austin music

The Selfless Lovers: “So Far Gone”

When the phrase “piano man” comes up, we think of one song and one song only. Which is kind of a bummer, because there are some truly incredible performers who fit the bill here in Austin that frankly put Billy Joel to shame. Among the mightiest on the ivories like Red Young, Dr. Joe, and D-Madness, there’s also the relatively young Nik Parr. The thing about Nik is that he’s not only mastered double duties on vocals and piano, he also manages to juggle some sax in there too, all without breaking a sweat. Along with his outfit The Selfless Lovers, Nik’s stayed up to par with Austin’s longstanding legacy as a hub for blues rock. But true to their title, The Selfless Lovers go above and beyond by touching on erogenous zones of classic soul, southern, and funk, positioning their style basically wherever listeners want it the most. And although it may not sound as sexy as all that, The Selfless Lovers latest LP Promised Land stems from Parr’s mid-twenties post-stroke revelations. A spiritual reflection on the American Dream, Promised Land is best enjoyed front to back across twelve tracks in its 48-minute entirety. Parr promises a payoff if you do so, but if the live scene is more your vibe (which is good, since The Selfless Lovers average at about one gig every 2-3 days), you’ll want to take part in a live concert filming tonight at The Continental Club. Henry Invisible warms the crowd at 9:30, Isaac Sloane wraps things up at midnight, and The Selfless Lovers take the stage at 10:30PM. Need a solid commuting track to help you get there? No problem. Like a cut song from the original Miami Vice TV soundtrack, “So Far Gone” soars with yacht-rock keyboard stabs, jazzy chord changes, some nice disco drum upbeats, and oh yeah, an appropriately-’80s-style sax solo square in the middle.

promqueen: “Xí Xọn”

Last summer we treated you to a crispy trap-R&B collabo between Casie Luong and waverly called “blessing”. Rest assured, the second-generation Vietnamese-American songwriter and the Cambodian-born producer are still palling around Austin making great music together. And on that note, today, in the spirit of spring and new beginnings, the two team up to introduce a real smokeshow of a project, promqueen.

With waverly still planted in the producer’s chair, promqueen showcases a previously unrecorded talent of Luong’s: bilingual rapping in Vietnamese and English. It marks a new chapter in the pair’s shared mission to amplify Southeast Asian voices here in the states, allowing promqueen to reign in a Vietnamenglish court of cultural pride. It also reckons with Luong and waverly’s collective challenge of not quite knowing where to land in the Venn diagram of Asian-American identity. As a result promqueen presents an interesting trichotomy; although one of promqueen’s core values is natural authenticity, she sits atop a throne of carefully-concocted predominantly-digital instrumentals and hyper exaggerated character-driven imagery. But like bright lipstick against a pale complexion, that high contrast only makes promqueen’s wig-adorned aura of pizzazz glisten stronger.

This fierce, sexy, and verbally-deft belle of the ball breaks out her debut EP szn one in June, kicking off with a “must-see” event before the five remaining tracks trickle out like fashionably-late and outrageous red Tết envelopes. Fastened by saturated boom bass and tasteful 808s, “Xí Xọn” is an extra sassy first impression of promqueen and a tempting promise of what’s to come. Bonus points for the music video that puts you up close and personal with promqueen’s flamboyant makeup, rapid costume changes, and some twerk-adjacent dance moves that are much easier to learn than whatever the latest Tik-Tok routine is.

Black Artists discuss the state of the Austin Music Scene

You’ll hear from four Black musicians – Anastasia Hera, Cam the Tastemaker, Blakchyl, and Brannen Temple – about how they’ve navigated the Austin music scene, and what support they’d like to see.

Jefrey Siler: “Wounded in Similar Ways”

Part of what makes modern folk-rock acts like Mac DeMarco so memorable is their ability to walk a tightrope between self-deprecating humor, snarky remarks, and heartfelt wisdom. And it makes sense. When you crack a joke or make a bleak shock-value statement, it quickly establishes a surface-level rapport and opens a threshold towards deeper reflections and tougher truths. But channelling that cavalier attitude while carrying authentic emotional weight and managing to stay catchy in the context of a song?

