austin music

RLTVS: “New Orleans”

Here’s the biggest understatement you’ll read today: creativity is an incredible human asset. We reach into the aether and pull out something that previously didn’t exist. But in the eyes of consumers and curators alike, that’s only half the battle. For them, bringing the abstract into fruition as a tangible, easily-accessible document is what separates the thinkers from the makers, the hypotheticals versus the heard treefalls. At the end of that discourse, though, we all know that you simply can’t rush greatness. Which brings us to Bill Mullarky.

For the past half decade Mullarky’s tinkered around town with a few different versions of his full band project RLTVS (pronounced “relatives”). Yet in light of an ample track record of live shows, RLTVS hasn’t ever put anything “on wax”. Until now. After years of careful retooling, RLTVS released their debut studio single “New Orleans” at the start of August. Just like the pidgin melting pot to which it pays tribute, “New Orleans” boils spices of dance, folk, funk, electronic, and avant-garde together into an intricately affectionate piece of correspondence from the “Live Music Capital” straight to “The Paris of the South”.

Exotic Fruits: “Panda Vision”

Aside from poignant politics, pulsating synths, and plenty of fuzz pedal, it’s not all that easy to define post-punk. Even when you dive into the minutiae of music glossary terms, there’s still a sprawling spectrum of post-punk ranging from angular, analogue noise to straight up digital bass and beats. Fortunately there are also forays like Exotic Fruits, who give you a little bit of both. Singer-guitarist Jon French and drummer Aaron Gilligan formed the fore core of Exotic Fruits as a Seattle indie rock duo in 2009, and since moving down to Austin they’ve ripened nicely into a six-piece. With six performers? You can pretty much fill every position on the post-punk playing field. And you can harvest a piece of Exotic Fruits’ eclectic energy 10pm tomorrow night at Hotel Vegas with openers Cosmic Chaos and Nemegata. Until then, beat the heat with EF’s latest single “Panda Vision”, a spasmodic post-punk explosion that tackles climate change.

Upper Level Lows: “She Got Style”

Now I don’t want to jinx the elements, but with only one triple digit high in the forecast for this week, it seems like we might finally be cooling down just a bit. So if you’ve been in sweaty solitude and need to take advantage of this (presumably brief) seasonal respite, we’ve got a couple of live show recommendations for the funk rock enthusiasts out there. Austin quartet Upper Level Lows has only been around for a couple years, and released their debut EP The Void last September. Now, just under a year later, ULL’s feisty live performances have elevated considerably, with new material landing soon on the band’s upcoming sophomore album. If you want a sneak peak of the latest stuff, you can catch Upper Level Lows 9:15PM tonight at Far Out Lounge with openers Concrete Shoes, Space Trayn, and BChenz or 6PM this Saturday for a free show at Oskar Blues Brewery. And if you’re still not sure what to expect genre-wise…shred along with the psych-prog-disco-funk-rock shifts of “She Got Style”.

Phil Hurley: “Failing Heart”

In the state of contemporary recording, session EPs are a pretty refreshing concept. By limiting yourself to one space and removing any access to punch-ins, session records evoke the “one-take” magic of century-old methods, back when capturing an authentic live performance was the industry standard. Phil Hurley‘s experienced the best of both, having tracked with the likes of Fountains of Wayne and Lisa Loeb in Seattle before moving down here to Austin, where he’s had no hurdles acclimating to the “Live Music Capital”, thanks to the past dozen years of gigs with South Austin Moonlighters, Stonehoney, Gigolo Aunts, and Jimmy LaFave.

But as Hurley discovered, the one flaw with live recordings is that if you lose one element, you lose everything. His latest EP was nearly unrecoverable after a hard drive crash, and only dubbed The Firebird Sessions after a couple of music miracles brought it back out of the aether. The five-track came out in the dog days of mid-July, just in time to kickstart our country spirits back into action. And if you need to get the blood flowing diving back into the workweek, check out “Failing Heart”; it recalls the arena-ready pop-rock of ’80s-era Yes or Blue Öyster Cult, albeit with the distinctive Southern flair of Hurley’s Herculean pipes.

Janson Sommers: “Neon God”

Have you ever met an artist that has a bunch of wacky-sounding projects under their belt, only to discover that their eponymous material is the real off-the-wall stuff? Well that’s exactly what you get with Janson Sommers, who temporarily shelved his indie rock band Futon Blonde at the onset of COVID and released an electronic EP last summer under the moniker Dad Boy. But in the short time since then, Sommers has perfected his production techniques and re-surfaced once again as a sleek synth-savant.

