The infectious guitars and pop-infused rhythms of mid-2000’s rock continues to reintroduce itself through the charismatic incarnate bands like Spectral Sea. Tenured musicians who cycled through a slew of different acts throughout the years, Spectral Sea brings together an eclectic amalgam of rock n’ roll talent. This local quartet has found their voice as they ride the release of their debut Ep Stop/Start. Their first single "Three Vultures" tips the hat to the popular SoCal sounding, emo vocal stylings of the 2000’s pop-punk scene. Singer, Al Behnke, navigates the song structure with a creative discipline that emphasizes the pounding chorus’ zeniths and isolates the fragile and jangled guitar work.  Spectral Sea plays 9:30 PM on Sunday, August 6th at the Mohawk as they continue to pound the pavement, making sure their name stays on the tips of Austinite’s lips.

Flying under the radar and hailing from Waco, The Dimaggoios are pumping adrenaline through their amphetamined post-punk pop. Vocalist and guitarist, Brian, projects a unique falsetto vocal styling that is akin to Matt Bellamy of Muse. The ebb and flow of their music is theatrical and bombastic, with inspiring builds and euphoric choruses. Songs like "Fast Trip" don’t leave room for navel-gazing, and the staccatto guitar riffs keep the listener on edge. The quartet has an upcoming show at the Mohawk with other local bands Honeyrude and The First Part on August 3rd. Get out and experience the Dimaggios firsthand!

 Float Fest is a bold endeavor that has paid off once again. Bringing thousands of music-loving Texans to the Cool River Ranch in San Marcos, in the middle of a scorching deadbeat Summer, has liability written all over it.  However the festival founder, Marcus Federman, along with his crack team have pulled off another spectacular festival weekend for the fourth year in a row.

The festival, which has grown larger every year, hit a new high this year in terms of the lineup, attendance, and overall production.  While an increase in ticket pricing, long entry lines, and scorching weather threatened to stem the flow of attendees- those setbacks were overshadowed by the impressive lineup and galvanizing atmosphere that made the slight inconveniences worthwhile.

The lineup of music acts were split down the middle, with half of them local and the other half national headliners:

Best 3 Local Performances: 

Sweet Spirit – Fresh off the road on their national tour, Sweet Spirit crashed back into the Austin crowd with a raucous performance on Sunday afternoon.  Lead singer, Sabrina Ellis, showed her trademark spunk while guitarist, Andrew Cashen, smashed guitars. Tearing through a hit list of songs like “The Power”, “Baby When I Close My Eyes” and “Rebel, Rebel” their performance was a refreshing shot of energy on a torrid day.

Walker Lukens – Playing with his band that looks straight out of a modeling agency, Walker Lukens proved his eclectic pop prowess while wearing a white suit in 100 degree heat on Sunday afternoon.  The emotive songwriter captured the crowd with emphatic songs like “Every Night” and “Lifted” while charming the pants off everyone simultaneously.  Walker’s charisma and music skills make his appeal undeniable and his songs make his future bright.

 Ume – While this local hard rocking trio played at the peak of heat wave on Sunday, they still managed to rattle the audience’s skulls in a good way. Lead singer, Lauren ‘LL’, demonstrates that big things can come in small packages with her whirring guitar and banshee-like vocals.  These Austin veterans continue to impress with their dedication to devastatingly awesome music and their longevity in making it. 

Best 3 Headliner Performances:

Cage the Elephant – This bluesy rock band form Bowling Green, TN is the embodiment of the rock n’ roll spirit.  Lead singer, Matt Shultz, parades around the stage like Jagger in his prime.  The passion, urgency, and exuberance of each band member creates a synergistic explosion of unparalleled proportions.  This young sextet stole Sunday night from Weezer and MGMT, as their brilliance couldn’t be contained.

Passion Pit – Michael Angelakos might be stepping away from music for a hiatus but his Saturday night performance showed that he and his band are still at the top of their game. Crushing songs like “I’ll Be Alright” and “Lifted Up” are the nectar from which pop hook-loving millenials feed.  Angelakos is a great example of a veteran artist who doesn’t take anything or any show for granted by giving his all on every song.

Mac Miller – While I have to admit, I was not a fan of Mac Miller prior to seeing his live show, the Pittsburgh rapper is persuasive in his power to impress.  Commanding a large crowd that hung to every lyric, Miller weaved in popular samples to his music that created something like a block party. While there might be more talented musicians and rappers in the world, no one can say that Mac Miller doesn’t know how to throw down.