Austin songwriter Jefrey Siler has been living “at the corner of sincere and sardonic” since debuting Yellow Means Infection! in 2010. Yet outside of two singles from 2020, Siler’s studio output has been close to silent in the past decade. Well, this Friday Siler jumps back into action with Jefinitely.

Produced by The Shins’ Yuuki Matthews and recorded in Brooklyn with members of Devendra Banhart and Sufjan Stevens, Jefinitely is a killer counterpart to Yellow Means Infection!, which also totaled in at ten tracks. Just like its predecessor, Jefinitely is jam-packed with confessional crooning, intriguing instrumentation, and yeah…some beautifully flawed storytelling. Perfect example: “Wounded in Similar Ways”, whose acoustic guitar arpeggios and galloping tom-tom cadence make you overlook that the title is “something a hippie might say”. And although Jefrey’s vocal register is about two octaves lower than Justin Vernon’s, the gorgeous choral harmonies remind us of the arrangements on Bon Iver’s 22, A Million, sending Siler into the upper echelon of inventive indie-folk-rock.

Domestic Tallboys: “Dead Bread”

In the world of “gotcha”-style band handles (whose spot on a marquee may entice unsuspecting listeners in under false pretenses)…nothing will ever come close to “Free Beer”. As a result, countless college bands and beyond have adopted the “Free Beer” moniker, nowadays either temporarily or often with some kind of modifier (“Free Beer & Pizza” comes to mind). But that gimmick gets old after the initial chuckle, and tricking potential first-time listeners isn’t exactly how you build a dedicated following. With all that in mind, there’s a certain genius to naming a band Domestic Tallboys; Here in the South, especially Texas, it’s pretty much guaranteed that any live venue serves non-imported aluminum pints. So by holding onto the name since 2017, Domestic Tallboys have not only ditched the nefarious bait-and-switch of “Free Beer”, they’ve curated a whole dive bar vibe that they call “sloppy nacho rock”. Well, now that now that the foam from their latest final masters have settled down, Domestic Tallboys are ready to crack open their debut full-length, MAXIMÓN. MAXIMÓN introduces saxophone into the mix for some extra cross-genre carbonation, bringing that beer-braised energy into the comfort of your earbuds. MAXIMÓN is out on Friday, and Domestic Tallboys hits the stage at Swan Dive for the LP release show at 10:30PM that same evening. So get out, cop a couple of your favorite cans at the bar, and soak up some solo-heavy stuff like what you hear in MAXIMÓN‘s final lead single, “Dead Bread”.

The Tender Things: “Carousel”

As the sun beams us into springtime and the Lone Star State starts to heat up, it wouldn’t hurt to check in on our alt-country A/C. And who better to turn to than ACL Fest/Studio 1A veterans The Tender Things? Founded by Heartless Bastards ex-pat Jesse Ebaugh, The Tender Things keep their style of country on the quainter, more softly-spoken side. And by not leaning on the overblown live showmanship that often plagues large country acts, Ebaugh and The Tender Things have maintained some serious staying power both in-concert and on-wax.

This Friday, following up their 2017 eponymous debut and 2020’s How You Make a Fool, The Tender Things releases their third full-length That Texas Touch. In classic cowboy fashion, That Texas Touch finds The Tender Things working with Band of Heathens producer Gordy Quist to explore sounds farther outside the alt-country corral for a truly refreshing effect.

Now, we know that the The Tender Things are regulars on Austin Music Minute thanks to their insatiable hunger for live shows, and that stamina is showing off these next few weeks. Among The Tender Thing’s upcoming tour dates, the group celebrates That Texas Touch with an LP listening party 8PM on Thursday at Long Play East, a live set 5PM on Friday at Waterloo Records, and an official album release show 7PM this Saturday at Sam’s Town Point.

If those daily options across town have got your head spinnin’, you might as well embrace the whirlwind as we (and TTT) approach SXSW. So in that spirit, today The Tender Things have wheeled out the last lead single from That Texas Touch, that almost sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd teamed up with Steely Dan, Steve Miller, and Wings for a southern-styled ’70s-esque soft-strutter. Entitled “Carousel”, this laid-back country-funk groove (and music video) absolutely knocks it out of the ballpark.

Trunk: “Chili’s 45th and Lamar”

Depending on the general reception of a sitting administration, President’s Day often presents the creative community with opportunities to shed some sociopolitical discourse. Today, that’s not quite the case. Instead we’re yielding the podium to a group whose last two albums were Trunk’s America and north american practice space. Yes, we’re talking about Trunk.

Look at their song titles or listen to their lyrics and you can tell right away that these five fellas are mainly just goofin’ around. But following Austin’s rich history of sarcastic hardcore punk acts like The Dicks, Big Boys and MDC, Trunk is actually really fun to listen to and honesty incredible live. Given, they only made their first public live performance last Fall at Infinite Hellscape Fest, but that set showed how much Trunk’s sound has matured since their 2017 debut GONE AREA. And although the lyrics and subject matter are about the same level of juvenility (unsurprising considering how old some of these songs are), we’re certainly not complaining about Trunk’s laissez-faire approach to songwriting, which channels the care-free eclecticism of Meat Puppets or The Minutemen.

On that note, today Trunk unfurled their latest studio offering, Buzzkill. Buzzkill is easily Trunk’s best record yet, both in terms of content and sonic fidelity. This cabinet of crazies is best enjoyed uninterrupted front-to-back, so we’ll get you started with Buzzkill‘s album opener that pays tribute to the Commander in Chief of chain restaurants, “Chili’s 45th and Lamar”.

Ma: “CALL”

It takes a certain hubris to claim that nature isn’t humankind’s greatest source of inspiration. And in Texas, although they’re all a bit more than a stone’s throw away from Austin, we’re honestly spoiled by our abundance of incredible parks. Between Palo Duro Canyon, the Fort Davis Mountains – and of course – Big Bend, the Lone Star State gives California a run for their money in terms of diverse scenery.

In particular, there’s an otherworldly quality to the almost-limitless terrain of Big Bend, which sparked something in Austin Barker and Dominic Sena. Under the handle Ma, this pair draws from Brian Eno, Radiohead, and Alex G, which has helped them translate Big Bend’s awe-inspiring imagery into ambient-and-grunge-adjacent indie. When Ma’s not cooped up in their home recording studio making magic, they’re playing around town alongside the likes of Redbud and Psychic Shark, and up until now Ma’s music has only been accessible in the live realm.

Today, that all changes; Ma just dropped their debut studio single “CALL”, the first of a few new tunes to be released in 2023. It sounds almost like Tears for Fears dehydrated themselves of their synth-pop sonics and swapped them out for a stripped-down grunge arrangement. The chord progression evokes wanderlust, the vocal harmonies inspire mesa-height hope, the drum patterns clatter like an abrupt rocky descent, and some of the guitar work sounds straight out of a revisionist Western soundtrack.

This Week(end) in Austin Music

This weekend you can catch shows from Night Drive, Matthew Logan Vasquez, The Sanco Loop, Good Looks and more.

Charley Horse: “Ball Cap”

The first time I heard the phrase “charley horse” was as a little brat needling and buzzing my way below the belt on that Hasbro “board game” Operation. Fast forward to college, when I experienced my first abrupt leg spasm…and yeah, they’re not fun. So whether the term conjures thoughts of cursory surgery techniques or just a pain in the leg, there’s an indie rock outfit here in Austin eager to reclaim the mane and breed a positive connotation for Charley Horse.

