Deep summer is a good time for music in Texas. That weird auburn heat that comes down, part the blonde of summer and part the brunette of fall means you can actually get out about in the summer sun and take walks and drives and hang on patios and listen to some goddamned music without wondering if you’re gonna die if you don’t stay perfectly, freakishly hydrated. Change is comin’, and I dunno, maybe I’m alone in this, but it feels like a time when certain tracks and types of music fit the general mood of the earth that don’t always fit at the same time. It’s a pretty nice vibe.
Speakin’ of, here’s what we’ve got for you to vibe to for the end of the month’s Artist of the Month poll, and why we think they’re the shit. This poll is ending quite soon, tomorrow in fact, but we thought we’d give a little last bit of edge to the competition by dropping it all right here for you to gander at, compare, and choose your own personal victor. Put your ears under the tap and let it flow in, and then take that imbibed energy and convert it directly into a vote upon the voting block at your right, if you have not yet and are so inclined. We’ve got a couple early-fall appropriate electronic rock bands, and an introspective hip-hop act appropriate for that change-is-coming feeling, and an indie band that will soundtrack those last golden dyin’ days of the summer just perfectly for ya, so let’s dig in to this month’s selections.
Boss Battle
Boss Battle has just one track available online right now, but they are a band in the process of dropping hard onto the scene. They’ve only been around since 2014, but this first single “Ride” (which just officially dropped 8/31/2015, but which has been kickin’ around the net for a while) is some hard pounding electronic-heavy rock good times. As they call it, the “megapop dual lead vocals” dominate and drive this track that’s got a Mindless Self Indulgence pop/hard/electronic/weird thing goin’, but which is more trying to nail the good pop song instead of just weirding people out. Well-thought of and known Ohm Recording Facility producer Chico Jones provides one half of said vocals, giving this band his 28 years of recording experience and a notoriety boost off the bat, and a slew of recent shows and the looming release of EP “Attack Time” get Boss Battle their nod for this edition of the Artist of the Month poll.
The Nimbus
The hype on The Nimbus is a little early, but well deserved- the band is on the eve of a 7” releasing on September 17 at a show at one of Austin’s best and most underrated clubs, The North Door on East 6th and I-35, but we thought we’d nominate them now because of just how excited we are for more from this band. The Nimbus’ own take on electronics drenched rock music is stylistically, in turn, steeped in the 80s new wave and gothic styles, with clear dramatic vocals over layers and layers of melancholy electronics, heavy thudding beats and droning guitars. The upcoming 7’ and supporting shows along with the just-so-enticing teaser video released for the new record get The Nimbus some deep support here at The Deli, and the early but definitely warranted Artist of the Month nomination. Check out the teaser below.
Tone Royal
We profiled Tone Royal a few weeks ago just after the release of his damn solid debut album Rushing Greatness, and since even that short time ago, it seems like this man’s star has risen considerably. Right now he’s up for not just our Artist of the Month, but also is promoting himself in the San Antonio Music Awards poll and is climbing the charts at Reverb Nation. He was also recently featured in a My San Antonio article on emerging twenty-something’s from the area, and he’s got a big show lined up at The Korova (8/19). He was also set to be a feature at Weird City Hip-Hop Fest until its quite damn depressing cancelation about nine hours before this posting, but despite that sadness (that’s really a blow to the whole area’s hip-hop scene, and not just Tone Royal), this young man is making waves with the smart delivery on his new album, which you can read more about in our recent review here, and which you can listen to in full below.
The Villas
It’s pretty hard to make an impact with just a few songs available, but like Boss Battle above, The Villas have done just that with three lovely tracks from upcoming record Long Player. The Villas do a thing that’s very rooted in the traditional indie rock formula of the 90s and 2000s with little electronics, a punk-gone-nicer feel and big and/or surfy guitar chords over some twangy bass and beats that change-up pretty frequently. Vocals that equally snarl and smile and lyrics like stand-out track Julie’s that say “It seems to me/You’re the apple on the tree/Waiting for the sun/It’s my time” that hearken back to indie rock’s roots in approachable suburban-era good if a little cynical feelings make these three tracks stand up as some of the best Austin indie of the year, and make this young band quite intriguing indeed.