So far, all three of Janson’s self-titled singles pack batshit beats and bass, not to mention an eloquent sense of melody and structure. The latest one finds Janson Sommers weaning off lyrics for a strictly instrumental venture, so if you’re in need of a new addition to your workout playlist or just want a two-minute respite from the real world, all you gotta do is approach the primordial altar and offer yourself to the “Neon God”.

Black Pistol Fire: “Bad Habit”

Despite being a lifelong city-slicker, as a native Texan there are certain phrases that tend to bring out my Southern drawl. And if I’m not watching my tongue, a phrase that always outs my accent is Black Pistol Fire…which is ironic considering the Austin-based duo originally comes out of Toronto. But between pair’s incontrovertible adoption of a dusty, Lone Star persona and a shared nationality that landed their last album, Look Alive a couple JUNO Nominations, Black Pistol Fire ignites the best of both worlds.

BPF also grinds the best bits of Delta blues, mid-century rock & roll, ’70s-era hard rock, and ’90s grunge then re-dispenses them as a refined, timeless and placeless powder. Today Black Pistol Fire loads up yet another round into their revolver of intense indie blues rock before embarking on a month-long U.S./Canada tour. The tour kicks off 8PM tonight at Emo’s alongside Denver trio Pink Fuzz and Black Pistol Fire brings the heat on that latest head banger, “Bad Habit”, no matter when or where you hear it.

Cash Grab: “Heart Attack”

Imagine someone recognizes the absurd amount of anxiety abound in our world and offers you a piece of consolation. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well what if the entity extending said consolation was literally called Cash Grab? If it weren’t for the reassuring track record of Cash Grab frontman Eli Tidmore, I feel like more than a few red flags might pop up.

Fortunately, we’re not talking about Cryptocurrency or miracle dietary supplements; it’s just music, y’all. The Austin-based trio of Texas natives got together last summer and have since divided their energy between local gigs and studio time. Cash Grab minted their debut single last Friday, with the remaining supply of singles trickling into circulation later this year. And true to its title, “Heart Attack” palpitates with impressive punk rock prowess and will clear out your aural arteries in three minutes flat.

Personality Contest: “Would You Like to Know”

So often when we’ve heard someone say, “it’s not a popularity contest”, the opposite turns out to be true. But here in the Live Music Capital, it’s perfectly clear that having a larger-than-life persona and being in vogue will get you pretty far. Enter Austin four-piece Personality Contest, who’ve been curating a style of indie-psych-rock that reflects on existential dread, finding your footing despite neglect, and those special little moments sprinkled across life. This February the quartet recorded their debut four-track EP at The Bubble with the help of Chris “Frenchie” Smith. The record drops next month, and there are a couple of opportunities to catch PC live between then and now (Thursday the 18th at Electric Church and Friday the 26th at The Green Jay). The EP’s second single (and lyric video), “Would You Like to Know”, landed yesterday, offering a glimpse into Personality Contest’s poignant lyrics and soft-psych arrangements that respect instrumental interludes by giving them the space they deserve.

Otis Wilkins: “Eat Yer Phone”

We here at KUTX aren’t shy about our adoration for Austin songwriter Taylor Wilkins. And why would we be? Between his two semi-eponymous projects – the hard rockin’ Otis the Destroyer and the soft poppin’ Otis Wilkins, Taylor doesn’t really miss. We’re still patiently holding out for a full record from the latter, but Wilkins’ “quality over quantity approach” has us pretty sated for the time being.

That said, you can expect a new slew of singles from Otis Wilkins in the near future. Each one features our fearless Destroyer’s falsetto vocals, carefully-chosen key chords, and crafty guitar work. The latest track, “Eat Yer Phone” came out at the top of July, but its body-positive pop is best enjoyed in a cameo-covered video that just dropped today. So instead of doom scrolling or fueling epidermal insecurities, see if you can count how many local musicians you recognize in the visual feast that is “Eat Yer Phone“.

Bruce Smith: “Campbellton”

Without too much hard data to support this claim, songwriters who’ve divided their time between several metropolises and musical hubs tend to have some of the most fascinating insights. Just look at Bruce Smith, who was reared near Detroit and based in Atlanta during his late teens and early twenties. The early portion of Smith’s post-college career was spent in D.C.’s vast political sector but it wasn’t until Bruce settled down here in Austin that his musical momentum began to pick up. The first iteration of the Bruce Smith Band was recruited at an open-mic all the way back in 2004, and after a decade and a half of gigging, their roots-y chemistry couldn’t be stronger. In that time Bruce Smith’s become a heavy hitter in the Live Music Capital of the World, and with the widespread acclaim of 2018’s ‘Til the Wheels Fall Off, the band’s profile is now at an all-time high.