These five friends rode in with their first pair of demos right around this same time last year, and followed it up that May with their appropriately-titled debut studio EP Summer. And even though Summer only clops in at about thirteen minutes over four tunes, it showed off Charley Horse’s versatility by galloping and cantering across power pop, psych, and alt-rock. Well, next Friday Charley Horse is set to hitch listeners in once again with their sophomore offering, Foothills

Foothills keeps it short and sweet at three brief tracks, which is honestly plenty enough to pad out their live performances and studio output as Charley Horse matures from foal into yearling. So while die-hard MLB fans count the days until March 30th, NBA heads dribble around in anticipation of the 30th Anniversary All-Star game this Sunday, and sunbathers count the clouds until spring, today Charley Horse chimes in with a bit of profound fashion-and-posture advice. If you’re chasing serenity, do it with your chin up, your eyes on the horizon, and your “Ball Cap” tipped high.

Space Tan: “I Don’t Wanna Die”

Maybe it’s this never-ending relay race of global pandemics, the collective cabin fever many of us endured during the recent ice storm, or just a gentle mist of malaise. Whatever the affliction, if the Milky Way’s main attraction is shining when you’re feeling imprisoned indoors, it’s always worth taking a couple of minutes to soak up some rays if you can. So with brighter days and clearer skies approaching with spring, perhaps it’s best to follow cues from our climate and embrace a sense of clarity.

Well, in the Austin rock realm, few indie-pop acts have managed to keep things as “clear” as Space Tan. Spearheaded by chief songwriter Gianni Sarmiento, Space Tan maintains transparency across both sonics and lyrics, leaving their melodies and messages ripe for in-ear radiance and emotional reflection. And on Friday, following up 2020’s Don’t Worry About Me and 2021’s Inti Raymi, Space Tan champions the obliteration of internal barriers on Prison Planet.

Prison Planet doesn’t want you to rot in a cell of your own inhibitions or deflective tendencies. Instead it incarcerates you in an energetic five-inmate gen pop of unconventionally inspirational indie rock, guaranteed to leave you re-evaluating any reservations you have for the coming year. Space Tan celebrates Prison Planet on March 3rd at Swan Dive for a joint release show with Domestic Tallboys alongside AMA and our January 2023 Artist of the Month je’Texas. And today, like an adorably deadpan indirect response to Youth Brigade’s 1983 call, Space Tan’s handed us a Strokes-esque testament to the value of life, “I Don’t Wanna Die”.

Damascan Daydreams: “Crown of Gold”

Whatever your NFL affiliations may be, most music lovers would agree who took home the crown last night…Rihanna. But just a couple days before the big Half Time show, us central Texans were treated to our own set of spectacular visuals, courtesy of Damascan Daydreams.

Faithful to her handle, multi-instrumenatlist-songwriter-producer Eman Tiba was born in Syria’s southwestern capital before a creative childhood in central Ohio, a PhD-education at OSU, another batch of songwriting salad days in South Carolina, and eventually residency here in Austin. Like a twisted, feminine Little Nemo for our current generation, Damascan Daydreams transports us across a collective subconscious of exotic, electronic pop-inspired sounds.

Last Friday Damascan Daydreams followed up her noir-y repertoire of singles (“Haunted Home”, “French Film”, and “Lights, Color, Dark”) with her creepiest offering to date. Cloaked in seductive minor-second chord changes, “Crown of Gold” (and its incredible music video) feels almost like an alternate American Horror Story title sequence. But thanks to straight-ahead trap-style drum programming, sinister synth tones, and Tiba’s spectral soprano, “Crown of Gold” will weigh you down from how much head-bobbing it elicits.

Ley Line: “Sometimes”

Here at KUTX 98.9, we’ve never been too shy about our love of Ley Line. Since naming Ley Line as our October 2019 Artist of the Month, this language-crazed Austin-based quartet has become somewhat of a Song of the Day and Austin Music Minute darling. And that’s for a damn good reason.

If you follow Ley Line on socials you already know what we mean; whether it’s writing, recording, touring, performing, or soaking up influences across the globe, these four folk femmes always seem to be doing something. And in 2023, as they celebrate one whole decade since first meeting at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, we’re somewhat expecting Ley Line to surprise us with something else between now and their set at Old Settler’s Music Fest in April.

