Local D.I.Y. songwriter Marcos Rocha [A.K.A. subcommander] dropped a new single earlier this month via their North Loop apartment studio. The barely-there vocal style attests to their environment, being quarantined in a room with parchment paper walls. Though a lot of musicians are adjusting to working remotely, subcommander’s process hasn’t changed much. “All of my work has been made with really limited resources. It just so happens now that the resource I’m lacking is human contact”. Despite the current state of music in Austin, subcommander brings us a mini-symphony in “Hacksawteeth”.
The track starts with a funeral march style piano/string arrangement, then comfortably transitions into a warm, lounge vibe. The light fingerpicking on the nylon strings sound like Rocha’s sitting in the room with you. “Don’t take the beaten path if it beats you to death” they whisper in the last line of the verses. Rocha is open about the feelings that went into creating the track, stating “One of my biggest fears is living a life that isn’t worth living, out of fear that I can’t have what I really want.” They added, “Meanwhile life is grinding away at you like a hacksaw & you’re expected to rise to whatever you’re handed using any tools you’ve got.” Rocha is well known in the Austin music community for their unabashed, guerilla marketing and no-frills approach.
In “Hacksawteeth”, subcommander took inspiration from fear, anxiety, false promises, Disney movie ‘Tangled’ and their cat Michael Caine. Rocha explains, “There is a horse named Maximus that has a whole personality and story arc. When the hero, Flynn, gets taken to jail near the end of the movie, I thought “Oh, obviously Maximus is just gonna go pay his bail” & that idea was really funny to me. That’s how I got the first line of the song ‘spent the night in jail / my cat paid bail.’ In a broader sense I feel like the song is about feeling helpless.”
The subcommander discography is packed with a healthy dose of lo-fi, trip-pop tunes & more recently, an emotionally charged split album with Lizzie Page entitled ‘The Mud/Goodwill’ via local net-label Digital Hotdogs. Rocha plans on releasing an EP with their power-pop band Luvweb by the end of the year. Until then, you can purchase and stream “Hacksawteeth” on all major music streaming sites. Make sure to follow their Instagram and Facebook accounts to stay tuned in.