If you’ve ever had a random photo op on 6th street with a giant, glow-eyed robot and a dude decked out in Superman gear holding a boombox over his shoulder, you may already be familiar with J Ray and his automaton counterpart, Boxman 3000. With the recent release of his first album, Some People, a music video for the track "When I Grow Up", and a comic book chronicling their adventures, J Ray and Boxman 3000 are hitting Austin hard. The feel good title track is one of the strongest on the album, with sweet sounding guitar licks and a fun, dancy chorus. But, there’s a whole lot of polished, heartfelt awesomeness throughout the rest of the album too.
Think the awkward genius of Beck meets Jack Johnson’s laid back sound and everything that we love about Flight of the Conchords. Make no mistake, J Ray is making all of the right moves, offering tons of fun and some serious musical talent. Check him out next Thursday at Flamingo Cantina with Dear Watson and Scares. A year from now, you’re not going to want to say that you missed the J Ray Train. – Written by Jodi Lang