That theme of getting the most out of every journey, of turning the “gas tank in bone dry”, is core to his latest LP, 1000 Horses, which dropped this morning. Co-produced with his Grammy-winning keyboardist Randy Caballero, 1000 Horses cross-breeds Smith’s diverse herd of influences into a coherent ten-track class of Americana colts. The record release show is 6pm tomorrow night at Saxon Pub and you can grab 1000 Horses by the mane with one of the album’s most rambunctious country gallops, “Campbellton”!

Shimmer Island: “Starkville (When You Breathe)”

Long time locals are likely already familiar with the Austin Music Video Festival but what you might not know is that festival co-founder Jeremy David Roye also has his own solo musical project entitled Shimmer Island. When AMVF got postponed due to the pandemic, Roye sent his eight-year-old daughter back to her mother in France, and unsurprisingly he was left in distress with little but his own creativity for comfort. Fortunately Roye got some much-needed relief when he joined forces with arranger Nathaniel Earl and instrumentalist Shane Wood and began crafting Shimmer Island’s sophomore album.

Where Shimmer Island’s 2021 debut Violet Waves developed a diverse set of styles, No Man Is An Island commits itself to themes of emotional restoration, love, and connection across a handful of intimate indie-folk originals, like a lovechild of Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso. No Man Is An Island drops tomorrow and Shimmer Island celebrates with an EP release show that same evening at Far Out Lounge along with Chucky BLK and our July 2021 Artist of the Month Daniel Fears. As you could’ve guessed from a music video afficionado, Shimmer Island also has a real knack for tantalizing visual counterparts, so if Far Out’s not in the cards this weekend, you can tap into nature without suffering through triple digits by visiting the McKinney Falls scenery of “Starkville (When You Breathe)”.

Fertility House: “Paca Palace”

Everyone wants to believe that their amorous entanglements are unique, one-of-a-kind connections. And without saying they’re not, the vast majority of relationships do tend to follow similar formulas. In the eyes of Austin indie four-piece Fertility House, those formulas always end up in dissolution; the fairy-tale bond unravels and we’re put in a poignant position, but ultimately, “we all turn to dust”. As a matter of fact, Fertility House’s sophomore album, Dust, dedicates itself to the nosedives of romance across three acts: early infatuation, the turmoil of a breakup, and post-separation stoicism.

Dust settled last Tuesday, introducing us to ten fleshed-out romantic reflections and three half-minute particles that serve as instrumental act breaks. The last installment of Dust‘s second act (the garage-popper “Paca Palace”) keeps things as light as possible with a procession of trumpet chords, gang vocals and xylophones that’ll make you feel like royalty.

Urban Heat: “Trust”

For the past four weeks you’ve heard plenty about our July 2022 Artist of the Month, Urban Heat. But in case these record-breaking temperatures are melting your memory, we’ll give you a quick recap. Analog sound designer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jonathan Horstmann founded the three-piece back in 2019 under the name Urban Heat Island Effect. It only took a few mangled marquees for the fellas to drop that second half in favor of the more ambiguous, abbreviated handle we’ve come to love. Yet the Austin trio continues to inspire their initial namesake thanks to high-octane shows with dense crowds. Up until now, Urban Heat’s only had seven singles out (and each one of ’em swelters with mirthless, mechanical, ’80s-meets-modern goth-post-punk) but this weekend they counter our state’s triple digits with their debut six-song EP, Wellness. In the live realm, Urban Heat plays Sunday Weekend 2 at Austin City Limits Music Festival in October and KUTX presents the Wellness EP release show this Saturday at Hotel Vegas with openers Lovelorn and Holy Wire. Going back to these incendiary inner-city temps, it may be best to defy ERCOT and just let Urban Heat pulsate the sun’s rays back into orbit with the album opener off of Wellness. Because between a throbbing bass groove, Horstmann’s husky, vocoder-inclusive vocals, classic MIDI percussion, and an accompanying music video, “Trust” will leave you dripping sweat in the best way possible.

Mobley: “stay volk”

We’ll be honest…we may have jumped the gun by a bit when we first declared Mobley as our April 2018 Artist of the Month. We only say that because over the past four years Mobley‘s artistry has matured tenfold and it seems like he’s only now hitting his stride, thriving in his prime. Last February Mobley shared Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme, which reinforced his cutting-edge brand of synth-heavy, effects-drenched, psych-cinematic art rock. Since then the multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer has stepped further into the world of filmmaking and directing, which in turn has him investing in the power of narrative and character arcs more than ever before.

