austin music

AZXO: “Idle Mind”

It’s been really endearing to watch projects evolve over the course of COVID, especially when it’s a post-social-distancing expansion of membership. One of those is Austin indie pop-rock outfit AZXO, the brainchild (and amalgamation of initials) of Chinese singer-songwriter Zhipeng Xing and L.A. multi-instrumentalist/producer Alex O’Masta. AZXO first got together at the start of the pandemic as a necessary vehicle for isolation-defying creative expression, and by the end of 2020 they’d released their eponymous debut as a duo. Since last summer AZXO’s unfolded into a five-person affair and begun to incorporate stylistic elements of EDM, blues, and punk into their arrangements, earning the quintet more and more fans with each new gig under their collective belt. As an LGBTQ+ group, AZXO’s latest live performance was last Wednesday’s edition of the Far Out & Proud showcase at Far Out Lounge. AZXO’s also been working on their sophomore full-length (their first together as a full group), tentatively set for release this September. Needless to say, we’re excited to hear how AZXO’s progressed over the past two years. And in the same way O’Masta and Xing started AZXO to keep their intellects stimulated, the band’s given us something extra dreamy to counter the upcoming restlessness that only comes with the dog days of summer, “Idle Mind”.

Deer Fellow: “Someone To Watch Over Me”

One of the main reasons why jazz is my personal favorite genre is that once you’re familiar with the Great American Songbook, you basically have a loose blueprint for how each tune’ll turn out. Sure, every rendition is different, but even when chord progressions get lost in genre translation, those classic heads still dazzle. And although streaming numbers tend to determine the “best” version for newcomers, there are countless interpretations out there that cater to tastes across the board. One of those comes to us today courtesy of Austin duo Deer Fellow. As Deer Fellow, multi-instrumentalist-vocalists Alyssa Kelly and Matt Salois have amassed an impressive herd of fans. Deer Fellow’s 2021 debut EP Words Unsaid introduced us to the pair’s versatility, purposeful production, and evolving breed of intimate indie-folk-pop. Today, they put a timeless Gershwin standard on a new set of hooves. It’s been nearly a hundred years since George & Ira Gershwin first penned “Someone To Watch Over Me”, but thanks to Deer Fellow’s innovative vision, sparse orchestral harmonies, and spacious acoustic mix, there’s enough proof that this torch song still has plenty of fuel left to burn.

BabiBoi: “Boyz 2 Men”

We hope you’ve been enjoying our Pride Month portraits of local artists over the past few weeks, but in case you haven’t had a chance to read the one on BabiBoi, we’ll give you a quick recap. BabiBoi is the preferred handle for Austin’s Dorian Delafuente, who’s also a co-founder of House of Lepore, one of Texas’ few underground LGBTQ+ ballrooms. When BabiBoi’s not commentating burlesque shows at Lepore, they’re bringing that same sassy energy to the mic for an unapologetically queer hip hop project. Since 2017 they’ve performed at SXSW, Pride festivals across the state, and even an opening slot for Charli XCX. And for a genre as historically plagued with homophobia as hip-hop, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear voices like BabiBoi go balls-to-the-wall over absolute bangers.

Today BabiBoi, ever embracing the ratchet-ness of their image, dropped their bawdiest track to date, “Boyz 2 Men”. No, you won’t hear any a cappella harmonies or New Jack Swing. Instead it’s an explosion of unrestrained sexuality that sweats confidence across two and a half minutes of cowbells and beats. It sounds like a cross between Big Freedia and Megan Thee Stallion, but with an extra sense of southern flamboyance. If you like what you hear (and why wouldn’t you?), catch BabiBoi’s performance at Pride in Local Music Festival, 6PM this Saturday at the Long Center (ahead of our June 2022 Artist of the Month Caleb DeCasper). And if you really want to get down and dirty, come out to the “Boyz 2 Men” single release show 9pm next Friday at Neon Grotto along with Lavender Thug, Miss Girl6, Johnny Psycho, and Dreamiecloud.

Friend In Law: “Stand to Be”

We all know how dangerous social media can be, especially if you’re a solo creative; with the instant feedback and gratification of “likes”, there’s less incentive to craft your art with time and care. That brings us to Austin singer-guitarist-producer Ben Murray, better known by his handle Friend In Law. Friend In Law marries turn-of-the-millennium pop rock with ’90s-style alternative and juxtaposes gloomy moods with lively guitar arrangements, as heard on the three inaugural singles Murray shared last year. But inspired by the crystalline results of fellow bedroom producer Bite Your Own Teeth’s self-made EP, Murray decided to learn the ropes and give Friend In Law’s latest original the time it deserves. After eight months in the oven, “Stand to Be” is a testament to Murray’s progression into a patient, keen-eared producer. And even though it was mastered by John Greenham (who’s provided final tweaks for folks like Billie Eilish, Cautious Clay, and Lady Gaga), you can really hear a step-up in “Stand to Be”‘s sound over its predecessors. With quirky acoustic vibes reminiscent of Mac DeMarco or Bright Eyes, reverbed-out tom accents, and a maniacal march of a chorus, “Stand to Be” serves as a promising milestone in Murray’s maturation.

