power pop

Magic Rockers of Texas: “Where Did My Life Go?” [Live In Studio 1A]

For about a decade, Austin power pop group Magic Rockers of Texas have been certifiable Austin Music Darlings, going through long periods of performing across town, sometimes as often as three times a week. And that’s just meeting demand.

On their new album Gorging On American Fair, Magic Rockers serve-up a more decadent version of their usual fare, in large part due to the addition of powerhouse guitarist Will Grover, freeing Campo to focus even more on his penchant for punchy, sardonic songs that make “miserable bastard” seem almost aspirational and his adept propensity for songwriting and composition. Bassist Chris Kues brings in his pedal steel to add the right touch of honky-tonk to a couple of great bar anthems, and as a drummer should, McGarrity Stanley is deftly able to hold the chaos together and throw himself in.

While Magic Rockers of Texas albums are always stellar, anyone in the know knows the real magic is in their live performance. And if you don’t know, welcome in.

Magic Rockers of Texas open for David Ramirez tonight at CBoys.

Jeremiah Jackson: “I Believe In You” [PREMIERE]

Austin’s Jeremiah Jackson has been shaking-up the traditional sounds of the Austin music scene for the last several years with his self-signed “Glam Daddy Blues.” Donned in one of his signature capes of many lengths and many textiles typically matched with street clothes underneath, before the band strikes a chord, you already know you’re in for a ride.

The latest single from Jeremiah Jackson finds him once again joining forces with drummer Mikey Uptmore and bassist/producer Dylan Fischer. If you appreciate the glam of Bowie, the kinetic on-stage presence of Jimi Hendrix, and the songwriting passion of Led Zeppelin, you’re in the right place. “I Believe In You” is an anthem driven by power-pop chords and Tenacious D attitude, hearkening back to a simpler time of rock n roll.

Jeremiah Jackson celebrates the release of the new single this Sunday at Hotel Vegas with Paper Sister and Powdered Wig Machine.

Blush Fantasy: “Dreamboat”

Over the last several years, Kenneth Frost has made his mark in the Austin underground scene with his band the Cuckoos, a group that blends classic rock sentiments with neo-psych and club beat attitude and punctuation. Now Frost is stepping into a new project, a six-piece outfit called Blush Fantasy. Blush Fantasy is like a fresh look back in time. The beats dance somewhere between the disco floor and 80’s clubs (much like Chromeo) until the power chords cut into to plant you a bit more in the 80’s, but now you’re in an entirely different club, still dancing, but not asking too many questions. You’re here for the ride! It’s a true celebration of all of Frost’s favorite influences. Even his vocals are like David-Bowie-meets-Michael Hutchence.

“Dreamboat” features Hey Cowboy’s Sydney Harding-Sloan joining Frost on the mic, setting the scene and creating an ethereal, fog-machine like mysticism. She is the mysterious dreamboat, and she will be seen and celebrated.

You can see Blush Fantasy tomorrow night, March 27th at Hotel Vegas, and this Saturday, March 29th on the indoor stage at Mohawk.

Gus Baldwin & the Sketch: “(She’s Gone) Arigato”

After many years of winning the hearts and ears of Austin music lovers both as a solo artist and as a member of the psych outfit Acid Carousel, Gus Baldwin’s name has been in the mouths of bookers and promoters for years, and more recently, he formed Gus Baldwin & the Sketch. And while it still has the tight, catchy hooks of Acid Carousel, the Sketch hangs out in the garage: it’s fuzzy, bold, and full of adrenaline.

Their debut album The Sketch came out last Friday, and while you’ve been hearing their garage rock song “Luxury Television” on the KUTX airwaves, today’s Song of the Day leans a bit more on the power pop side, hitting more like a harder Hot Hot Heat tune than Ty Segall.

“She’s Gone (Arigato)” is just pure fun and adrenaline. It’s punchy, danceable, and it might take you back to the iPod commercials of the mid 00’s. Truly the only bad thing about the song is that it ends. And as highly anticipated as this album has been, the wait was worth it; the sketches were turned in because they were ready; not because it was 11:30.

“(She’s Gone) Arigato” is on The Sketch, out now. You can see Gus Baldwin & The Sketch before they take the album on the road on Thursday February 20^th at 29^th St. Ballroom with Grocery Bag, Blank Hellscape, and Guiding Light.

Ram Vela & the Easy Targets: “Life Is Rigged”

Everyone benefits from the empowerment of self efficacy. And nobody wants to scrape by each day facing a sealed fate. Those truths must have at least subconsciously fueled the landmark success of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which endures as a surprisingly hopeful narrative despite its status as a relentless “hard R” sci-fi action flick. But as we’ve hinted at, you don’t need to be Sarah Connor going up against Skynet to appreciate the importance of altering a timeline.

Heck, with their latest single even Ram Vela & the Easy Targets have revealed themselves as optimistic revisionists. Over more than half a decade purveying power pop and alternative rock, the Austin quartet’s rarely strayed from themes of modern disenfranchisement, tough truths, and reality-aware humor. So if you feel the “no fate but what we make” principle of T2, you’re gonna love “Life Is Rigged”, on speakers, headphones, or in person for the single release show 8PM tomorrow night at Chess Club following openers Flags at 7PM.

We could totally see “Life is Rigged” playing over the end credits of T2 in an alternate, carefree timeline where James Cameron grew up as a West Coast skater. But T2 tie-ins aside, “Life is Rigged” is rich with that late ’90s/early ’00s intersection of angst, disillusionment, and pop culture references, aided in no small part by killer performances from each of RV&ETs four players, especially those full chorus “HEY”s in the hook.

Autogramm: “WannaBe”

Forty years after its original run, it truly feels like a piece of the ’80s is back with an attitude. And no…not just in terms of inflation, world conflicts, or a war on drugs; it’s the music too. Sure, there’ve been countless contemporaries who’ve incorporated a retro aesthetic into their modern sound, but we’re talking more about stuff that makes it hard to distinguish when it actually came out.

Take for instance Autogramm. The Vancouver quartet (with members also hailing from Seattle and Chicago) just wheeled out their third full-length Music That Humans Can Play last Friday, and just glancing at the cover, you can tell exactly which decade they’re trying to fit in with. Hell, even the title touches on that lovable Gen X-era sarcastic apathy. Made in the wake of their 2021 sophomore No Rules, MTHCP was a pandemic-stricken re-evaluation of the group as a whole, and goddamn are we happy Autogramm decided to stick with the program and add guitarist Lars Von Seattle to their ranks. Just like their 20th century predecessors, Autogramm’s transformed from artsy punk into synth-driven new wave and power pop, which, as mentioned before, makes this new material hard to separate from the authentic ’80s OGs.

If you happen to be in Western Europe next March, you’ve got ample chances to catch Autogramm live. If not, we recommend spinning Music That Humans Can Play in its entirety, whether or not you’ve got an old-school speaker setup because at a hair over a half hour, Music That Humans Can Play – true to its title – is plenty accessible. Shoot, you could probably get away with slipping the full album into your favorite ’80s playlist and no one would second guess that it came out this year. And that’s thanks to its big and bold production – processed to kingdom come but bearing the same simplistic formulas of chart-toppers like The Cars and Gary Numan. So without much more than the actual release date to convince us this record isn’t a long lost relic, if you love the ’80s, you’ll “WannaBe” in close company with Autogramm’s latest.