But until then, we’ll have to tide ourselves over with Ley Line’s latest studio single, which was last March’s “High Tide” up until today. This morning Ley Line woke up singing, had a cup, and poured up a Folger’s-fresh reflection on life’s sweeter moments. “Sometimes” tops that optimism off with soft vocals that effortlessly alternate between unison and harmony, breezy strings that’ll set your mind at ease, and a naturalistic, percussion-less arrangement that reminds us – you don’t need to march to the beat of anyone’s drum but the sun’s.

Nagavalli: “Guru”

When we think about the impact that Indian music has had here in Texas, most folks would knee-jerk react by pointing to Norah Jones, the Grapevine-raised, UNT-educated daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar. but obviously, despite Jones’ enormous talent, she’s not really who we look to when we want to hear authentic Eastern influences. For that, we gotta give it up for Mumbai-raised, Austin-based singer-songwriter Nagavalli.

Nagavalli Medicharla made her mononymous debut in 2012 with Eastern Soul, a term she also applies to her boundless Eastern-meets-Western/traditional-meets-modern style. In the decade since Eastern Soul, Nagavalli’s interpolated Twelfth Night in a Bollywood style, earned an Austin Music Award nomination, and taken on roles as both Board Chair of EQ Austin and Vice Chair of the Austin Music Foundation. And on Friday, following up her ambitious 2019 endeavor Immersion, this invaluable international asset to our creative community re-embraces the spirit of cross-cultural unification with her next full-length, Numinosum.

Numinosum combines the best-sounding bits of Eastern spirituality with pop, rock, jazz, and more, thanks to a dream team backing band and intriguing arrangements that showcase their fair share of world/ethnic instrumentation. Numinosum packages passionate English-language originals next to an Eliza Gilkyson cover, a Durga invocation, and even a couple Indo-Pak classics. Nagavalli celebrates the release of Numinosum 5PM today for a free in-store performance at Waterloo Records and again 8PM this Saturday at The Paramount along with KUTX favorites BettySoo, Carrie Rodriguez, and Oliver Rajamani as well as familiar faces Patrice Pike and Indrajit Bannerjee. Unless you’ve mastered astral projection, beating traffic to attend both shows might be a bit of a stretch. But you can slay the demon that is Hump Day with “Guru”, a pocket-raga that transcends language through ethereal orchestration and entrancing dynamics.

Slaid Cleaves: “Second Hand” [PREMIERE]

While we here at KUTX celebrate our 10th birthday, it’s worth revisiting the folks who were KUT 90.5 heavyweights well before 98.9 FM’s call letters were even born. Among that roster of Central Texas mainstays is a real character of the airwaves, singer-guitarist Slaid Cleaves. It’s crazy to think that his breakout fifth LP No Angel Knows came out all the way back in 1997, especially considering that Slaid’s continued to cut through the competition like a certain kitchen utensil. Which, to maintain a presence in the Live Music Capital for more than a quarter century, is easier said than done…even with a pretty consistent three-to-four-year release rate such as Slaid’s.

On that note, diehard Slaid-heads (including horror legend Stephen King) might’ve become bereaved by Cleaves’ lack of post-pandemic output. Good news! On March 3rd Slaid slides back in with Together Through the Dark, his first studio offering since 2017’s Ghost on the Car Radio, and celebrates with an album release show later that month at The 04 Center. As you can imagine from the title, Together Through the Dark champions empathy in uncertain times, mainly anchored by Cleaves’ idiosyncratic storytelling but also applicable to the sans-power solidarity we’ve had the past couple weeks in Central Texas.

However it hits you, TTtD contains some of Slaid’s most mature folk-Americana compositions to date and a beautifully flawed sense of human confidence we could all appreciate right about now. So if you want to be the first of your friends to get your mitts on the new Slaid, set the needle down on the record’s third single “Second Hand”. Like a vintage Plymouth carrying you across your routine stops, “Second Hand” steers straight with easily-navigable chord changes, gentle harmonies, and as with all things Cleaves, a relatable narrative. After all, who thinks being a thrifty family man is unfashionable?