Honey Made: “Upstairs”

Having played trumpet in a band whose membership ranged from around fifteen to twenty, “the more the merrier” approach didn’t really translate to exceptional songwriting. Thankfully that’s not the case for Austin nine-piece Honey Made. The first leg of Honey Made’s career was spent in the “party band” realm, wowing crowds more with enduring arrangements and a rapid-fire series of high-energy solos. But since they’ve internalized some of the lessons imparted on them by producer Steve Berlin (who helped shape Honey Made’s 2020 debut full-length Brand New), Honey Made’s managed to unstick themselves from the “jam band” mindset and embrace a previously-untapped but intrinsic excellence. Now Honey Made strives to refine their funk and soul so much that it’s sweetness gets stuck in your ears for years, instead of just oozing offstage the minute the gig’s over. Honey Made played last Friday at Radio Coffee & Beer and just today released a stinger of a funk-soul single. Between Honey Made’s signature horn stabs, cool choral harmonies, and vocals that give the late Charles Bradley a run for his money, “Upstairs” proves just how little musical real estate Honey Made needs to create a playful, catchy retro-modern masterpiece.

The Deer: “I Wouldn’t Recognize Me”

Between blockbuster franchises, AMC spin-off series, and mobile games, we’re steeped in a culture obsessed with the grotesque, amoral, and ever-hungry aspects of zombies. But when you peel back the decaying flesh and fatigued growls, they’re really just creatures of transformation. Considering the positive connotations behind, say the resurrection of Christ or the ascension of the phoenix from ashes, maybe we’ve grossly misinterpreted the trope of revival after disintegration. And while there have been plenty of groups that’ve rebuilt after a recess, few have done it as elegantly as Austin quintet The Deer. Originally billed as Grace Park & The Deer, this band has undergone several stages of metamorphosis over the last decade, least notably Grace’s new last name. The Deer’s latest LP Do No Harm introduced us to an evolved sound – bigger arrangements, fewer folk-centered acoustic instruments, and more emphasis on psychedelia and indie rock. Well, today, ever defying expectations, The Deer just announced yet another remolding record, The Beautiful Undead, out September 9th. As you can tell from the title, it’s an album about regeneration after loss, and its My Morning Jacket-esque lead single “I Wouldn’t Recognize Me” will leave you reflecting on your own variations of the past and those still to come.

Carla Olson & Brian Ray: “Whiskey Train”

In a city as dense as Austin, we’ve got our fair share of transportation problems. Each year we hear exponentially grander solutions to herding a mass of people from Point A to Point B, including the hyperloop design of Elon Musk’s Boring Project. Those bold, sometimes impractical ideas can lead us to reflect on the milestones of mass transportation that’ve largely occurred in the past century. And when you add cultural capital into the equation, there’s nothing quite like the “iron horse”. That just about brings us to Americana Railroad, a tribute to our nation’s treasured railways. The compilation was conceived by Austinite Carla Olson (who co-founded The Textones with future Go-Gos frontwoman Kathy Valentine in the late ’70s) and puts nineteen iconic covers on a whole new set of tracks. With a roster of high-caliber collaborators, these locomotive etudes pass by like a series of uniquely-graffitied railcars, each with their own spin on otherwise-familiar freight. So before Americana Railroad pulls into the station this Friday, hop onboard a rolling rendition of Procol Harum’s “Whiskey Train” performed by Olson and longtime Paul McCartney Band contributor Brian Ray.

Casie Luong & waverly: “blessing”

There’s an adage that’s true for many things, but especially applicable to high-caliber collaborations; “you can’t rush greatness.” In the case of queer, second generation Vietnamese-American songwriter Casie Luong and Cambodian-born producer Wil Brookhart (who recently rebranded himself as waverly), they’ve actually known each other for quite some time, thanks to the Mother Falcon Music Lab, of which both are faculty members. Their mutual interest in the modern pop-R&B sound has overlapped their personal friendship for awhile, but it’s only been within the past year or two that they’ve actually made music together.

