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Jonathan Horstmann, Kevin Naquin, and Paxel Foley of Urban Heat discuss where the band falls on the light-dark spectrum and finding one’s inner child in the darkness.
(SPF 1000) Vampire Sunscreen is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org.
Austin Pride 2024 is tomorrow! As much as we appreciate living in a city progressive enough to even host such a thing, we’re doubly thankful for the cavalcade of LGBTQ+ creators representing Queer culture throughout our city limits. In that vein, we gotta give another shout out to our June 2022 Artist of the Month Caleb De Casper.
The classically trained pianist is always pushing his sonics forward, beginning with Grand Guignol-inspired cabaret and outlandish glam rock to De Casper’s admirable grasp on synthpop. But if there’s one thing that’s a constant throughout Caleb’s catalogue it’s this: candid, hyper-sexualized, and unapologetically Queer lyricism. Well, that and his unwavering audacity for theatrical wardrobe choices.
A couple weeks back Caleb De Casper overthrew the Center for Disease Control for what comes to mind when we see the letters “CDC” with “Sik Culture”. Co-written by Jonathan Horstmann (frontman of fellow KUTX Artist of the Month Urban Heat) and produced by flamboyant Florentine Ribongia, this banger’s all about the un-ending app-obsessed endemic of modern times, made graceful by orchestral elements (as reflected in its worldwide premiere at February’s Indie Orchestra) and the darker side of disco pop, like if the flashy nightclubs of Saturday Night Fever went through a full-blown goth glow-up.
So get off your phone, go show some support, and no matter what, keep on dancing.
After naming them as our July 2022 Artist of the Month, we here at KUTX have gotten an awful lot of opportunities to gush about the Austin synth-goth gargantua that is Urban Heat. With a blacked-out sense of fashion and all the industrial analogue toys a bitter boy could want, Urban Heat instantly evokes an impossibly-slick sense of 1980s nihilism, perfectly primed for our pandemic era and an entire dejected generation. Of course, there’s still a ton of synth-pop beauty in the bass-and-beat-driven bleakness, as heard throughout Urban Heat’s 2022 album Wellness and the handful of singles they’ve shared since.
So, sure, the Wellness stalwart “Have You Ever” has climbed past millions of streams, but that success hasn’t slowed Urban Heat’s ascension to The Tower, out this summer. If we’d just heard this next record’s first lead single, “Like This”, we’d honestly expect much of the same from Wellness. Turns out though, that Wellness was just the foundation for The Tower, as made clear by the full-length’s second preview, “Sanitizer”.
Far from a sterile sound, “Sanitizer” oozes infectious electro elements like drastically-saturated bass tones, scalpel-sharp drums, and pitch wheel synth sirens that’ll elevate your heartbeat with what’s easily Urban Heat’s most aggressive original to date. Clearly, there’s no musical malpractice when it comes to these goth doctors…but the same can’t be said for the trio’s trauma team characters in the music video for “Sanitizer”. It’s gross. It’s hilarious. It’ll tear your heart right out. And you’d better believe Urban Heat turns the O.R. into a dance floor for their lucky pair of patients (dancers Larissa Dali and Quentin Arispe). So between Urban Heat kickoff of a tour in support of Twin Tribes tonight in Pomona and their return to Texas in early February, remember: a play of “Sanitizer” a day keeps bad music away.
It’s been really cool to see folks we’ve featured as our Artists of the Month advance up into official ACL acts. Yesterday we gave a shoutout to our May 2022 AotM Good Looks and today we move onto Urban Heat. This post-punk three-piece first stopped into Studio 1A back in February to swelter listeners with their latest set of sinister, cinematic, synth-driven originals. And by July, when their EP Wellness began making its rounds, we’d named Urban Heat as our Artist of the Month.
Temps may have cooled off a bit since mid-Summer, but Urban Heat has continued to crank things up as they perfect their live performances. If you want to test your fest thermostat in the early afternoon, Urban Heat’ll be playing ACL 3PM this Sunday on the BMI Stage. If you’d prefer to avoid the “City Limits” for Weekend Two and instead enjoy the “City Lights” from the comfort of your home, heat up your Hump Day with the live rendition listed below.
Upton Sinclair shocked the world with the harsh, humid realities of city life in his 1906 The Jungle. More than a century later, we understand there was a bit of muckraking embellishment in the novel, but you won’t find any unnecessary exaggeration with Urban Heat. Since 2019 this Austin trio’s captivated metropolitan crowds with their energetic-yet-eerie brand of industrial post-punk and synthwave, a timeless sound perfect for a modern-day version of The Jungle.
Urban Heat’s ability to keep things dark without being overly morose is a testament to their artistry, which has landed the three-piece spots at Levitation Fest, SXSW, and perhaps most appropriately, Seattle’s Freakout Fest. But since the ongoing pandemic’s drawn extra attention to self-care, Urban Heat’s had to confront their grim preferences and take on the duty of leaving listeners with an extra sense of comfort. The result is their upcoming EP Wellness, out July 26th. With their pulsating synths, weighty vocals, and retro-soundscapes these six new songs (including “Have You Ever”) will help in that continuous healing process as best they can. So when Urban Heat comes around for their Wellness check in late July (and even earlier on May 18th at Far Out Lounge), make sure you answer the call.