeding.

Elijah Delgado: “Hide + Seek”

Austin native Elijah Delgado has been releasing his self-proclaimed indie rock lullabies since 2021. Since then, he’s performed with national acts like Sister Hazel and Dayglow and performed at Old Settler’s Music Fest and Utopiafest.

Since the release of his debut EP in 2021, Delgado has been sprinkling his audience with a few singles, now leading up to his second EP Moonboy, out this June. The EP’s first single “Hide + Seek,” showcases Delgado’s continued graduation in songwriting. A song about being honest with yourself when you know you’re off or simply falling behind, taking inventory, and using that information to do better and get back on track.

Playing tomorrow afternoon at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, here’s Austin’s Elijah Delgado with “Hide + Seek.”

CLUB: “Sunshine”

Austin’s CLUB COMA are electrifying. Ebbing between dark electro -pop, high-octane rock, and a little bit of funk (sometimes all in the same song), the trio brings the party to the stage. And when you know the members come from Austin groups Ume, Boyfrndz, and Stiletto Feels, your eyes unfocus just enough to see the whole magic eye image.

After working with Spoon’s Jim Eno in the production seat for their debut album in 2023, their upcoming sophomore album receives the touch of Danny Reisch, who mixed the song around evacuations from the L.A. wildfires in January.

“Sunshine” is the full tamale when it comes to the moods of CLUB COMA: after a grand swell of an industrial opening, the floor opens on what you think is going to be a dark dance track, then boom, fuzzy guitar riffs spring into action, giving way to a high-energy solo before the songs backs down into a slick, funky bass solo. As the energy oscillates, your ear stays engaged, looking for the next trick or pivot.

“Sunshine” is the title track off CLUB COMA’s new album, out this summer.

Club Coma SXSW shows:
– Monday, March 10 – Empire (Music/Tech Mashup Party) @ 6:15PM — ENTER TO WIN ENTRY
– Monday, March 10 – Hotel Vegas @ 8:45PM (Free Entry)
– Thursday, March 13 – Chess Club (Nine Mile Touring Showcase) @ 4PM (Free entry)

Is Jermaine Dupri out of touch?

On this episode we discuss legendary producer/artist Jermaine Dupri’s comments on artists not wanting to be independent. We also discuss the recent Austin Music Awards and some criticisms levied at them from local artists.

Redbud: “Pink Pear”

Redbud started as a passion (and let’s be real, therapy) project for Katie Claghorn during the pandemic. Following the release of the group’s debut EP Long Night in 2023, Redbud has been blossoming. At this point, it’s becoming increasingly harder to find people who haven’t heard of Redbud.

The group returns with their follow-up album All Chorus next month, and they’ve been kind enough to give us a little taste. Specifically, they’ve given us a pink pear. The new song shows the indie pop group’s growth and graduated cohesion amongst themselves. “Pink Pear” shows experiments in new directions for Redbud, adding more intricate layers and an edge to their sound. But the slightly blurred, catchy hooks and Claghorn’s ethereal voice remain at the center.

And the band remains booked and busy. Redbud has five shows next week during SXSW, the first one being next Tuesday afternoon far away from the SXSW crowds at Double Trouble on North Loop.

“Pink Pear” is out now. All Chorus is out April 25th.

Redbud Upcoming Shows:
Tues 3/11 @ Double Trouble (103 N Loop Blvd E)
Thurs 3/13 @ Love, Tito’s (215 Lavaca St.)
Sat 3/15 @ Inn Cahoots (1221 E 6th St.)
Sun 3/16 @ The Long Time (5707 Dunlap Rd N)

J’cuuzi: “How 2 Get Everything You’ve Always Wanted 4 Free (Forever)”[PREMIERE]

Austin’s J’cuuzi are about as avantgarde as you can get. Or as I like to call them pop-vantgarde. They’re too electronic to be post-punk, too post-punk to be considered electronic, and a hair too melodic to be straight noise rock. But it’s hot, wild, and maybe a little dangerous, like a jacuzzi.

Their live shows match their songwriting: performing on a stage made to look like a scantily clad apartment filled with its members strutting outrageous, matching homemade costumes that could be described as sideshow couture. All the while, their insatiable high-octane energy locks you in.

“How 2 Get Everything You’ve Always Wanted 4 Free (Forever)” is a raucous, metallic beat-driven tune, growling against the woes of late stage capitalism and their solutions to it and your teetering happiness.

“How 2 Get Everything You’ve Always Wanted 4 Free (Forever)” is out now.

Brittany Banowsky: “Two Sunglass Town” (Song Confessional)

If you’ve been paying attention to KUTX the last few years, you’re aware that we have a number of podcasts. One of them is Song Confessional, an effort led by Walker Lukens and Zac Catanzaro where they collect anonymous, wild stories or “confessions” from people then have a musician write a song about the confession.

Sometimes Walker and Zac will select a confession and put out an open call to their listeners to submit a song. This is the winner from their latest contest.

Austin songwriter Brittany Banowsky penned “Two Sunglass Town” a downtempo indie pop tune based on a confession about moving to a small town and days later winding-up on the front page of the newspaper for evading cops on a motorcycle for not wearing the proper eye gear. The kicker: the family had just moved there after his father had accepted a job as a dean at the town college.

You can find the full archive of Song Confessional episodes here. And you can make your own confession in the booth next week during KUTX Live at Scholz Garten.

SXSBREAKS!

It’s that time of year where we discuss our annual official SXSW Showcase SXSBreaks and our amazing line up. We also discuss Rza from Wu Tang’s comments about the rise of southern hip-hop.

Marlei Dismuke: “Fantasy”

Born in Houston, partially raised in Plano, and now an Austin resident, Marlei Dismuke has been writing and performing music since she started piano lessons at age five. Writing songs for her brothers turned into composing music for family musicals complete with choreography, and eventually truly honing her craft in high school and college, performing everything from jazz to pop to opera.

Dismuke’s myriad of musical interests pour through her songs that sometimes leans a little pop and others a little R&B, but there’s little bits of all of her talent baked in. “Fantasy” is a sultry bi-curious anthem, celebrating the female figure while being caught-up in that all-too-relatable moment of, “what do I do with these feelings?”.

“Fantasy” is out now.

Anastasia Hera: “Ambitions” (Live in Studio 1A)

Austin’s Anastasia Hera has been blending her brand of rap and R&B for almost fifteen years. In addition to releasing her own solo work, leading her group Anastasia and the Heroes, and putting her mark on various other projects, she’s also the founder of CAKE (Creativity, Abundance, Knowledge, Education), a non-profit empowering and educating women pursuing music careers.

Her deft lyrics, sultry vocals, and smooth, earwormy beats have led her to becoming our February Artist of the Month. And, just announced today, she’s part of our line-up for KUTX Live at Scholz Garten during SXSW next month.  

As our Artist of the Month, she recently stopped by our Studio 1A to share songs from her latest album Way Outside. And now, you get a taste of what’s to come on the stage at Scholz.

“Ambitions” is on Way Outside, out now.

Going to SXSW? How to get good tacos and avoid ‘taco traps’

Chances are if you’re going to South By Southwest this year, you’re gonna need to grab a bite on the fly. In this bonus episode of the Tacos of Texas podcast, Mando Rayo gives you the scoop on where to find the best tacos during SXSW and just as importantly, where not to!

Bonus Taco Tip! Bookmark the 2024 SXSW Austin Taco Map before hitting the streets this SouthBy season!

The programming in this bonus episode of the Tacos of Texas podcast was originally aired live on the Texas Standard in March, 2024. 

Still reading? We appreciate you! And as we gear up for season CINCO of the Tacos of Texas podcast, we want to hear from dedicated listeners like you! Please tell us what you want to hear on the show by taking our listener survey at kut.org/tacosurvey

Thank you.

¡Vamos!

Wabi Sabi and the Sweet Littles: “Nile Walk”

Austin’s Sam Hernandez has always seen life through a different prism. Colors, textures, and the planes of reality are subjective and mere suggestions. Influenced by the bubbly music of the 50s and 60s as well as an early penchant for Jim Henson and his muppets, Hernandez writes lovely songs to capture a familiar but not quite tangible plane of existence with the band Wabi Sabi and the Sweet Littles.

