The definition of a ‘mountebank’: a flamboyant deceiver; someone who attracts customers through tricks or joke. While the new folk-influenced quartet who go by that name certainly dont need to use deception to gain an audience, they are flamboyant and light-hearted, which shines through definitively in their music. Formed in the Summer of 2016 after other music projects fell through, Mountebank recently released their debut EP Mountebank: Live From Lake Wobegon, which straddles elements of outlaw country, post-pop, and garage rock. The glue holding this tapestry of influences together is the positivity and joviality found in the DNA of the group that makes their charm irresistible. Mountebank is on a tear, playing shows, writing new music, and forging ahead with their new project that doesn’t need tricks or gimmicks to gain new fans.
Daniel Leopold has come to the existential crossroads that nearly every musician has had to confront at some point in their journey- whether to continue pursuing musical aspirations or to stick the proverbial "fork in it". The front man of Leopold and His Fiction wrote the new single "I’m Caving In" at a time when continuing to play music was brought into question. The saturated lighting, swirls of ethereal colors, and out-of-focus shots in the music video reflect the turmoil and indecision in the song’s lyrcis. Self-reflection also emerges as a dominant theme, as Daniel is shown quiically staring at different versions of himself playing music on outdated televisions. Success is rarely found without a healthy dose of adversity, and Leopold and His Fiction seem to have conquered their demons, at least for now, as they prepare to release their fourth album, Darling Destroyer, on January 20th, 2017.
Local surf-rock quartet, Shark Rider, features members from various other Austin bands that found commonality in the sun-drenched Summer vibes of rowdy beach music. Borrowing heavily from classic surf-rock pioneers like the Ventures and Dick Dale, Shark Rider mixes in their own signature sauce of New Wave hooks and infectious choruses. Shark Rider is releasing their first EP, "A Day In Paradise", which as its name suggests, functions as a perfect score to uplifting outdoor activities and night-long parties. The EP’s first featured single "I’ve Arrived" bounces to clean-cut to guitar strumming and dual melodic vocals, courtesy of Nowell Maluski and Joe Gardner. High-energy drumming, jangled guitars, and soaring choruses define this new upstart band that should be instigating beach parties throughout Austin venues very soon.
"I wan to fu** the sh** out of you" is the opening line to the song "Down My Throat" by the provocatively raunchy blues-rock duo, Hardcore Sex. Female lead singer and drummer, Bear Ryan, pummels her drumkit as her gritty and oddly seductive vocals swirl around Grandpa Johnson’s serrated guitar sound. The Austin duo shirks the ‘bells and whistles’ of polished rock & roll to embrace a raw and primal feel that could be mistaken for early Kills or maybe even the twisted, nymphomaniac, evil twin of The White Stripes. Hardcore Sex unapologetically drags delta blues influences through a pool of sexed-out lyrics, and thick unrelenting riffs to create music that would make an escort blush. The down-home duo release their debut EP, You Greasy Devil, on November 17th and, they’ll be celebrating the same day at the Hard Luck Lounge with an EP release party for those who want to let the debauched sounds of a wanton bacchanal wash over you.
The Austin music community is rife with ironic and self-serious bands, and SMILE is certainly not one of them. This six-piece power pop group, fronted by Jack Miles, can certainly light up the room with their sunny demeanor and chilled optimisitic vibes. Blending elements of soul with purist Beatles-esque melodies, the group released a sun-drenched single "I Dunno" to generate interest in their soon-to-be-released new album. Crooner vocals float over doo-wop inspired harmonies to create an atmosphere of love and postivity. While there is a strand of jam band DNA in SMILE, their music is overhwelmingly and unabashedly an homage to 60’s artists like the Beach Boys and Harry Nilsson.
Adrenaline-infused pscyhedlia pours out from the hard-rocking warped reality of the Thanks Light. Their new single "Family Jewels" begins normal enough with the hushed and seductive vocals of Zane Ruttenberg but quickly devolves into a chaotic swirl of reverb that is reminiscent of noise rockers METZ or Pissed Jeans. Thanks Light embraces the appeal of structured alt-rock but moreso relishes in it’s destruction, amidst a myriad of synths, gutteral growls, and shrieking guitars. "Family Jewels" is the first single off of the new LP Psychonauts, which as the name suggests, should be a mind-altering exploration into the fractal conscience of one of Austin’s more unique rock bands.
Self-described as ‘Ewoks operating the Death Star after a long night of Ewok partying’, Desilu, is an enticing blend of sonic reverb and angst-fueled garage rock that coalesces into a cosmic punk opera. Desilu’s recently released 4th album, Claws, springs from the eternal well of Austin influenced psychedelia but succeeds in cross-pollinating punk influences like the Black Lips, Jay Reatard, and Wavves into the genome as well. Jangled keys, winding guitars, and chanted vocals feels like a train on the verge of derailing at any moment, but this quintet of Austin vagabonds keep the momentum moving forward.Recent additions of keyboardist, Chris Horne, and guitarist, Joe Pechacek, may be the extra layers needed to complete this unique but pleasantly entrancing avant-garde outfit.
