Trudeau is under investigation, maple syrup is being diluted with corn syrup but Canada’s greatest export are still as potent and powerful as ever.  Indie rockers, Metric, came to ACL Live on Saturday night and leveled the crowd with an evocative and ear-pinning set.  The opening set from tenured Mexican space rockers, Zoe, gave the show an exciting outset, and a sense of North American bonhomie, with all three nations present. A 16-song set from the headliner would eventually satiate even the most rabid Metric fans.

Emily Haines…. That name is enshrined in the psyche of men and women alike as a goddess who deserves to be fanned and worshipped until the pillars of civilization fall. Haines has a cavalier but seductive air about her that has not lessened since the band began in 1998. Yet the transcendental baptism truly immerses listeners when Haines begins to sing, her vocals pristine and effortless. Sauntering around the stage with a panther-like gait, Haines owns every inch of her path, assiduously stealing the focus of every single member of the audience. 

The show erupted with the sugary “Love You Back” and quickly segued into a sneeringly addictive “Synthetica”.  Guitarist, James Shaw, played an electrifying counterbalance to Haines, unleashing his frenetic energy on songs like “Risk” and “Gold Guns Girls”.  An early set crescendo was reached when a newer hit, “Dressed to Suppress” was played with all the cocksure moxie the band could muster, and followed with the vulnerable and uplifting, “Breathing Underwater”. 

A nostalgic reminiscing took place mid-set, where Haines ruminated on earlier Austin shows that featured BBQ, Barton Springs and playing Stubbs. Yet the driving momentum was hardly diminished and the band then plowed into the surprise of the night, “Cascades”, which had disco charm and a futuristic cocktail party vibe. Little did the audience know that a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ was soon about to be foisted on them by Haines.

 

“This is the existential part of the set where I decide whether to embrace a time of innocence for the band, or a time of recklessness – Should we play ‘Gimme Sympathy’ or ‘Dead Disco’?”

 

Despite my own decibel and octave levels reaching Everest-esque heights for “Dead Disco”, it was “Gimme Sympathy” that would be played, with little to no complaining on m end. The building inertia was only further propelled by “Gold Guns Girls”, which layered Haines’ sirenic vocals over frenzied drums and guitars.

An encore of “Dark Saturday”, “Now or Never Now” and the audio equivalent of Thor’s hammer, “Help I’m Alive”, would conclude a colossal show. A curious energy shot through the audience; a motley mix of liberation, adoration and even aggression (a fight broke out in front of me) swirled into the ether. Whatever your motives were for seeing Metric, old fans and new, the sheer force of their sound and eclectic emotional range was delivered with devastating effectiveness, and we  the audience, were gifted the with a 90 minute escape from ourselves.

 A drop of audio prozac on the pacified mind, BluMoon stirs up a soothing elixir of neo-soul, alternative R&B and experimental jazz.  A quartet that doesn’t shy away from retro and outlier soundscapes, these Texas State students are eons ahead of the curve as far as their songwriting and their suave aesthetic. Front woman, Kendra Sells, layers on her warm vocals that exude a mellowed aura devoid of strife or struggle. The flotsam and jetsam of trip-hop and vaporwave elements float through the fluid composition of BluMoon’s mellifluous vibes. Having just released their second album, Slow Burn, the band continues to grow musically and consistently electrify with their live shows.  Catch the band at Hotel Vegas on March 24th!

                                                  

Leah Wellbaum is the sole guitarist and vocalist for the grunge-influenced indie rock band, Slothrust. Having been playing in the group for nearly a decade, Leah has made her signature brooding lyrics stick in listener’s minds, and combined with the band’s technical and inventive musicianship, it’s earned them a sizeable indie following. Slothrust released their fourth album, The Pact, in September 2018 and have been on tour supporting it. We checked in with Leah to dig into the origins of the band, influences and how to pass time in a touring van.

 

    Slothrust met while attending Sarah Lawrence. Were you all musicians when you enrolled?

                                       Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

                                                      You can definitely tell that the band is a bit more technical than your average grunge band in some respects. What influences led to Slothrust?

                                       We studied blues and jazz with two really amazing teachers, which are Glenn Alexander and Matt Wilson. Matt Wilson’s one of the head, top jazz drummers right now. And Glenn Alexander is an amazing guitarist in all respects. So we had played in blues and jazz groups together. We all can be accompanyists too. Like, yes, I’m a front person in this project, but at the same time I’m equally excited to just accompany another vocalist, another front person. We all really give a shit about older music. The new stuff right now, there is a lot of things that are still awesome about it, but we also, I think, are pretty traditional in some senses in terms of what we value in music.