Inspired by the flirty, mischievous tones of Ariana Grande’s 2020 LP Positions, Casie Luong crafted the first draft of “blessing” at home over pastries and coffee last Fall. And while we’re sure that initial version was more than just a morsel, with the implementation of slick drum programming, vocal effects, and synthetically plucked strings (almost a call back to Mother Falcon), waverly has helped turn “blessing” into an absolute trap-R&B treat. Fingers crossed that this the first of many collaborations between waverly and Luong, and the best of luck to them on their journey to increase Southeast Asian representation down here in the Lone Star State and impact the demographics of mainstream music culture.

Steady Legend: “Bad Boy”

Think about all the musical milestones that have come with the introduction of a new lead singer. There’s AC/DC with Brian Johnson, Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio, Pink Floyd with David Gilmour and Roger Waters, and Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick. Now, Austin soul-rock outfit Steady Legend isn’t quite as well-known as those groups…at least not yet. But they are fixing to pass the torch to their new head vocalist, Analysa Gonzalez, whose choir and church band background have given her the chops to wow a packed house without breaking a sweat. The sweltering passion of Gonzalez’ singing style led Steady Legend to re-tool their sound more towards funk and soul, and after two years of careful tweaks, they’re ready to make that transition official.

Steady Legend just announced the inauguration of Analysa Gonzalez through their next EP, Say Hey. Say Hey was written entirely by Steady Legend guitarist Michael Mancuso, and produced and mixed by Incubus, Matchbox Twenty, and U2 engineer CJ Eiriksson. Say Hey drops July 1st, and Steady Legend celebrates with a release show Saturday, July 2nd at The Green Jay along with Shaws of Awe. Today Steady Legend shared Say Hey‘s debut single, “Bad Boy”, whose defiant horn-laden energy and confident strut flips the script on the traditional “breakup song”.

Holy Wire: “Twenty Six”

In some ways, everyone’s a historian; we reflect on our past, rewrite narratives, review documents from before our prime and re-contextualize them so they’re readily-applicable today. That’s doubly true for musicians like Alain Paradis, whose grasp on ’80s music makes his own modern songwriting sound like it came straight out of a time capsule. Paradis’ from Brooklyn, but has recently brought his project Holy Wire down here to Austin. The endeavor’s first iteration was ‘Order of Operations’, a fitting handle for someone as methodical as Paradis, but Holy Wire captures the sacrosanct circuitry of Paradis analog modular synth setup as well as the chords that connect his music across decades.

This morning Holy Wire blessed us with the title track from his latest EP, Twenty Six, which traces the strands of new-wave, post-punk, and synth-pop across three tunes. Abe Sieferth and Joe Lambert (both of whom have worked with LCD Soundsystem) handled the mixing and mastering, respectively, exalting the audio even higher. Thematically Twenty Six tackles the turpitude of your twenties, alternating between fond memories and grief over the end of an era. But you don’t have to succumb to FOMO regardless of your age, considering the “Twenty Six” single release show is 8PM tonight at Hotel Vegas. Holy Wire doesn’t hit the stage until 11PM, so give “Twenty Six” a few spins to familiarize yourself with the lyrics so you can sing along in person.

Adrian Quesada: “Puedes Decir De Mi” (feat. Gaby Moreno)

Thanks to the mainstream success of Black Pumas, Adrian Quesada has become a household name internationally. But we here in Austin are already well-acquainted with Adrian’s preceding projects – be it Grupo Fantasma, Brownout/Brown Sabbath, Glorietta, and even Ocote Soul Sounds. It’s no embellishment to say that Quesada’s a musical visionary, since his ability to revive rare styles in a new context is nearly unparalleled. And although Quesada pulls all that talent out of his cranium alone, his top-tier collaborations bring those cross-genre compositions to another level. Last Friday Adrian Quesada shared Boleros Psicodélicos, a feature-laden full-length that offers some serious Pan-American appreciation. True to its title, this dozen tiptoes between traditional and trippy, ’70s-psych and century-old South-of-the-Border boleros. Check out a phenomenal interview between Adrian Quesada and The Texas Standard‘s Michael Marks all about Boleros Psicodélicos, and tear into this intercontinental achievement with a track that vaunts vocals from Guatemalan icon Gaby Moreno, “Puedes Decir De Mi”!

