Bites

Lavender Scare: “I Hate Saturdays”

Pride Month kicks off in just a few days, and to help you celebrate in style, we’re swirling the colors with a rising Queer project. And that’s Lavender Scare, whose midcentury reference of a band handle alone tips you off to their championing of LGBTQ identities.

Chief songwriter Ruby Del Mar commands the quartet with high-octane vocals and riveting rhythm guitar, collectively creating what they call “slop pop punk”. And based on what we’ve heard from their upcoming debut Bites, that’s a pretty accurate classification; the power chord subdivisions and instrumental synchronization might not be perfectly precise at these breakneck tempos, but with pop-inspired chord sequences and radio-friendly runtimes, this four-track introduction almost sounds like Against Me! mixed with Yellowcard, all with a bit of a Queer Texas twist.

We’ll be able to sink our teeth into Bites when it hits streaming this Friday or in-person for the record release show 8PM next Thursday at 13th Floor alongside Shysters and Reality Refugee. But until then, embark on Lavender Scare’s snark with the EP’s lead, “I Hate Saturdays”, because like the anthem to a bizarro, weekend-loathing Garfield, this loneliness-engendered tune’s gonna leave you hungry for more.

Texas Standard: May 2, 2022

As Governor Abbott weighs the possibility of declaring an invasion at the southern border, legal challenges over immigration policy pile up. We’ll have details. Also growing calls for a European embargo of Russian oil and the ripple effects felt closer to home. And a medical mystery in south Texas as health officials warn of a rash of pediatric hepatitis cases in young kids, sometimes necessitating liver transplants. We’ll talk with a specialist from UT Health San Antonio. And a production in Fort Worth bearing witness to racist violence against Black people blurring the boundaries between actors and audiences. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard: