BOO85 Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

You’ve heard the excuse before. Ya know, somebody spaces on a date, forgets to turn in an assignment, or otherwise just kind of has a minor misstep. What do they say after shrugging? “Sorry, man. Mercury must’ve been in retrograde.”

Sure, scapegoating the cosmos for your own shortcomings isn’t the most mature thing…but neither is naming your band BOO85. After kicking things off last Spring with their streaming debut “Just Friends”, this Austin-based all-girl alt-pop-rock project’s still jigglin’, gigglin’, and making great tunes through 2024. And today BOO85 rounds out the summer by completing the pair that began with this February’s “Heart“.

Coincidentally falling on another astrological Friday after last week’s “Like a Sagittarian Archer”, “Retrograde” sets the horoscope for your weekend with a headliner performance 9PM this Sunday at Sahara Lounge after openers Alexi 8Bit and Jay Wanderer. And this latest original racks up another bouncy bop to BOO85’s already-busty brand with carefree sonics like viscous vocals, a breakbeat-adjacent drum pattern, top-gear guitar and bass work, infectious effects, and sanity-demanding lyrics.

There’s a crass type of middle school comedy that still elicits cackles far past its “prime”. And following the rich Texas tradition of juvenile band handles like Dicks and Butthole Surfers, the name choice behind BOO85 is a breasty testament the infectious fun from five bosom buddies…even though it is pronounced like a mid-decade spectral scare (“boo eighty-five”).

This all-women Austin outfit navigates the cleavage of rock between alternative and pop. And that titillating twist is perfectly pressed against BOO85’s penchant for swaying bass and guitar, well-rounded drums, and lascivious vocals. BOO85 first slipped out onto streaming right around this same time last year, followed by the Exposed EP that summer and their jangly rendition of “Santa Baby” for the holidays. Clearly, they’re not going tits up anytime soon.

And this Valentine’s Day, as the girls gear up for a March 15th show at Knomad Bar, BOO85 presents their strongest recording yet. The opening bars of their new single “Heart” instantly recall Pixies, but soon shape up into some dream pop shimmer on the hooks, a “how was this not made in the ’90s” bridge section, and an intrinsically feminine energy throughout. So while we hope BOO85’s taking the tunes seriously doesn’t cover up the group’s characteristic fun…”Heart” is seriously good.