Exotic Fruits

The Blowies: “Bye Bye Polar Bears”

Longtime morning listeners can attest that the late great John Aielli was incredibly keen on his almanac commemorations, especially Halloween and Valentine’s Day. But the class act John was, he always kept it kosher on the actual calendar day, saving the delightful disdain of his Anti-Valentine’s playlist for February 15th. So in the time since he left us, it’s not surprising that former producers of John’s (including myself and my colleague Taylor) and other “Aeillians” like to jump the gun and get a little smarmy on Hallmark’s favorite holiday.

In that scornful spirit, For Spite presents “Singles Only” 6PM tonight at The Far Out Lounge, hosted by KUTX’s own Taylor Wallace. For just $10 you’ll get a lot more than a bouquet or a box of chocolate – four sets of hand-picked Austin acts back-to-back, each packed with a brand new offering. The evening kicks off with a Kiki Machine music video premiere and continues with three kick-ass single releases from Die Mart, Exotic Fruits, and today’s feature, The Blowies.

Comprised of Sharks in the Deep End ex-pats Tucker Jameson and Samuel Thompson, this hardcore duo dropped their uncouth debut The Blowies back in 2020. Their already-cynical take on societal commentary has flourished from their of-kilter confidence at start of the pandemic era into the breakneck tongue-in-cheek typhoon we now know as The Blowies. A new gale of high-octane punk touches down later this year on an as-of-yet-untitled sophomore full-length, one that brought The Blowies back to Public Hi-Fi Studio, this time with producer-engineer-extraordinaire Max Lorenzen. And when The Blowies hit the stage at 8PM tonight, join them in chanting an irreverent anthem that almost seems to celebrate the pessimism surrounding climate change by bidding farewell to our arctic ursine neighbors, “Bye Bye Polar Bears”!

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.