Brian Wolff: “Motion”

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a major milestone in the way we look at recent times, an unstable start to the 2020s. But of course we can also measure the turn of that decade by looking locally. For the last three quarters of the twenty-teens Austin was home to Fair City Fire, whose masterful heartland rock set the soundtrack for two studio full-lengths, five national tours, and even an official City of Austin declaration of “Fair City Fire Day” on August 31st, 2019. The pandemic was quick to follow, leading Fair City Fire to hiatus and eventually disbandment. However, FCF frontman Brian Wolff wasn’t all that eager to hang up an avenue for his songwriting altogether. After acclimating to the “new normal”, Wolff (along with his backing bassist Tim Moen and drummer Joe Valadez) joined forces with producer Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Bubble last summer. Now the trio is set to unleash the fruits of their labor, The Punch EP . True to its name, these five new tracks don’t fuss around with any fluff and instead cut straight to…well…you know. Brian Wolff celebrates The Punch with a Standing Room Only EP release show 9PM this Friday at Lambert’s with opener Britny Lobas and today you can get your workweek wheels rolling with “Motion”.

Dog Island: “True Love Will Find You In The End”

If you take your pooch down to the free section of Barton Springs, you’ll recognize that Austin’s a pretty dog friendly town. You could also pick that up from show bills, considering we’re home to groups like A Giant Dog, Dog Beach Rebels, The Ghost Wolves, and the now-defunct Growl. There’s also Dog Island, the pet project of multi-instrumentalist/producer Dave Hanson, who moved here from Florida four years back. That move lined up with the release of Dog Island’s last record New Breed (2019), but the subsequent pandemic and the pain it caused provided Hanson with some new, deeply emotional songwriting fodder. The result is Only By Love, an eight-track penned in Hanson’s home studio that keeps a leash on Dog Island’s experimentation and synth work but also invites previously-untapped orchestral elements into arrangements. Only By Love dropped this morning, and Dog Island celebrates with a free, all-ages release show 7-9PM tomorrow night at Cloud Tree Gallery. Now, full disclosure, Dog Island won’t actually be playing, but they will be releasing a one-of-a-kind zine alongside performance art, installations, and an ambient electronic set from Jared J. Standish. So go ahead; tear into Only By Love, fall for Dog Island’s idiosyncratic style, and admire the optimistic curiosity captured in the Daniel Johnston cover “True Love Will Find You In The End”.

What You Will: “Time Holds Her Tongue”

What You Will isn’t the easiest band to Google, so we’ll break down the basics for you here. Chris and Jenni Wiggins started the group in 2010 as a straightforward folk duo, and after cutting their teeth at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the band’s expanded into an alternative-indie-folk-rock sextet. For the past year, Jenni and Chris have tided over listeners by uploading intimate performances at NeWorlDeli to their YouTube channel. But despite the charm of those stripped-down renditions, What You Will deserves to be experienced in full, which brings us to Nothing To See Here. Engineered by Justin Douglas at King Electric Recording right here in Austin, Nothing To See Here serves as a perfect studio debut for What You Will. True to its name, it’ll captivate your senses (no visual enhancements required) with some really well-thought out folk fusion and fantastic instrumental interplay. Nothing To See Here drops this Friday, so do What You Will with that information. But your official recommendation comes courtesy of one of the record’s rowdiest – “Time Holds Her Tongue“.

Primo the Alien: “Worlds”

Pop’s a broad spectrum, a mega-genre that pushes the boundaries of modern production but becomes plenty accessible thanks to foolproof earworm formulas. Austin singer-producer Primo the Alien is something of a pop stalwart, with a discography primarily defined by ’80s-style synth-pop. But it’s the 2020s, and Primo’s keen to keep with the times. So with the added encouragement of an Austin Music Award “Best Pop” nomination this year, Primo the Alien’s beginning to move towards contemporary electro-pop. Primo’s got a lot on their plate for 2022, including an appearance Weekend One at Austin City Limits Music Festival. Primo’s also playing For the Love of SIMS: A Benefit Concert to Support Emotional Wellness in Our Music Community 7:45pm tomorrow night at Far Out Lounge, opening for fellow KUTX favorites Max Frost and Sir Woman. However the biggest piece of news from Primo comes today courtesy of a new standalone single. Intended as an empowering anthem for women who feel marginalized in the male-dominated music industry, “Worlds” will wow you with Primo’s impeccable vocals, saturated synths, and brain-draining dubstep breakdown in its finale.

A. Sinclair: “How Things Got Done”

If you listen to our airwaves a lot, then you already know the name A. Sinclair. That’s the eponymous indie rock project of Austin multi-instrumentalist Aaron Sinclair, who doesn’t typically stick to one tempo for long and steers clear of 4/4 time as best he can. That said, A. Sinclair’s secured a reputation of accessibility, even when stripped down to the basic elements of vocals and guitar. But like countless other creatives, the COVID-19 pandemic presented A. Sinclair with plenty of songwriting fodder among the hurdles of social distancing. A. Sinclair embraced that obstacle of remote collaboration on his latest LP South Padre, working with a dozen contributors across five different states. The resulting masterpiece sounds so organic you’d never guess it was primarily conceived through voice memos, texts, and emails. South Padre came out last Friday, just in time for summer, so embrace the rising temperatures with A. Sinclair’s heated dynamics on tracks like “How Things Got Done”!