                                                      You guys spend a lot of time together obviously as a band. What do you like doing outside of music?

                                         We played a really lackluster hand of cards the other night. Kyle invented a card game recently that we played in the car that was really cool. I gotta say I just really, really, really love Will and Kyle’s personalities. And that makes this whole circumstance a lot easier. Because I think we all get along as friends. We share similar passions and have similar pastimes and want similar things in life. So that’s nice.

                                                      Your songwriting is incredible but Will’s drumming also stands out as a bit more elevated than other bands in your genre.

                                      Yeah. Will’s the shit. I’ve worked with him for a really long time. He works really hard and he’s really… Honestly, he’s one of the most special people I’ve ever met in my life. You know, drumming aside, he’s just a very kind, special individual. He and I really see each other in a specific way and in terms of playing, he’s flexible and he’s down to work. And I still find it exciting to jam with these people and I think that’s really special and uncommon.

                                                      If you weren’t doing music, what do you think you’d be doing right now?

                              I’ve been asked this question before and it’s hard to answer because the other thing I do besides music is teach music.

                                                       Some people are like "If it wasn’t for music, I’d probably hang myself" or something to that extent.

                                 I don’t think I’d kill myself or anything. I mean, you know, we all have our times, but I like to teach. I’m happy working with kids. I’m happy working with adults. I like to spread music as a means not to draw financial success, but as a form of not only self expression, but focus. Because in the end we’re all so tortured by our own minds and having something to focus on sort of detracts from that. This is a good quote I’m giving you.

                                                      Nice. Was there a certain time that you felt Slothrust was finally picking up? You did the Jam in the Van, but was there a moment where you were like, "Okay. This band might stay together for a few years?"

                                         No. I always knew we’d stay together but I think it’s pretty clear to all of us that we’re a slow burner. But we don’t really give a shit. That’s fine. We’ll just slow burn forever if we want to. If not, then not. We probably will. I don’t know. I like these people. They like me. It’s all good.

                                                      “Magnets Part Two” is my favorite song of yours. I’m just guessing here, but is that about addiction?

                                      I guess I’ll be explicit with you because this question has been asked to me particularly frequent amount. I feel like my syntax is shitty right now. I wish it was better. That’s about my old roommate Jack. He ended up killing himself in, I think, 2011. I thought about him very frequently. I had trouble processing all of it because I was in the situation where I needed to graduate from college. And I wanted to do what he wanted me to do and I wanted to do whatever felt right for everyone. Whatever that means. It doesn’t really mean anything. But yeah, I guess, to sum it up it’s about losing someone that you weren’t ready to lose but eventually you have to gain acceptance in that. Because if you don’t, you’ll just be tortured forever. And if you and that person had a certain kind of lock, which Jack and I did, then they wouldn’t want you to be tortured forever.

                                                      Lou Reed or Bowie?

                                     I hate that you asked me that. I just hate that you asked me that. That’s about it.

                                                      Beer or wine?

                                     If I had to die with either in a goblet in my hand I would pick wine because it’s closer to blood.

                                                      Paradise Rock Club or Roseland Ballroom?

                                       Didn’t exist when I was growing up. Paradise did but it didn’t let people under 21 in and Roseland Ballroom, I don’t think it existed. So fuck both those places. Access and Avalon forever. Neither exist. Fuck what’s happened to Boston. The police destroyed it. We used to have a good punk scene. And they took that away from us because of noise ordinance. And everyone can go and-

                                                      Fuck themselves?

                                     … have a bad old time.

                                                      If you had to pick anybody to share the stage with, who would you pick and why?

                                         Oh, I’d pick John Fahey. He could come on and do some amazing finger picking set during any song and I would be so pleased to hear that melodic contour. That’s it.

 

Like many great partnerships, Xavier Sanchez and Thom Valles despised each other when they first met during their Freshman year of highschool in El Paso. Thanks to a perceptive teacher who forced them to work together, we now have the thrash punk duo Cheeky Orange, albeit many years later. Valle’s vocals have a hypnotic, psychedelic quality that suddenly erupt into primal screams and raise neckhairs in the best way possible. Distorted, staccatto guitar riffs interweave through pulsating drums to draw listeners in. The tempestuous instrumentation sways like a metronome and evokes equal parts Sabbath and At The Drive In. Cheeky Orange seems to have absorbed elements from the El Paso post-hardcore scene as well as Austin’s deep psychedelic roots, but their violent and mesmerizing sound is uniquely infectious and unto itself. Having recorded their first demos on an a basic 8 track recorder, expect them to release an official debut in the next year, and definitely catch their live shows that they’ll be playing regularly in Austin.

 

As one door begins to close, another has begun to open for Waldo Wittenmyer who is behind the new solo project, Table Tennis Dreamer.  Waldo has contributed in a variety of bands (Velo, Toma, Waldo & The Naturals) which all have unique styles but his solo project may be the most pure representation of his own voice. Shimmering retro synths and lachrymose vocals coalesce into a melodic earworm on TTD’s first single "All My Life". An Austin psychedelic ribbon streaks through the track and gives it an ethereal aura that percolates slowly into the listener’s consciousness. While Toma has created a respectable body of music, Table Tennis Dreamer seems to inhabit the musical niche that Wittenmyer is now able to flesh out in its entirety. TTD will be releasing his first EP, Randall Vol. 1, this Spring.

 

You dont need a Women’s March patch, a Gloria Steinem novel or an ‘I’m With Her’ bumper sticker to be considered a strong female in 2019. Moving Panoramas began as an all-female dreampop band that not only exuded female autonomy and empowerment but they did so without the cliche man-hating rhetoric or knee-jerk sexist vitriol.  Frontwoman, Leslie Sisson, is a music-industry vet who happens to offer an angelic voice and hypnotizing guitar work on top of her strong leadership and songwriting prowess. While the band now features male members and has also added Sweet Spirit’s Cara Tillman amongst others, it is still very much the Leslie-show. While the band certainly still retains some shoegaze elements on their newer tracks, they have opted for a more frenetic aesthetic that injects urgency and excitement and is basically more ADD-friendly. The music video for "ADD Heart" was directed by Willi Patton and he does a great job conveying the sleek, sexy and mysterious aura that inhabits the song. The sophomore album for Moving Panoramas, In Two, will be released on February 22nd through Modern Outsider and all signs point to Sisson’s talents being on full display. That is great news for the rest of us.

 

 

Are you tired of being a self-serious Austin music scenester? Do you want to fall in love? Neither of those questions matter because the Lewd Dudes have released a debut EP and their potent blend of humor and classic rock is guaranteed to elevate your mood. Infectious melodies coalesce with absurdist lyrics to keep the listener’s attention. Would a band ever add an extra member just so they could graduate from being a quintet to a ‘sex’tet?  That’s silly, but the Lewd Dudes are a band of silly gooses.  Track names like "69 N on the Beach" and "Me and My Bone" make sure to preserve a degree of professional poise, but then the drummer also happens to be named ‘Boner’. Whether you like their sugary choruses, the horns section, or just listening to their lively lyrics – the Lewd Dudes are having fun while playing and you can’t help but rock along yourself. The Lewd Dudes play January 10th at Hotel Vegas!

 

  You’re laying on a white sand beach under a blazing sun, fading into an afternoon daydream, when the tide begins to creep up from your toes until ocean water fills your ears. Instead of panic setting in, you allow yourself to be consumed by the warming chorus of tropical synths and lysergic energy fields. A molten core of happiness reverberates from your sternum before you awaken to discover you’re still in bed listening to Washed Out. Such is the appeal of the flagship Chill Wave purveyor, Ernest Greene, who continues to flesh out his catalogue of ethereal panoramic soundscapes after he helped popularize the genre nearly a decade ago. Washed Out brought those balmy funk-laden beats to the Mohawk on Saturday, and despite the temperature being frigid, the music emanated a comforting warmth.

On tour after their 2017 release of their third full-length, Mister Mellow, the full band had a laid-back stage presence that was enhanced by a kaleidoscope of hypnotic visuals.  New songs coalesced with older hits to get the concert going in the right direction with a crowd-pleasing classic like “New Theory” being juxtaposed to newer earworms like “Burn Out Blues” and “Floating By”. Room in the audience was unbelievably scarce as the sold out show made other ‘sold-out shows’ look like an open area expanse.

Greene’s positivity flows through band and his audience seamlessly, setting a focal point for the music and aura that never seems to dip into the negative. A select few extended plays were embarked on as Washed Out leaned into solos and good ole fashioned jams. A critical mass of contentedness enveloped the crowd towards the end of the set with their biggest hit “Feel It All Around” and the epoch of the set “Amor Fati” both tempting the moment with perfection. 