With that in mind, today Mobley announces his next record – the seven-song concept album Cry Havoc!. Cry Havoc! follows the exploits of the fictional Jacob Creedmoor as he rises up to challenge society’s oppressors. But despite dystopian themes, these songs are upbeat earworms that’ll keep you company even in your darkest moments. Cry Havoc! comes out this Fall and Mobley embarks on a a multi-month national tour in mid-September, which includes a gig November 5th at 3Ten ACL Live – his first Austin headliner since the beginning of COVID. The EP announcement coincided with the release of Cry Havoc!‘s strutting lead single and music video, and although we know that’s Mobley’s always been about movement, the visuals on “stay volk” take it to the next level; it’s like a love child between Daft Punk’s Electroma and David Cronenberg’s Videodrome that ditches the body horror in favor of light feet and technological fluidity.

Ram Vela & The Easy Targets: “Worcester”

Pop-punk. Alt-rock. Whichever genre classifiers you choose, it’s ultimately rowdyism and virility that defines Ram Vela & The Easy Targets. Ram Vela & The Easy Targets got started in 2018 and quickly established a brand of melodic punk rock and athletic, adrenaline-drenched live shows. Translating the Austin four piece’s fierce power into the studio without sacrificing the charm of onstage chaos seems Herculean, but Ram Vela & The Easy Targets have pulled it off with impressive accuracy and precision.

Late last week the quartet shared their debut album, Stuck on Yesterday, and we’re positive Ram Vela & The Easy Targets won’t miss the mark when they perform Saturday, August 6th at The Ballroom. So get revved up with Ram Vela & The Easy Targets and share their love of living in our Lone Star location with one of the more energetic and explicit offerings off Stuck on Yesterday (apologies in advance to all the Bay Staters out there) – “Worcester”.

Nick Pagliari: “Flame”

When it comes to performing for pay, there are typically just two types of players; those who merely moonlight with their music and those who quit their day job long ago. But there are also those who’ve done both. People like Nick Pagliari, who spent more than a decade as a full-time musician in Nashville before moving to Austin to become a nurse-anesthetist. The good news? When Pagliari’s not treating patients, he somehow finds time to treat listeners to great tunes.

He’s been playing solo 8PM every Wednesday at Geraldine’s as part of a July residency, which includes a full band performance tomorrow and a wrap-up alongside Brian Patterson next week. The occasion? Pagliari’s fourth EP, Hard Lessons, which drops on Friday. Its title refers to everything Pagliari’s learned since 2020’s Midway, mainly stemming from his first-hand overtime experience that unfolded in hospitals over the course of the pandemic. Themes aside, Hard Lessons also packs the warm folksy vocals, classical-adjacent arrangements, and genre-inclusive Americana that we’ve come to love from Pagliari. Lyrically, the discourse on Hard Lessons lands with impressive exigence, especially when you pair Pagliari’s cautionary tale “Flame” with the ongoing January 6th hearings.

Guma: “Driving the Highways of Texas”

At KUTX, we know we’re far from the only radio station in town. And if you’ve done your fair share of channel surfing, you might’ve come across another fine listener-supported frequency, KOOP 91.7FM. For the past half decade KOOP’s been home to Small Cool World, a 90-minute weekly freeform show hosted by T.J. Masters. But like me, T.J.’s not just a DJ; he’s a musician first and foremost. As such, that ongoing stint at KOOP has overlapped with Masters’ moonlighting – a genre-divergent project called Guma. Guma evokes the same daring variety that makes Small Cool World a great listen, as already heard on two eponymous offerings (from 2016 and 2019, respectively) and A List of Sightings, which just came out this February. But apparently one record’s just not enough for T.J. in 2022, who today announced his fourth full-length, Workingman’s Guma. Even though we’ve already come to expect a Weird Al-level set of skills from Masters in terms of genre-specific recreation, WG‘s lead single definitely shifts those talents up a gear. You’ll be able to catch some of the new stuff from Guma along with Dan & Christy Foster and Sarah Barlow on Wednesday, July 27th at Sahara Lounge for Lonesome Nights – presented by KOOP and Thundercloud Subs. By that time you’ll already have a bold country addition to your commuting playlist; while the late Molly Ivins once said, “the key to happiness in Austin is to never, ever drive on I-35″, Guma opts instead to open up the throttle and roar past traffic hazards like if Roy Orbison was a modern-day tailgater on “Driving the Highways of Texas”.