Samuel Miamuel: “Beach Dog”

There’s a specific league of creatives (let’s be honest, mainly rappers) who can’t help themselves but keep adopting new semi-official monikers. Then there’s the other extreme of strictly eponymous performers (e.g. the vast majority of country music). So there’s gotta be a sweet spot somewhere in between stage name, nickname, and birth name, right? Enter Long Island-raised singer-guitarist Samuel Kapust, known to his friends as “Sammy Miami” and billed onstage as Samuel Miamuel. Samuel Miamuel moved down to Austin in 2013 in pursuit of a degree at UT and quickly became immersed in the Live Music Capital’s culture. He’s racked up plenty of experience playing covers across Austin and Georgetown since then, but has only recently invested into his love of original songwriting. The complex harmonies and clever lyricism of Billy Joel, Father John Misty, and Paul Simon lend themselves to Samuel Miamuel’s recipe book of jazz-tinged folk-rock. And just in time for the summer, Samuel Miamuel’s graced us with a siesta-friendly slow burner that breezes between acoustic verses and distorted choruses, “Beach Dog”.

Daniel Fears: “Keep On”

It’s been a little under a year since we named Daniel Fears as our July 2021 Artist of the Month, right around the time he shared his debut EP Canopy. Since then this multi-instrumentalist-producer has had no problem selling out shows, thanks to his velvety vocals, intimate lyrics, and surreal R&B soundscapes. And although Fears’ style has been compared most frequently to that of Frank Ocean, it’s the endearing magic of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On that’s inspired Fears’ songwriting more recently.

That same sense of socially-conscious progressive-soul is present throughout Daniel Fears’ upcoming sophomore EP. His already-impeccable singing skills are somehow even stronger than on Canopy, giving Samm Henshaw and Daniel Caesar a genuine run for their money. Today Daniel Fears released the first single from that upcoming album, whose title, “Keep On”, immediately recalls the colloquial naming conventions of What’s Going On standout “Right On”. This poignant champion of pandemic-era perseverance is Fears’ most personal track to date, and staying true to the multi-media approach taken on Canopy, “Keep On” is accompanied by a gorgeous music video that features longtime KUT contributor Nadia Hamdan.

Buzzard Company: “Ghost Town Livin’ Blues”

When you first hear of a genre called “heartland rock”…what do you think of? Well according to Austin outfit Buzzard Company, its inspirations lie in blues, garage rock, psychedelia, grunge, and of course, Americana. Buzzard Company got started as a duo in 2019, but rather than let a little global pandemic pick the meat off their project, they’ve since doubled their numbers, now performing as a quartet. That said, the uncertainty of COVID’s been a major factor in Buzzard Company’s “no fluff” approach to lyrics and arrangement.

Buzzard Company spent a good portion of 2021 recording their debut EP, due out later this year. They’ll be playing a free single release show this Friday at ABGB along with The Lewd Dudes and Rankin Fetzer, who celebrates the evening with his own album release. These rambunctious birds of prey shared that new track (“Ghost Town Livin’ Blues”) with us ahead of time, so if you’re looking for a rowdy re-frame of social distancing and quarantine conditions, look no further than Buzzard Company.

Branzino: “Golden Days”

What if you took the drummer for Gary Clark Jr., the bassist for David Bowie, and one of the ringleaders of Glorietta and put them together into a new band? Well it turns out you don’t have to use your imagination for this one. Introducing Branzino! For years David Bowie/Blackstar bass player Tim Lefebvre and Gary Clark Jr. percussionist JJ Johnson built a rapport within Tedeschi Trucks’ rhythm section, but the recent inclusion of Glorietta lyricist Jason Robert Blum into the mix isn’t so much adding a third wheel as it is an extra crucial ingredient in a carefully constructed cuisine. Branzino is both roasted in ’90s-style rock and marinated with modern flavors, a sound that was refined by Arlyn Studios producer-engineer Jason Kingsland for the group’s upcoming full-length. They were set to perform tomorrow night at the 04 Center along with Blackillac, but the super trio’s now pushed the show back to July. That said you can still make the most of today’s clear Austin skies and enjoy the proto-punk-meets-’90s-indie heat on Branzino’s driving debut single, “Golden Days”.