indie rock

Babe & The Crystals: “The Way You Love Me”

Sometimes all you need to reignite a long dormant project is just revamping the name. Well…that and maybe a brush with death for good measure.

At least that’s what recently rekindled the creativity for Nashville four-piece Babe & The Crystals, who first started out a decade back under the handle Kid Freud. Kid Freud called it quits in 2018 and the pandemic rolled through soon after, as did a tornado that tested frontman Alex Tomkins’ limits. But with everybody ultimately okay and Kid Freud’s catalogue accruing impressive streaming numbers online, Tomkins’ latest batch of tunes proved too good to keep cooped up. And after the release of their existing material under the Kid Freud umbrella album this March, it was finally time to put that six-year hiatus to bed and re-solidify the fellas as Babe & The Crystals.

Based on how natural and rejuvenated Babe & The Crystals sounded on this month’s reintroduction “Forevereverever”, you’d have never guessed they spent so much time apart. And though that revival evoked the artsier side of indie rock (spoken word verse and crazy catchy hook included), Babe & The Crystals really shine on their millennium-enmeshed second installment, “The Way You Love Me”. If you made a dartboard of your favorite indie pop rock radio darlings from the late ’00s, “The Way You Love Me” hits the bullseye dead center between ’em all. Rock on, babe. Rock on.

Big Bill: “Emotions”

If you’ve kept posted on Austin quartet Big Bill, you know they’re in somewhat of a post-pivot position. Yeah, after years of establishing their space in the oddball-deadpan-art-punk sector, Big Bill pulled off a risky switch to more of a ’90s-style indie rock sound with their Summer 2022 full-length Public Freakout Compilation. And while we’d never go so far as to call our bbs in B.B. “inoffensive”, the exploration of indie does add a sense of mass accessibility to Big Bill’s idiosyncratic, off-kilter aural antics and intoxicating melodies.

So given their ongoing path in that same direction, we’re already drooling over Big Bill’s upcoming third LP Strawberry Seed. See, in carving out a more “mature” niche in indie rock, Strawberry Seed actually seeks to emulate the childhood nostalgia of a kindergarten art project – less the acceptance of anxiety in adulthood and more the abstract incipience of early, blissfully unaware expression. In that pursuit of fuzzy warmth, Big Bill’s included backup singers, acoustic guitar, synthesizers, and piano to their traditionally straightforward punk arrangements.

We won’t be able to harvest the fruits of Strawberry Seed until it hits streaming June 14th, the same day Big Bill plays a free in-store performance 5PM at Waterloo Records. But if you want to get an early taste, Big Bill’s set to share some samples 9PM tonight at The Mohawk as part of a big bill that also includes Tied Up and Gustaf. And if you want to blow your mind with how much Big Bill’s sound has evolved, fire up “Emotions” – which is decidedly less like Suicide and more akin to The Black Keys trying to out-weird The Minutemen. It’ll leave you feeling a way for sure.

Mikky & The Doom: “Garbage, USA”

In most situations, if you got it, flaunt it. But in an industry that demands infinitely more from your ears than from your eyes, if the hottest person on the planet doesn’t have the pipes to match their looks, they probably don’t have a shot at succeeding as a singer.

So let’s talk newcomer Mikky Rib and her Austin outfit Mikky & The Doom. A quick stroll through the band’s Instagram instantly tips you off that sex appeal is core to their brand. But with a proven ability to parrot the timbres of Amy Winehouse, Stevie Nicks, Gwen Stefani, and Lana Del Rey (all of which influence her own unique sound) in an uncanny way, their eponymous frontwoman can’t be written off as just eye candy.

This year Mikky & The Doom have been following a roadmap to their debut studio EP Garbage, USA. Produced entirely by our April 2018 Artist of the Month Mobley, this introduction explores low-light garage rock, hook-driven indie, and sex-positive electro-pop while lyrically relishing in all kinds of societal litter. There’ll be a few stops on the way before the album’s May 17th release date, including two more lead singles, a show 8PM next Thursday at The 13th Floor Alongside Jeremiah Jackson and Scotty B and The Hive, and an appearance at Hot Luck Fest on May 24th. Given that growing population for Garbage, USA, you’re just three drum stick clicks away from the record’s title track, because it’s anything but trash. An anarchistic, pyromaniac anthem, the catchy-as-hell “Garbage, USA” sounds like The Strokes woke up with a little extra dissonance in their system, heavily-processed instrumentation, pop-informed production, radio-ready brevity and all.

Melotheory: “Breathe”

When you have roommates, at least good ones you get along with, group activities naturally arise around the house. For most folks, it’s watching TV, recreational smoking and drinking, or maybe the occasional board game. For musicians, however, having a practice space within eyeshot of your bedroom door is too good of a scenario to pass up.

