Recently coming off of a North Eastern tour in support of their full length album, Mexico, Mirror Travel is keeping the momentum going with the release of their video for ‘Stoner’. Directed by Liz Pearlman, bursts of kaleidoscopic color flash amidst grungy, black and white imagery, perfectly symbolizing the lo-fi meets garage rock meets dreamy shoegaze tone of the album. Imagine the lovechild of Best Coast and Sleater-Kinney (and who wouldn’t want to imagine that?!). Formerly known as Follow That Bird, the four year old three piece band has been picked up by Austin label Modern Outsider and is gearing up for a 101x Homegrown Live show on December 21st. –Written by Jodi Lang

Mirror Travel-Stoner from Liz Perlman on Vimeo.

Within seconds of listening to Abandoned Warehouse‘s newest album, It’s Over, you will be hooked on the tranquil yet catchy riffs and soothing melodic vocals. The sound is expansive in the sense that the more you listen, the more you hear the instruments’ subtleties.

It is quietly strong and beautiful; the perfect album to get you through these short cold days that Austin’s winter has brought. Light a candle, close your eyes and get lost in the depths of Abandoned Warehouse. –Written by Courtney Pierce

Pulling from the same pool as Lana Del Rey and She and Him, our own local 60’s songstress, Jazz Mills steps out with a spring in her step, daughter on her arm and a killer beehive. You may recognize her from Cowboy and Indian, an Americana band she’s been providing vocals for over the years here in town. Watch her hypnotize you with those vacant, exaggerated doe eyes and trippy retro visuals in the video below. For a taste of her "lollipop" sound live, see her at Strange Brew this Saturday, 11/9/13, for her EP release. -Written by Charise Sowells

There’s nothing like a true love revival. Leave it to Roxy Roca and Outlander Productions to turn this classic concept into a zombie music video premise just in time for Halloween. From the coffin to the stage, watch the life creep back into Taye Cannon’s bones, and the crowd’s, as he shows up for the after party of his own funeral to reunite with his true love. –Written by Charise Sowells

Every now and then there’s a band whose music truly takes you somewhere. Dead Tree Duo is the sort of journey you wish would never end. This duo rocks harder than a lot of 4 piece bands out there and they’re doing it acoustically.

In their more intense songs such as "Sisyphus" and "The Hanging of Mary", the vocals are reminiscent of System of a Down and Tool in terms of tone, energy and airtight harmonies. "The Harvest" starts off as a glorious sounding ode to Nick Drake but soon becomes something all their own as it whips around a dark corner and screams, "All things pass!" The words reverberate off the walls that were closing in around you just moments ago… 

Scaffold, is a debut album with depth. Emotions run high from beginning to end, genuinely shaping each and every song’s unique and at moments even theatrical environment. In listening to the lyrics, it’s clear that AJ Seidner and Mark Ford are men that have read a lot and asked life’s big questions. I’m not usually one for repeats but when you reach your destination at the end of this album, you can’t help but ride the wave again. –Written by Charise Sowells

On their new EP, The Hereticks deliver a moody little masterpiece. From the first strums of "I Only Pretend" to its reprise three tracks later, I was completely taken with this release. Warm guitars, swirling organs, and shakers populate the opening minutes, as well as enough references to dying stars, gravity, and evolution to firmly place them in terrain The Flaming Lips explored back when they actually rocked. In fact, the vocals even have that same charming quality as Wayne Coyne, anxiously straining for notes that might just be a hair out of reach. And I mean that in the most affectionate way possible.

Where the two bookend songs mine their spacy side, The Hereticks kick out the jams in the middle. In particular, "Promised Land" packs a wallop. It boasts a chorus worthy of The Strokes and a verse so smooth, it wouldn’t surprise me if these guys listened to Hall and Oates on the sly. In "Girl", the question is posed: “I’ve been paroled, now where the fuck’s my trial?” which is followed by a rip-roaringly fun guitar solo, the likes of which I don’t hear much anymore.