3 Performance Let-Downs:

MGMT – Uninspired and mopey, MGMT came out flaccid and flat-lined in front of a crowd the desperately wanted to dance with them.

Mike Jones – The Houston rapper dropped the ball for the second year in a row. Jones seemed out of it and passed the mic to his posse for the majority of the show.

Neon Indian – More of a personal preference, but Alan Palomo chose to play all of his newer tracks, which aren’t bad, but refuses to acknowledge his Chill Wave roots that got him there.

Float Fest still remains a favorite for campers, tubers, and vibers who find reasons to attend that are not directly related to the music. Expect more stages, bigger headliners, and more extra-curricular activities as this atypical festival continues to blossom. Kudos must be paid to a team that somehow found a way to succeed in the Texas Summer in a city dominated by ACL and SXSW.

 Float Fest takes place this coming weekend, and while the festival’s lineups have gotten progressively massive over the past few years, the honorable festival bookers have remained loyal to Austin artists.  Joining MGMT, Weezer, and Passion Pit onstage will be a slew of local musicians who represent some of Austin’s most electrifying live shows.  

Sweet Spirit – Arguably the most recognizable local act on the fest lineup, ‘Queen Sabrina’ never skimps on a live show. Raucous, empowering, and theatrical, a Sweet Spirit show is as magnetic as it is unforgettable.(4:45 PM Sunday @ Sun Stage)

Walker Lukens – One of the most creative singer/songwriters to claim Texas as home, Walker has put in the time to get where he is.  Eclectic pop diddies exude from his pores, while his hair may be the most recognizable in the austin music scene. (4 PM Sunday @ Water Stage)

Ume – A trio that levels all that stands before them, Ume emits swerving art-rock that rattles ribcages. Lead singer, Lauren ‘LL’, is a deceiving package of wanton destruction that shatters the stereotype of the girl-next-door. (3:15 PM Sunday @ Sun Stage) 

Los Coast – A soul-rock outfit on a hot streak, Los Coast is turning heads at every performance.  Trey Privott brings ‘Stax-worthy’ vocals to a swirl of multi-genre rock that ebbs and flows with volcanic zeniths. (2 PM Sunday @ Sun Stage)

King of Nothing – Originally hailing from H-Town, King of Nothing, brings enlightened rhymes to ‘Skrewed Up’ beats. Daren Napier channels the angst and pain of a life full of troubling transitions to elucidate a crisis of identity, and the music is stunning. (2 PM Saturday @ Sun Stage)

Birthed from members of Shiny Ribs and Roxy Roca, The Savage Poor embrace alternative rock guided by social idealism with a fervent undercurrent of angst. The brothers, Jeff and Ben Brown, elicit a cinematic magnetism that infects the totality of their new debut album, The Grown Ups. Plotting to release their debut at One 2 One bar on July 26th, The Savage Poor explores the gamut of emotions from drab hopelessness, to inspiring exuberance. What brings each of their songs together, is the passion found behind each guitar lick and vocal which harkens back to a simpler time. With a reputable and talented lineage, the members of The Savage Poor are set on blazing through Austin eardrums on July 26th.

 It’s a rarity to see a band hit the ground running quite like Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad have in the past few months. House shows, a Do512 event, and a few other tune up gigs have all lead up to their much-anticipated upcoming headline show at the Mohawk on July 25th. Ominous drums, twanged guitars, and the otherworldly howl of Will Reynolds all coalesce to evoke a behemoth of a sound that is as sinister as it is hard-hitting. Reynold’s impeccable vocals oscillate between a theatrical Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and a Southern-styled Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. Bonham-esque percussion from Marty Chronister serves as the backbone from which the surgical guitar-stylings of Cam Wren spring forth, comprising equal parts power chords and face-melting solos.

 Frills and gimmicks are lacking as this trio smashes through a short but transcendent thread of songs that are now finally available on their debut EP Fever Dreamin’. The jittered punk diddy "Werewolf of Love" is an earworm of the highest order while "The Night Terror" slow-creeps into one the most cathartic choruses of recent memory. Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad don’t need time to figure themselves out, they stand ready to unleash their hell fury unto us with wicked abandon, and you’d be a fool to deny their sacrament on July 25th at Mohawk.

-Lee Ackerley

Emily Bell released her record, Kali, over a year ago but with all that has transpired since, she decided a music video would help visualize that record’s overall message – empowerment. The video alternates between shots of the Women’s March that happened earlier this year and older footage of past women’s marches. The catchy backbeat mixes equal parts Riot Grrl and mainstream rock, with literal lyrics to paint a clear message. Emily Bell continues to create accessible music while ensuring that it serves a greater purpose.