Malion are a trio of grunge purveyors who exude dirgy garage rock sounds with harrowing vocals.Having released their first EP back in 2014, Malion just releasedtheir latest EP, Troglodyte,which bubbles and ruptures into a sludge-filled void of musical darkness.The band’s latest music video for their song “Underground” mirrors their sound in it’s roughshod production and depiction of grimy downtown ennui.While Malion may still be an ‘underground’ band, they’ve got an oddly infectious disaffected charm that seeps through to listeners.Check out their new music video here:
Austin grunge trio, The Blind Pets, have been making waves since they formed in 2007 with their fun-loving riffs and high-energy hooks. While the band’s live show has been the focal point of their reputation, their new video for “Up All Night” is shockingly disturbing and morbidly comical to the point that they may see heightened recognition for music videos going forward. Enlisting the fearless and talented, John Valley, to create the video – the result is not your typical run-of-the-mill video.Valley, who has created stellar videos for other Austin bands like Sweet Spirit and A Giant Dog, doesn’t shy away from the gaudy or grandiose when creating video. In “Up All Night” we see Valley’s dark humor manifest into a bizarre murder/sex scene a la Devils Rejects or The Hills Have Eyes. The song is 3 minutes long, while the video is 7, which means there is plenty to see. Just don’t watch it at work;)
Blood Pumps comfortably blends smart song craft with interesting, accessible angularity; subtle counter points rhythmically and melodically with intelligent, almost-too-smart-for-pop lyricism delivered with Bill Stevenson’s elastic tenor. The marriage of Black Joe Lewis’ gut bucket guitar with Mike Brinley’s dry-cleaned guitar stands in direct contrast to the washed out reverb and effects heavy sound of many contemporaries in the rock’n’roll scene. All of these ingredients and brush strokes are tied together by an analog beat machine that Stevenson used to record material in between tours of his normal gig backing up Joe.
The five songs on Blood Pump’s EP display the prowess of three individuals applying themselves outside their comfort zone. Their new release,"Long Gossip", comes out in a stratling cacophany then cracks into a mid-tempo 3/4 groove then slyly resets int a 4/4 groove right as the guitar’s quick-cat-lash vertical intro lines delve into Ric Ocasek territory.
Crypt Trip’s latest EP Mabon Songs, their first release since their self-titled debut album, is filled to the brim with sound, featuring two heavy psyche rock jams and a soulful guitar track. This band, consisting of Sam on bass, Cam on drums, and Ryan guitar, has perfected the craft they showed on their eight-track debut album, and has delivered three new energized tracks on this newest release that is very much worth a listen. Each band member shows off their skills and passion for hard rock over the three tracks, as the vocals layer on top of the rich guitar sound and clear-cut beat. This perfect three-track mix of 70s-influenced rock leaves you looking for more when it ends, so click ‘Play’ and hear Crypt Trips’ newest work below.
Mamahawk is one of the Austin music scene’s emerging gems, a deeply soulful band that meshes bright electronics with warm, thoughtful vocals and acoustic elements to create some of the prettiest and more relaxing indie music to come out of the city in a long time. Today, we’re beyond excited to be premiering this up-and-coming act’s new video for the gorgeous ‘Reset,’ a melancholic video for a track from last year’s self-titled album, and, according to the band, the video ‘explores the push and pull relationship between our animalistic, primal urges and our societal conditioning.’ As Mamahawk says, ‘It is a call to simply be still and feel the life inside and around us, if only for a moment. Embracing that raw, instinctual side of ourselves may be the only way to truly be free in this world.’
It’s a video that puts its own intriguing spin on the trope of the man stuck in a cubicle who yearns for the freedom of wilderness, and locals will note a good amount of Austin-area locations, such as Plaza Saltillo and a particularly striking shot at the border of the forest still devastated by the Bastrop forest fires of the last few years.
The video is immensely relatable for anyone living the modern grind, tenderly channeling the ideas of being a wild being trapped in a static, constricting contemporary world into the symbol of a literal hawkperson (more specifically, a business hawk/person), and the thoroughly gorgeous music is a nice counterpoint to the initial bleakness of the video. As the narrative unfolds, the idyllic sound accompanies the rising action fittingly, and the emotional payoff here is solid.
This video should do a lot to bring Mamahawk’s glimmer to a larger audience, and in fact, you can see the whole thing live as part of one of Mamahawk’s sets tomorrow July 28 at their Mohawk show, which also includes such great local talent as Yuma, Shapescenes, The Khost and Chill Russell. Give the video a listen below, and if you like what you hear and see, find your way to Mohawk tomorrow for what promises to be an excellent night of music, or check out the full album at their Bandcamp here.
