What We’re Listening to Right Now

Blakchyl x Hyah! Beam broken communications from the outer rim

I first saw Hyah!'s core songwriter David Alvarez, also saxophonist of the Medellin Collection, back up Austin hip-hop original Blakchyl in the latter band at Hot Summer Nights last September. The evident cohesion now results in a hand-collaged, three-song collaborative EP. Charmingly warped, effectively brief, and psychedelically soothing – if there are aliens out there, I hope their messages sound like Blakchyl and Hyah!'s broken communications from the outer rim. The collection holds "sh!t don't stop" at its core, a swirling alternative R&B taste of Blakchyl's vulnerable verse (debuted years ago in Austin group Mindz of a Different Kind). Tantalizing jazzy percussion and conversational snippets power an addicting one-minute title track, hearkening to Hyah!'s suave catalogue of genre–flexing arrangements in the indie-pop realm. Luckily, the short operation previews a full album incoming under the same name, due January 27. Find more evidence of the fruitful new partnership on YouTube in the VHS-styled video for "29 Freestyle." – Rachel Rascoe

Empyrrean's Down-to-Earth Black Metal

Practitioners of black metal typically don't come across as "relatable." More often, you'll see bands shrouding their music in mystic secrecy with no available lineup information, decorating their album covers with darkened forests, shrieking unintelligible lyrics about Norse mythology, and overwhelming the mix with otherworldly amounts of treble. While that checklist hasn't been ignored by local riff conjurers Empyrrean (who've trudged an extra snow-ridden mile into deliberate, unGoogleable obscurity by misspelling their name), the sonic environment suggested by December's debut full-length is refreshingly unique, less "mythic cavern far beneath the earth" than "basement practice space shared with three other groups." Very rarely does black metal sound like a few musicians in a room, tremolo picking their way through existential pain. Chalk it up to a crystal clear (but hardly sterile) recording; passionate, down-to-earth vocal wailing; and the band's remarkable knack for spinning melodic, chug-happy guitar parts without an ounce of heavy metal cheese. – Julian Towers

Homemade Bangs Writes "Love Letters"

The starry-eyed underbelly of a lovesick West Campus bedroom-pop scene bestows an earnest tune for the misguided hooligans eating dandelions to get high and loaning their hearts to the wrong people. Homemade Bangs empathizes with title track "Love Letters" off their upcoming second album, shuffling out up-tempo guitar distortions in spades alongside a cassette-era veneer over Dan Mabray crooning about the heart-wrenching uncertainty of declaring your love for another. Just like a tryst of spiraling romantic feelings trapped inside of the mind, this song floats around like a lovebird in the brain. – Mars Salazar

The Applicators Return With "Adelfa Drive"

The Applicators are back. For uninitiated late millennials like myself, the long-running Austin quartet's chased contagious disaffection, salty-sweet choruses, and classically informed punk catharsis since 1999. After past touring with Bad Religion and Buzzcocks, the established troupe offers their first new material since 2015 streaming-era entrance Scandal. Reuniting with producer Chris "Frenchie" Smith, New Wave-sided Halloween single "Sound of Cars" leaned into spacey reverberative propensities before a familiarly raging hook. Opening with the steadfast combo of spoken lines and rocket ship riffs, December's "Adelfa Drive" embraces full power-pop potential. Recommended for fans of nicely unembellished 2010s rock recordings like Bleached and Joanna Gruesome, but the Applicators paved the way for all that. – Rachel Rascoe

DotdotDotdotDotdot's Samurai Style

On Montoya, Vol. 1, DotdotDotdotDotdot offers a conceptual take on a samurai who wakes up with his eyes gouged out of his skull – the ensuing lyrics reflect a sense of being lost in limbo. The eclectic rapper's ability to assemble a multitude of facets into one cohesive storybook hits new artistic heights. Literary references flood opener "Outlaw Country" ("I'm a protagonist to my own story with allegories and catalyst") while "Ambrosia" stars the Teeta and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire join Dotdot and Ndgo(dot)Montoya for an addicting explosion of classic hip-hop. – Morgan-Taylor Thomas

Kingcaid Sings a Wasteland

The most surprising element of Michael Kingcaid's solo bow with the heavily tilted This Land Is Your Wasteland. This Land Is My Wasteland is just how beautiful the LP sounds within its torquing angst. The What Made Milwaukee Famous frontman lays out a provocative spin, musically intricate but with chiming hooks that range from early 2000s-era indie blog sounds ("Just Build a Metaphor") to operatic rock ("Austerity") to loping Vetiver-esque folk ("The Other Way Down"). Back half of the nine tracks broods a bit more with the dark "OMG," Elliot Smith-ish "(At Least) You've Got It Made," and languid closer "How'd You Feel." – Doug Freeman