garage pop

Burgess Meredith: “Nowhere”

We’re getting to a point in time where, save for hardcore fans of the Rocky franchise, the general population remembers a certain name under only one context. And that was as one of Austin’s premiere ’60s-fied garage pop rock outfits. Ya know…Burgess Meredith.

Still though, it’s a name we haven’t heard in quite some time. A dozen years down the line from their debut EP Banana Moon and seven since their first full-length A Dimension of Sound (which was also the group’s last studio album to date), we’ve all but formally filed a missing persons report on Burgess Meredith. Heck, I personally have a very fond memory of catching Burgess Meredith at the Cactus Cafe somewhere in the mid-2010s and have since caught myself looking back every now and then wondering, “what ever happened to them?”

Well, it turns out Burgess Meredith is alive and well, and their grip on retro pop-garage rock romance is strong as it’s ever been. With a fresh lineup and a baker’s dozen new tunes mostly recorded at the height of social distancing, Burgess Meredith drops their long overdue comeback Person Hat tomorrow. Person Hat heralds the return of Burgess Meredith’s piano-driven arrangements and firm grasp on the baroque/chamber pop aspects of ’60s psychedelia plus Beach Boys-esque vocal unisons and harmonies – everything we’ve always loved about Burgess Meredith. But this time those elements are joined by the welcome orchestral additions of cello, clarinet, and horns plus a generous serving of vocoder, ultimately blurring the lines between Barrett-era Pink Floyd, late Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Zombies.

If you haven’t seen Burgess Meredith live in concert yet, you absolutely have to check ’em out for the Person Hat record release show this Saturday at BLK Vinyl. If you’ve got somewhere else to be, turn on, tune in, and drop out to the album opener, “Nowhere”, because it’s sure to take you to a far out place with a lotta love in your heart and absolute magic in your ears.

The Jaws of Brooklyn: “Litebringer”

We don’t really put stock in the idea of “talent by association”. Sure, we’ve witnessed plenty of attempts to pivot from a successful group into a profitable solo offshoot. But if they didn’t have the spark to start with, they won’t have much to bargain with on their own. And on the ongoing collaborative level, when one player reaches a certain tier of talent, they rarely lower the bar in terms of the artists they surround themselves with, let alone their choice of creative clientele.

Now bear with us as we break down a bit of history here. Alabama Shakes hires Ben Tanner as a touring keyboardist. Tanner helps Alabama Shakes secure the 2018 Grammy for “Best American Roots Performance”. Then, just last year, Tanner does it again by snagging “Best Roots Gospel Album” for co-producing, engineering, and mixing Echoes of the South by Blind Boys of Alabama. In between it all, Ben continues to prove himself as not just a prized player, but a prolific producer with a musical Midas touch. So for Ben to bring an out-of-state group of relative-unknowns to his Muscle Shoals studio and bang out their debut? Sure says a lot, doesn’t it?

The group in question is The Jaws of Brooklyn, who as you might’ve guess are from…Washington?! Yes, we got our first feel for this Seattle septet from their aptly-titled Summer 2022 full-length The Shoals. And sure, while Tanner did put a proper polish on it, but a firm grasp on the classic garage-soul-rock sound (complete with ’60s-style girl group gusto) was clearly ingrained in J.O.B. from the get-go.

Now, following the fickle affair that is swapping out frontwomen, The Jaws of Brooklyn are back at it with Gretchen Lemon in the lead singer slot. And with Alabama Shakes acolytes Shannay Johnson and Karita Law also returning to Tanner’s auspicious Muscle Shoals recording space, The Jaws of Brooklyn have cranked out a dozen-plus new tunes, soon to be split across two EPs. The first one drops next April, (when J.O.B.’s stint at SXSW 2025 will still be fresh in memory), and we got a taste of that latest batch this morning with the record’s lead single, “Litebringer”.

By hinging on a hefty mix that’s instantly evocative of golden age Alabama Shakes, (snappy percussion, full house vocal harmonies, gritty garage guitar tones, and all) “Litebringer” has our mouth watering for what’s to come from The Jaws of Brooklyn, no matter what they sink their teeth into next.

mr.kat: “SAW III”

Pop culture references in lyrics. True, they’re most abundant in hip-hop where wordplay is king. But no matter what genre, and honestly no matter the overall song topic, hearing an interjection of media consumption really grounds things in reality. It’s candid. It’s unpretentious. It’s relatable.

Following that cold open, we find ourselves in good company with mr.kat. What started off as the solo sadgirl endeavor of singer-guitarist Kat De Leon has since evolved into a quartet, and more recently a three-piece. Considering mr.kat’s debut single only dropped back in 2022, the indie garage pop outfit’s decidedly still in their kitten phase. But in 2024 mr.kat has been cooking! Err…making biscuits.

After their debut EP I’ll Make It, I Always Do from January and March’s devilish standalone “Sandbox Love”, this morning mr.kat dragged “SAW III” onto streaming. This mid-fi masterpiece is bookended by some seriously sinister tape crackling and sprawling with audio verité (organic mouth clicks intact), but production techniques aside, “SAW III” is actually one of the sweetest things mr.kat’s ever released (in this case, more like freed from a cell). Because there’s no better way to beat the blues of unrequited love quite like some good old fashioned torture porn, right?

Fertility House: “Paca Palace”

Everyone wants to believe that their amorous entanglements are unique, one-of-a-kind connections. And without saying they’re not, the vast majority of relationships do tend to follow similar formulas. In the eyes of Austin indie four-piece Fertility House, those formulas always end up in dissolution; the fairy-tale bond unravels and we’re put in a poignant position, but ultimately, “we all turn to dust”. As a matter of fact, Fertility House’s sophomore album, Dust, dedicates itself to the nosedives of romance across three acts: early infatuation, the turmoil of a breakup, and post-separation stoicism.

Dust settled last Tuesday, introducing us to ten fleshed-out romantic reflections and three half-minute particles that serve as instrumental act breaks. The last installment of Dust‘s second act (the garage-popper “Paca Palace”) keeps things as light as possible with a procession of trumpet chords, gang vocals and xylophones that’ll make you feel like royalty.