Girls That Never Die by Emily Bell on VEVO.

 A fourteen year hiatus usually proves the death knell on almost any artistic endeavor, save the ones that are fueled by an undying passion.  Knife In The Water has that passion and a healthy dose of integrity to put forth their fifth release, Reproduction. Released in March, 2017 the album is a return to their signature slow unravelling soundscapes that peak blissfully only to return to the spatial solemnity. While there are no propellers attached to this vehicle, the glide is so mesmerizing and soothing that you’ll forget where it was you had planned on going.  A tip of the hat to these music veterans who are about to head out on for most of the band, will be their first touring gig in decades.

Shoegazed and sultry, "The Claw" by Drag Me Over The Rainbow is the first single on the forthcoming debut EP from the Austin psych trio. Staccatto guitar riffs wind around soft reverbed vocals, the song then opens up into passionate choral release of frustrated energy. Boston transplant and frontman, Mat DelloRusso, understands how to use his arsenal of musical talents to create a dazed and druggy soundscape that lulls the listener into a trance before tearing through the ennui and injecting amphetamined rhythms and percussive destruction to bring his audience back down to a hard-rocking reality. While cues are taken from Shoegaze pioneers ike My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, Drag Me Over the Rainbow is part of a more accessible Austin psych scene that refuses to flatline through each song, instead opting to implement heavy pounding choruses and thrash through bridges.  While you might hear shades of other Austin bands like the Black Angels and Holy Wave in their music, Drag Me Over the Rainbow has a unique style whose trajectory is aimed into a uniquely uncharted awesomeness. Get the full experience by seeing their live show complete with 60’s psych light projections and oils, compliments of DelloRusso.

 Psychedelic videos, college dropouts, slacker vibes all swirl together in the Austin-based surf punk band, Soaked. A true Austin creation, Soaked formed after guitarists Jimmy Minter and Maxx Eaton met hanging around East side music hotbeds like Hotel Vegas. Soaked springs from the same vein as other mischievous surf bands like Jacuzzi Boys, Diarrhea Planet, FIDLAR, and Wavves. However, the high energy live shows and sugary pop melodies carve a unique sound that got the attention of Yippee Ki Yay Records who helped release the band’s debut album, I DON’T WANNA WAKE UP TODAY. Warm reverb emanates from the simplistic yet addictive guitar sound, while the good-natured attitude of the band makes their care-free charm somewhat irresistible. A perfect score to the languid and balmy Austin Summer weather, Soaked is soon to be creeping through your poolside speakers.

-Lee Ackerley

 80’s nostalgia percolates through all fissures of this danceable synth-noir track called "Trapeze Artist Regrets. Night Drive seemingly indvertently created this tack:"Trapeze Artist Regrets was never suppose to happen. We were writing something else for a short film and became bored, so we changed the bpm, started shifting things around and all of the sudden we had this groove we liked.  We just started working backwards from there. The title came first, a sorta metaphor for disaster; it’s about watching someone you care about make the same mistake over and over again and not being able to do anything about it. Just hoping they pull through.”

Comprised of Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon, Night Drive is a Texas-based electro duo who draw inspiration from sci-fi and modern electropop. “Trapeze Artist Regrets” is from their debut self-titled record, which will be out on June 16^th. Having toured alongside CHVRCHES, Austra, Robert DeLong, and Miami Horror, Night Drive is getting ready to hit the stages again. 

 Do you dig virgins? You will after you hear the brand new self titled EP from the Born Again Virgins.

    I had the distinct pleasure of listening to the EP ahead of the official release and I was quite impressed. But perhaps impressed is not the right word. Impressed is what I might be if this were the band’s 3rd or 4th release… Rather I was blown away that what I was hearing was the debut release from this band!

    Some of the most distinctive qualities of the Virgins’ music exist in pairs. Their EP has a very mature sound while maintaining the raw energy one might expect from an initial release. The vocals are incredible, nay badass, without losing the femininity of vocalist Anna Roenigk. The melodies, rhythms, and grooves of Chris Garrigues on guitar, Taylor Turner on bass, and Paul Piñon on drums are a striking blend of punk-grunge power with softer sounds and progressions. The juxtaposition of sounds hearkens back to the good ol’ days of bands like the Pixies yet the Virgins still present fresh, unique, and contemporarily relevant music. If you only go to one EP release this year make it the Born Again Virgins May 19, 9pm at Hole in the Wall. Be there or be square!

-Cory Huennekens