The Western Civilization: “If You’re Lucky”

It’s been a tough week across Central Texas. Hundreds of thousands are still without power. Agitations over limited amenities reveal just how much we depend on electricity and WiFi to fully participate in our “advanced society”. The worst of this severe winter weather already seems behind us, so might as well return to routine and re-engage with Austin’s cultural capital. In today’s case, The Western Civilization. The fabric of The Western Civilization was sewn in Houston back at the turn of the millennium between Rachel Hasbro and Reggie O’Farrell. Now, two decades later, they split their time as a quartet between H-Town and ATX. If you haven’t checked out The Western Civilization yet, we definitely recommend starting with their 2007 debut LP Letters of Resignation. Once you’re done you might be disappointed by the lack of a sophomore follow up fifteen years down the line. If that’s the case, don’t turn tail quite yet, ’cause you’re in luck. Today, following last October’s “Bible Verses for Kids”, The Western Civilization shared the second single from their upcoming full-length Fractions of a Whole, due this fall. If you’re able to wait a whole week to unleash your cabin fever, you can let it all out 8PM next Friday for a free single release performance at ABGB. If you’re unfortunate enough to still not have power and just here to grasp some modicum of modernity, The Western Civilization’s latest original is available below. “If You’re Lucky”, you’ll appreciate a tune that sounds like Broken Social Scene was tempered by Arcade Fire in a forge of much-needed, off-kilter indie rock warmth.

Hey Cowboy!: “Mesmerize”

Cheer Up Charlie’s consecutively scores “Best of Austin” awards, and deservedly so. Within downtown’s highly competitive Red River District, this renowned venue has maintained staying power thanks to its all-welcoming attitude, calculated curations, and unique use of natural landscape. So unsurprisingly, most concertgoers in Austin have made fond memories at Cheer Up Charlie’s, no matter how hazy they may be. And concerning the creative community, we suspect Cheer Up’s has probably inspired more art than meets the eye.

Case in point, a modern tale of allure set against Cheer Up Charlie’s iconic neon lights from our April 2020 Artist of the Month, Hey Cowboy!. Since moseying down here in 2018, these three Dentonites continue to lasso listeners into their synth-pop posse. Less of a Mexican standoff and more of a guitar-verboten Wild Bunch, Hey Cowboy! corrals the best bits of vintage film scores, psychedelia, and even some punk, all sans-six-string. Their sandy, lambent arrangements plant you right in the saddle and entrance you towards a grainy horizon of mid-fi harmonies.

Like a steel plate beneath a poncho, Hey Cowboy!’s kept the new stuff under wraps, but promise their third full-length for release some time in 2023. Today, ahead of a live gig at Volstead Lounge 10pm on Valentine’s Day opening for fellow KUTX favorites Sun June and Star Parks, Hey Cowboy! casts a spell with their first jingling spur of the year, “Mesmerize”. Fastened by a hypnotic drum strut and intriguing, sedative intervals (both vocal and instrumental), it’s tough to resist Hey Cowboy’s command to dance in this misty recollection of a Cheer Up’s tryst.

All About the Census

In the latest episode, Peter Schwarz from Sound Music Cities about some of the results of the Greater Austin Music Census. You’ll also hear from Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone about why some Black community leaders didn’t feel included in the census.

Wait Your Turn

Fresh and Confucius discuss the idea that people in the Austin music scene are owed opportunities. then, inspired by Justin Bieber’s recent 200 million dollar sale of his catalog, they talk about why artists might sell their stake in their work.

You’ll learn Hip-Hop Facts about the samples on “U Can’t Touch This,” “Ice Ice Baby,” “Tennessee” and more. It’s all part of Under the Covers weekend at KUTX!

Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that today’s rap is boring.

Confucius talks about how the Eagles are going to win the Superbowl, Ted Cruz’s comments about the debt ceiling, how much money Kari Lake has raised since denying she lost November’s election and Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing in Confucius Reads the News.