S.L. Houser Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

This past year our airwaves have been kind to Benjamin Violet (better known as Pelvis Wrestley) and S.L. Houser. We only mention that because this upcoming weekend, we’ll get a chance to hear an album with imprints from both, one that comes from Lizzy Lehman. This Austin-based singer/guitarist/synth player first popped up on streaming a whopping decade back, on their 2013 debut eight-track A Place I Know You’ll Love. Lehman’s been a live mainstay ever since, but with the exception of a turn-of-the-pandemic team-up with Jinx McGee and a contribution to Project Traction last May, their studio output’s been relatively sparse. However, in the spirit of collaboration that surged throughout those last two standalone singles, soon Lizzy Lehman returns bolder than ever before with the help of a few friends. This Friday Lizzy Lehman unleashes a collection of eight outspoken queer anthems, featuring instrumental and vocal contributions from the likes of Benjamin Violet and S.L. Houser (the latter of which handles production as well). As such, Technicolor Love makes itself accessible to a full spectrum of orientations with a real rally for resilience, meaning all are welcome to attend the release listening party 7-9:30PM Friday night at BLK Vinyl. Today, Lehman kindly lent us a vibrant first look at Technicolor Love with the LP’s title track and lead single. Even if you identify as a surly boy or a dainty girl, you’ll appreciate the succinct two-minute strive for variety on “Technicolor Love”. Because with a chorus as catchy as this one, inclusion has never sounded better.

For three quarters of a decade Sara Houser’s been at the front and center of Austin indie pop quartet Löwin and has laid down session vocals and piano for fellow KUTX favorites like Walker Lukens, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Otis Wilkins, Spoon, and A Giant Dog. But despite her prominent role in Löwin and impressive catalogue of contributions, nothing has fully sated the appetite for a songwriter of Houser’s caliber…until now.

Refreshed by a pandemic-long break and revisiting the same joyous spark that her craft invited during adolescence, Sara’s re-emerged under the moniker S.L. Houser. The new solo project finds Houser truly writing for herself for the first time in years, and considering her matured prowess at this point, we can’t help but feel excited for this new chapter. Said chapter kicks off today with S.L. Houser’s debut single, “Mirror”, reflecting lo-fi alt-rock tones of the ’80s and ’90s to champion the power of women in the musical realm.