Tourist

Nolina: “Tourist”

Decades after acts like Les Paul & Mary Ford, Captain & Tenille, and Ike & Tina had their heyday, seeing the phrase “husband-and-wife duo” can personally make me wince. Like we get it; you love each other, you’ve got great chemistry together, and you have a lot of emotions you need to dispense, but often, quality output gets masked by the consummation of that creative process. So it’s refreshing as hell when you hear a married pair who removes their relationship from the sonic center stage. Folks like vocalist Stef Atkinson and multi-instrumentalist Nick Atkinson with their Austin-based project Nolina.

Since 2018 Nolina’s been blending synth-pop, new wave, indie rock, and even Italo Disco into their guitar-and-vocal-driven electronic sound. After dropping their Danny Reisch-produced debut EP The Otherside last November and a Mariclaire Glaeser-co-produced contribution to Jim Eno’s Project Traction, Nolina has just shared their latest standalone single, “Tourist”. And while “Tourist” does lean on themes of romance, its genre-inclusive arrangement and nuanced performances easily overshadow any matrimonial gimmicks.

Texas Standard: August 9, 2017

Should women be required to buy separate insurance for abortions? The Texas lawmakers behind the emotional debate explain their positions. Also the ballot measure never said anything about ‘sports.’ That’s the argument attorneys for a historic El Paso neighborhood are making to fight a proposed activity center. And crude exports from the the Permian Basin are injecting new life into the port of Corpus Christi whose economy took a hit during the energy downturn. Also the misuse and addiction of opioids kill as many as one hundred Americans every day. The new task force in San Antonio to combat the crisis. And a team at Texas A&M is working to keep the lights on across the state. A look at the vulnerability of the power grid. That’s all ahead on The Texas Standard: