Lola Tried Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

If Mama tried to steer you right, Lola Tried is here to steer you wrong. So very, very wrong. Known for masterfully blending the emo hooks of teenage Millennial yore with garage and power-pop sensibilities, the group has always been like the adult charcuterie board to pop-punk’s Lunchable.

After nearly a decade under those influences, Lola Tried comes back with “Degrader,” a raw departure from slick hooks and curled-lip lyrics. In fact, the curl has widened into something purely guttural, and the corner of Lauren Burton’s mouth is leaking venom-laced blood. And trust me, she’s not looking for a handkerchief.

This evolution of Lola Tried is as dark in tone as it is clear in direction. They’ve shimmied right over the awkward stage partly due to founding members Burton and Ray Garza bringing Gianni Sarimento and Austin Norman into the fold to fully actualize this new sound. The subject matter of “Degrader” is dark and regrettably relatable. It’s brave and powerful; two things that have always been part of the Lola Tried DNA.

“Degrader” is from Lola Tried’s upcoming EP, out later this year. You can celebrate the song’s release tonight at Chess Club with Stella and the Very Messed and Housewarming.

Going back to the genre’s mid-’80s heyday with Big Boys and Dicks, punk rock has been a major part of Austin’s musical character. And though there are a number of groups that continue the Austin punk legacy into the 2020s, few can package their sound with the same accessibility of Lola Tried. Fronting vocalist-guitarist Lauren Burton first treated us to her four-piece’s pop-punk sweets on 2017’s Popsicle Queen and made Lola Tried’s eponymous, full-album debut the following year.

After yanking out the proverbial tooth on Lola Tried, these two-time Studio 1A veterans have cleared out any unwanted abscesses of the band’s infantile days and put their evolved formulas on display with Lola Tried’s just-released sophomore EP, Renvers. On average these songs are a little slower, a little longer with more intricate structures, and on the whole more mature sounding than their predecessors, though they still pack the same punch as those early energizers and continue to carry the emotional weight that’s always made us love this quartet. Lola Tried celebrates the release of Renvers tonight at Native Hostel along with A. Sinclair, Warm Sugar, and The Gospel Truth and whether or not you can make it out, you can certainly improve the quality of your weekend right now with “Make It Better”!