At least that’s the situation that producers Patrick Insull and Austin Pedersen find themselves in; they’ve spent the past three years patiently penning in their apartment on behalf of their Austin quintet Melotheory. And who has a better insight into both blooming and wilting romances then your roommate? Maybe that’s why the sad boi aesthetic shines so bright on their debut batch of indie-rock love songs, which are genre dalliances themselves, albeit with disco rhythms.

This morning, ahead of a FREE release show 7:30PM tonight at the Cactus Cafe, Melotheory rolled out their eponymous debut full-length. At thirty-six minutes and ten tracks melotheory is a journey best enjoyed front-to-back, no doubt. That said, we also get why Melotheory chose “Breathe” as the LP’s lead single. There’s a serious Thomas Mars quality to the vocals , which quickly draws comparisons to everyone’s favorite Versailles indie rock revolutionaries. But where Phoenix flourishes with pop radio-ready, heavily gated, conservatively contained choices, “Breathe” maximizes their mix with stereo-sprawling selections over crests and valleys of dynamic shifts. Well…we’ve said enough. Time to exhale out of the work week and let “Breathe” do its thing.

West 22nd: “Sleeping Alone”

In the midst of this drizzly, nippy, and overall kind of crummy weather, we can’t really fault anyone maximizing their time under the covers. And on behalf of the bounty of additional body heat, everyone with a significant other, a temporary cuffing acquaintance, or just a fuzzy friend willing to curl up really ought to feel thankful. Because the alternative is feeling extra frigid right about now. Fortunately for those battling Old Man Winter solo, there’s a new homegrown anthem that’ll warm any bitter spirits right on up.

It comes from Austin indie rock quintet West 22nd, the five friends who only crept up onto streaming services last August with their debut EP All the Way Home. Despite their recent shared confrontations with adulthood and the less-than-picture-perfect realities of relationships that come with it, West 22nd still maintains an undeniably youthful energy in their originals – not necessarily what we’d call wise, but certainly not puerile either.

And they’ve hit the ground running in the new year, having played not too far from their namesake last weekend at The Ballroom and performing again this Friday at Mohawk Outdoors alongside Sounds by Moonbby and Polo Perks opening for Skaiwater. So while West 22nd’s English counterparts may scoff at us Texans shivering from a brief week of freezing, we’d like to think that fellow chilly mammals Arctic Monkeys may not have anything bad to say about “Sleeping Alone”, released last Friday. Emblematic of that iconic early-millennium indie rock renaissance, “Sleeping Alone” sticks it to The Strokes with a nuanced arrangement and considerably less reliance on studio magic. So if you find yourself tossing and turning, maybe missing that special someone, crank “Sleeping Alone” all the way up, delete that has-been from your contacts, and maybe even plan on meeting someone new this Friday at the Mohawk.

King Air: “Power Ballads”

On this second New Music Friday of 2024, we just gotta give a bow to some Austin pop rock royalty. We’re talkin’ about husband-and-wife songwriter-producers Joy and Bill Baldwin, best known by their collaboration King Air. After securing a legacy in marriage and parenthood, the Baldwins – both veterans of the ’90s local live scene – finally sat down and held court in what would become the pair’s kingdom – songwriting.

As with any parents in need of some quality quiet time, King Air initially crafts most of their tunes on the acoustic front. That said, over the past dozen years and four EPs they’ve churned out some really impressive guitar-vocal-and-drum-driven indie rock that incorporates the most appeasing breezes of ’80s college jangle, ’90s alternative, and turn-of-the-millennium post-punk-revival.

Well, next Friday King Air’s decreed to bless us peasants with their debut full-length, Natural High. We’ve already caught some of Natural High‘s buzz and fuzz from two lead singles released last year, both of which benefit from an ongoing relationship with Nada Surf/Moving Panoramas collaborator Louie Lino. So while we don’t know what’ll happen to the grid during next week’s big freeze, us subjects can at least expect a modicum of harmony under King Air’s two rulers based on the LP’s final lead single, “Power Ballads”. Electricity and cold weather aside, “Power Ballads” charges and warms with a hit-inspired hearth that evokes heavyweights without sounding derivative.

Futon Blonde: “Goodbye, Goodbye”

An obvious understatement, but music’s taken some huge leaps in the past century-plus of sound recording. So while the simple lyrical structures and repetitive chord progressions of pioneers like Robert Johnson or Lead Belly may seem laughably basic to some nowadays, that’s only because we’ve become spoiled by one integral element – the groove. In the modern era, ranging from pop to hip-hop, rock, and beyond, lyrics and chords alone don’t cut it; you gotta put the hook in listeners with an infectious groove. And although one could argue that indie rock is one of the least groovy genres, the mere presence of a groove separates the best from the rest.