With only four songs, the EP feels brief. I think that has to do with how effortlessly it all comes together, the way the tracks bleed from one into the next. It feels assured and effortless, which means it had to be hard as hell to accomplish. I can’t wait to see these guys live. But most of all, I can’t wait until they do a full length. –Written by Josh Denslow

You’re out of scotch. You open all your windows and a slight trickle of the afternoon’s rain drips into the spongy grass outside. The perfect stillness of the night makes you wonder if you’ve come untethered from the world, a blip in a timeline that has already forgotten you. This trancelike moment, when others with weaker constitutions have abandoned hope, is precisely when the three members of Yum picked up their instruments and recorded their hushed bossa novas and fragile music box melodies. They did it to save you.

Imagine "The Girl from Ipanema" shipwrecked on an island made of tinfoil where it is perpetually five minutes before sunrise. Samantha Skinner’s breathy voice can at once be a soothing lullaby and a whispered warning. That tension is what makes this album so wonderful. Opener, "In My Room", threatens to burst from its quiet confines, the drums crispy in the mix but played with a gentle touch. When the distortion finally kicks in halfway through, there’s still that sense of unease, as if you don’t know the whole story.

The album standout comes at the end. "Medicine and Tea" is mysterious and atmospheric  like the best qualities of Blonde Redhead, a band that must come up a lot when discussing Yum’s sound. Skinner’s plaintive coos supplant the chorus in favor of a dreamy haze. After eight songs of late night reminiscing and nuanced discord, this is the perfect way to end their flawlessly sequenced album. That’s the magic of Yum, even after Take My Blue has ended, it’s still with you, echoing ever so slightly in your head. You don’t have to spend those late night hours alone. Hear for yourself, in person, at their album release party on Friday, 10/18/13. –Written by Josh Denslow

Generally, I prefer singing to screaming but as far as screamers go, Vegatron will show you how it’s done. As the newest members of Eye in the Sky Collective, this heavy rock band out of Austin is releasing their single, "Shot My Fate", on Thursday at Mohawk during the AFI aftershow. Their album, Awakening, is scheduled for a release date next month. Opting for a no frills recording style, you’ll hear an honesty in this album that so many others have left behind. Check out this video for a teaser of what’s to come. –Written by Charise Sowells

Misay Day‘s Kate Robberson is turning another year older and celebrating with quite a few musician friends at Parish Underground on October 4th, 2013. Sharing the stage will be Michael Kiwanuka, Chave Do Mar and Attic Ted. It’s a special lineup for a special singer songwriter that we featured a few months back. 

Like so many other bands, Misay Day has recently undergone some changes. But unlike a lot of bands, they pulled through the tough times and got back onstage as soon as they could to prevent losing momentum. In case you missed our first write up, here’s a sample of their sweet and simply lovable folk music. –Written by Charise Sowells

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  

When I first read Bandhaus’ self-described tagline, "We play whiskey folk for whiskey folk," I immediately placed them into some Irish sounding category of music, which is simply not my bag. I was super stoked when what I heard was more of The Replacements and The Ramones than The Pogues. While Bandhaus does offer some sweet sounding folk ballads and lighter vocals on tracks like "Teddy Ruxpin" and "Sometimes I Look Like Jesus", at their core they’re a punk rock band that seems to have had more acoustic instruments lying around than they did electric. Don’t be fooled with the whole whiskey thing though, they’re really into gin too. –Written by Jodi Lang 

It’s official! We’ve just booked Spiderhouse on 1/18/14 for an evening of music featuring some of my favorite female fronted bands here in town, TBA. Partnering with The Deli are local companies such as GENaustin and MEOW Con who will be raising awareness about their female focused cause.

Men, women and everyone in between are welcome to come support these ladies on and off the stage and learn about some of the missions in our very own city that exist to support them. Sponsorships are in the works, bands are being booked. $10.00 at the door will not only get you into the event but you’ll also get a meditation CD to promote your own well-being once the night is over.

Another element to the evening is my goal to bring attention to the sex trafficking of underage girls. I read an article about it a while back, reached out to local organizations such as Restore a Voice and Allies Against Slavery, looked into broader initiatives such as Love 146 and have been researching to figure out how I can help make a difference. Then I saw this:

Art is always a powerful way to convey a message, perhaps the most powerful. I’d love to do some sort of performance video piece as part of the evening as well. If you want to be involved with any aspect of this event, please email me at thedeliaustin@gmail.com. See y’all in January! –Written by Charise Sowells