As the lore behind Wabi Sabi and the Sweet Littles goes, the band was born from a clever, inspirational gnome Hernandez met on a casual walk to the grocery store. Speaking on the tenants of the ancient Asian aesthetic and philosophy of wabi sabi, relating that art can be incomplete and impermanent. And in that way, Hernandez found freedom.

“Nile Walk” is a fun retro-pop tune full of little, weird gifts, like a flute bringing a flair of whimsy and animal sounds for that altered- Henson-like full effect. It’s weird, it’s fun, it’s joyful, exactly as intended.

“Nile Walk” is the debut track from Wabi Sabi and the Sweet Littles, out now.

Donnel McLohon: “Serenata”

Austin’s Donnel McLohon, founder of the storytelling blog the Austin Bluebonnet, has it down when it comes to great singer-songwriter tunes knotched-up with soft, catchy hooks, but on his debut EP You Were Adored, he held some space to push his boundaries, write on pure instinct, and let the music flow.

That track is “Serenata,” sprung from the vision of “Al Green meets mariachi.” The inspirations shine through with the mariachi instrumentation and groove matched with the smoothed out, slowed-down energy you’d expect from Green. The song never stands still, rather it feels like the song has a life of its own, going where it needs, savoring the moment, and taking its time to feel itself, and in doing so, it feels effortless.

Jane Ellen Bryant: “My Corner of the World”

When I think of Jane Ellen Bryant, the first thing that comes to mind is her vocal tool box. She’s not just a great singer; the control she has over her voice and the tricks she’s able to do with it are show stopping. She’s shows off this mastery in both the dance pop duo Jane Leo and her own solo work.

After the rousing success of Jane Leo, Bryant has returned to her solo work, but she’s brought in partner Daniel Leopold (the other half of Jane Leo) to fully actualize the next chapter of her music. Pivoting from her country pop style to a brooding singer-songwriter tone, “My Corner of the World” is a slow, reflective exercise stemming from her Saturn’s return, that lovely thing that happens around your late twenties where everything you’ve been running from or have known comes to a head and you, hopefully, go through a growth and ego death period where you redefine what’s important in your life, who you are, and who you want to be. I mean, Gwen Stefani wrote an entire No Doubt album about this.

“My Corner of the World” is out now.

Rap Beef Episode III: Revenge of the South (Re-Run)

This episode is a rerun from 10/7.
On the finale of the fellas’ series on rap beefs, Confucius and Fresh head to the south for rows in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana from the late ’80s through the ’00s.

MIEN: “Evil People” (Live In Studio 1A)

We all know that when an artist is featured on a song, it’s likely that they recorded it remote and sent the track to the main artist. But how does it work when you’re a quartet and only 2 of y’all live in the same place?

To ask the members of Austin experimental psych band MIEN, it’s a lot of time, patience, and enthusiastic participation. Alex Maas of Black Angels fame leads MIEN alongside Golden Dawn Arkestra’s Rob Kidd here in Austin while the group’s other members, John Mark Lapham and Rishi Dhir call Abilene and  Montreal home respectively. And what started as a fun recording project on the side became a fully realized band after their debut song “Black Habit” proved to us and them that there are still many unturned stones in the psych realm, sparking the tank and turning gasoline into energy.

Now back with their sophomore album MIIEN, that’s M-I-I-E-N, out this April, the band came together in person for a Studio 1A before they hit the road for a UK tour this spring.

Tommy Francisco: “Tommy’s Groove”

Even a piping hot bowl of tokontsu ramen can’t fully shake-off today’s bone chill, but maybe the headspace of partying on a yacht in Mallorca can.

Austin native Tommy Francisco hit the scene in 2020 with “Fever,” giving him an international audience and proving his ability to blend his Latin and Indigenous backgrounds into a brand of R&B and pop that speaks to the general human experience.

After charting at #2 on the R&B iTunes charts in 2024 with this EP In My Feelings, he’s back with V.I.P., and he’s put us on this list.

“Tommy’s Groove,” is a smooth, lively romp of yacht R&B. Like a collab between Chromeo and Michael McDonald. But don’t worry, Tommy’s Groove is lactose intolerant: no cheese, all linen-suit boogie.

“Tommy’s Groove” is from V.I.P., out now.

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