For examples of such right here in Austin, we can fall back on Futon Blonde. Initially framed around songwriter Janson Sommers, Futon Blonde’s since gone on to quadruple their groove capacity thanks to fellow songwriter-vocalists Mark Webb (lead guitar) and Ben ‘Beng’ Goodman (bass), not to mention drummer Steve Zamora. Now in their tenth year of the affair, Futon Blonde’s cushioned their groove-dominant formulas around funk, alternative, and psych rock over tours, EPs, and one full-length. And as they kick off a second decade together, the Futon’s converting once again – this time with streaks of 2010s R&B.

Bouncy bass lines, soulful vocals, smooth six-string, and a plethora of pulsating percussion choices permeate throughout Futon Blonde’s next EP Multiplier. It’s certainly a departure from last Spring’s Something That We’ve All Experienced Together Before, and even more so from 2019’s Uppercut, but based on the latest batch of tunes (mixed by Loma/Cross Record collaborator Dan Duszynski), we sure as hell aren’t complaining. So especially since it’s that time of year everyone turns a new leaf, instead of succumbing to couch lock, catch Futon Blonde 8PM tonight at Hotel Vegas for a single release show with openers Hex Boyfriend at 7PM. The new single in question? “Goodbye, Goodbye”, which, as you might’ve guessed from its title, was inspired by the end of a relationship. On top of some tasteful drum programming steaming up the background, sensual rhythm guitar cutting through like a butter knife, baby-makin’ bass, plus the usual gusto of luscious lead guitar and grounded percussion, Webb crushes vocals on this expansive original of his. In other words “Goodbye, Goodbye” bids farewell to that old fling and says “hello” to this new era of groove for Futon Blonde.

Michael Nau: “Painting A Wall”

Between Cotton Jones, Page France, and his eponymous Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, Maryland’s Michael Nau‘s built up one hell of an indie rock reputation over his career. And as a family man fast approaching his forties, there’ve been some real waves of wisdom and maturity making appearances in his more recent music.

That’s not to call his earlier solo catalogue childish by any account; his 2016 single “Love Survive” has shown some serious staying power with nearly 50 million streams on Spotify alone, with several other album selects and standalones making millions of impressions in the interim between then and now as well. With that songwriting validation in tow and the best band of friends a man could ask for to back him up, Nau teamed up with The Killers/Lucy Dacus/Fruit Bats producer-engineer Adrien Olsen to create a new batch of tunes not too long ago.

Well after a disappearing overdub scare and two full-band sessions, Accompany finally came out last Friday. With a bit of psych-soul sophistication (robust arrangements and all) classing up the mix, these near-dozen newbies might just be Michael Nau’s modern masterpiece. It’s a swatch-swapping journey that deserves to be heard front to back, but if you just want a quick, colorful way to keep your beginning-of-work-week outlook positive, “Painting A Wall”, with its optimistic pedal steel and life-navigating lyrics, will put you in wonderful spirits.

Parker Woodland: “True Love Will Find You In The End”

First thing’s first. Parker Woodland isn’t a person; it’s a band. More accurately, it’s an Austin-based indie rock collective captained by activist/singer-songwriter Erin Walter. And although Walter, guitarist Andrew Solin, and drummer Keri Cinquina comprise the group’s core trio, Parker Woodland always welcomes a revolving cast of contributors both in-studio and on-stage for inclusive arrangements that complement the band’s hefty emotional weight. Between their placement at Rock the Park and as of last weekend, The Breakfast Boogie, clearly Parker Woodland’s earned their keep as a KUTX favorite and a can’t-miss curator of the Austin Music Experience in 2023.

As for next year, the gang’s been working towards the full-length follow-up to their February 2021 debut EP The World’s On Fire (And We Still Fall In Love). And as Parker Woodland passes the half decade mark of their run, we’re positive that this LP will leap off streaming services and warm hearts citywide. In the meantime, to wrap up this month, you can get a taste of the live portion with an all-ages, stage-filling affair 8PM this Thursday at The Mohawk with Sabrina Ellis and Sheverb. Sure, Live from Love Hill offers an honest representation of Parker Woodland’s in-concert chops, but obviously, the in-person experience is the real deal.

Fingers crossed we get a fuller preview of this new record, whose tunes like the Daniel Johnston folk-punk re-work “True Love Will Find You In The End” have already promised the inevitability of affection and adoration for listeners of any kind. To the naysaying loners, just try not to feel warm and fuzzy after pressing “play”, because this indie-folk fleur blossoms with gorgeous harmonies and optimistic orchestral flourishes before a final-minute sprint into punk-rock-inspired passion.