The Western Express: “Honky Tonk Saints”

When you think of Texas music, you think of Willie, you think country. But despite being the one-time home of Armadillo World Headquarters and current harbor to dance halls like Broken Spoke, White Horse, and Little Longhorn Saloon, there’s just not a ton of straight-up country coming out of Austin nowadays. As a matter of fact, the two core players behind today’s feature originally came from Houston. Multi-instrumentalist Phillip Brush and singer-guitarist Stephen Castillo first met through Craigslist in 2018 and quickly hit it off over a mutual love of ’80s/’90s country radio. After cutting their teeth with a few other musicians, Castillo and Brush cut back and capitalized on their interpersonal chemistry by forming The Western Express the following June.

Despite practically zero connections in Austin, The Western Express chugged along with up to twenty gigs a month. Ultimately the duo caught the attention of producer-engineer JT Holt, songwriter David Ramirez, and eventually rockabilly legend John Evans. Recently Evans linked up with The Western Express to produce their debut album Lunatics, Lovers & Poets, a non-stop nine-song direct route to authentic cross-country twang. Its title derives from Willie Nelson’s mid-century radio program, and although the songs were penned solely by Castillo during a 2018 solo trip, the strands to Evans, Brush, and the backing band make for a rounded out group experience. Lunatics, Lovers & Poets drops August 5th, with the lead single’s music video already on the tracks and steadily rolling out. Today we got the first half of that special delivery from The Western Express – the album opener off LL&P that tips its hat to the pioneers of southern style, “Honky Tonk Saints”!

Kyote Radio: “The Crown” (feat. Kyle Shutt)

This may be a no-brainer, but here at KUTX, we’ve always got radio on our mind. And we know we’re far from the only Texans where that’s the case. Take for example singer-guitarist Micah Paredes, who moved from Terlingua down here to Austin in 2007. After about a decade of finding his footing and exhausting the creative juices of a half-formed project, Paredes founded a three-piece in 2020 that takes its name from a long-gone pirate station back in Terlingua – Kyote Radio. Kyote Radio got together with Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Bubble for their first LP, Real Crime, which dropped last August. And although their discography’s limited as of now, these fellas have already proven that they’ve got what it takes (and the abundance of effects pedals) to match frequencies with rock legends like Modest Mouse and Black Sabbath.

Today Kyote Radio dropped their heaviest single to date, thanks in no small part to The Sword lead guitarist Kyle Shutt. The solos are impeccable, the runtime doesn’t drag at all, and it gives us a glimpse at what life’ll be like once Kyote Radio reach the sandy, scorpion-riddled throne of hard rock royalty. So plug in, turn it up to 11, and windmill your way past Hump Day with “The Crown”!

Tribe Mafia: “We Matter”

With only one month of reflection and healing between the racially-targeted attack in Buffalo and the second official observance of June 19th as a Federal Holiday, Juneteenth came amidst an especially complicated sociopolitical context in 2022. On a day meant to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, the troubling juxtaposition forced us to once again reexamine the seemingly-institutionalized norm of anti-Black violence in our country. That scrutiny also gave Black Texans (the same demographic who first commemorated Juneteenth) a national spotlight to chime in from our deeply divided state, our microcosm of the nation.

Among those who contributed to the discourse? Austin duo Tribe Mafia. Chinasa Broxton and Carlos Moore formed Tribe Mafia as high school friends back in 2010 and they’ve built up a chiefdom of acclaim and support over the dozen years since. Tribe Mafia refined their subdued R&B/Latin-trap formulas on the 2017 EP For You before going even harder for 2018’s The Come Up. And although TM went straight up southern trap on their 2020 eight-track Tee Pee Gang, since opening for Akon to a São Paõlo crowd of 60,000 the previous year, they’ve also incorporated dancehall elements so well that the Island Boys sound like kindergarten castaways in comparison. But going back to Juneteenth…Tribe Mafia seized the moment of Kairos masterfully and left little room for misinterpretation in the process. With a haunting refrain that repeats the bare bones title, crushing Caribbean riddims, and completely candid lyrics, “We Matter” is Tribe Mafia’s boldest statement to date. If you’ve got the stomach for it, we cautiously recommend checking out the corresponding music video. “We Matter” weaves archival footage of unrest with poignant visual recreations for a chilling document that’s less a piece of commentary and more of a tortured last ditch cry for compassion.