Some concerts offer various components of the show to be exceptional but a truly memorable act will streamline musicianship, stage present, lighting effects, etc into a synergistic energy bomb of engagement, and luckily Washed Out is composes all aspects with deft precision. The show would end with an encore of “Soft” and “Eyes Be Closed” to send the crowd home with a heavenly taste in their mouths. While the late December temperatures can weigh heavy on moods, Washed Out is an effective prescription to elevate any audience member’s outlook on life.

 A folk-rock trio from San Marcos who are a self-described as a ‘new breed of classic American musician’, Christian Sparks and the Beatnik Bandits have had success constructing roots-styled storytelling with a gritty rock patina. The band released their debut self-titled EP in March and have ridden those five songs through a Southern state tour to reach the choir most receptive to their gospel. While their songs typically begin with an ambling, folksy vibe – the rowdiness creeps up through the chorus and ultimately transforms into a good ol’ fashioned ‘rock out’. While folk and rock music have tried to coexist, ever since Bob Dylan went electric, it has been a tenuous relationship where purists hold their ground by passing judgement. Many musicians have since made their bones trying to bridge the two styles and exploring the grey area between the two, but its the journey to and from the two genres that we get to see the brilliance of Christian Sparks songwriting. While the band is in its nascent stages, and is yet to release a full album, there are harbingers of future success that avail themselves through strong songwriting and a good performance work ethic.

 

 

 Black Fret’s fifth annual Black Fret Ball set a few different milestones this past Friday night, not the least of which was surpassing over $1 million in grants to local bands as well as upgrading the event venue to the ACL Live Moody theater.  Black Fret co-founders, Colin Kendrick and Matt Ott, have made progress by leaps in bounds since inception by not only growing the charity organization in Austin but also expanding to other cities as well. Moving the Black Fret Ball venue from the Paramount Theater, where it was held last year, to ACL Live could have meant a lot of empty seats. Instead, the crowd was massive and members and attendees flooded the venue in impressive fashion.

 The recipients of Black Fret’s grant money were a mixed bag of returning artists and some brand new acts.  Groups like the Greyhounds, Los Coast and Jane Ellen Bryant all returned from last year’s ball to claim $20k grants while newcomers Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad, Trouble In The Streets and The Texas KGB all claimed their first grants.

 Major sponsors like Dell, Deloitte and NY Life gave the notion that Black Fret has ascended to a high level of recognition within the corporate community as much as the artistic one.  While there is a bit of an Oprah-esque vibe to the grant giving, “You get a grant! You get a grant!”, ultimately the impact is profound for the artist – financially and with newfound exposure.

 Performances by Donovan Keith, The Texas KGB and Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad were all highlights of the night, as a dual stage setup allowed for a more fluid transition to showcase more music. While there is a lot of love in the room, it was still left to A Giant Dog’s Andrew Cashen to inject some legitimate Rock n Roll spirit by accepting his band’s grant while grandstanding on an amp like a golden god, with music writer Kevin Curtin in tow.

 A quarter million dollars was given out the night of the ball which was awe-inspiring, as artist after artist beamed onstage upon receiving their grant amount.  As Austin’s cost of living continues to skyrocket, charities like Black Fret are becoming more vital to allowing musicians to remain viable or reach the next level.  

  

The Austin Music Video Festival, which debuted in 2014, has embraced its eccentric identity and seen exponential growth as a result. More awards, categories, attendees, and fanfare are making the festival a staple in the already competitive and saturated Austin calendar.The festival kicks off on December 4^thwith a performance from local electro-artist, Neon Indian, and continues for the next four days with video screenings, live performances, and nightly after-parties. Rather than a typical film festival, the AMVF’s intersperse video showings with interactive events and lots of live performances by bands like Whiskey Shivers, Sorne, Graham Reynolds. The various venues for activities include the Alama Drafthouse Ritz, Native Hostel, The North Door, Austin Visitor Center and Empire Control Room. While there is a plethora of categories that will be judged, none make a local impact like the ‘All ATX’ award which will feature familiar acts like Walker Lukens, Holy Wave, Toma, Fort Never and many more. The festival comes to a conclusion on Saturday night at Native Hostel with an awards ceremony where winners are announced and then a close-out party ensues. Whether you are interested in viewing uniquely creative music videos or just want to get down on a dance floor, AMVF offers it all and you can grab your tix here.