Summer Fun Playlist: Release Shows TBA
By Kevin Curtin, Fri., May 29, 2020
Black Vice, The Alchemist's Vision: Rotting carrion feast of melodic black metal, atmospheric yet compositionally astute, with minor key tone-throwing riffs speared by beaked singer Vultuur's screams.
Cold Jackets, Affairs of the Heart: Efficient hooks and six-string swagger, Adam Johnson's a low-key rock god, while drummer Mark Henne's delicious synths and beats varies LP 2 from smooth to scorching.
Cactus Lee, Tarantula: Kevin Dehan's calming voice, sweet as cantaloupe, hovers like a hammock atop a green lawn of finger-picked guitar while singing amusing prose for the everyday Texan.
Drakulas, Terminal Amusements: Catchy dystopian pop for coming-of-age delinquents. Thematic set explodes with Mike Wiebe's power-up choruses and the superb punk guitar of Zach Blair.
Israel Nash, Topaz EP: Beautiful isolation reigns over this sweet-voiced songwriter's unfaltering five-track rural report, a momentous mix of Laurel Canyon folk, psychedelia, and brass-hued R&B.
PR Newman, Private Lives: Effervescent bedroom rock with clever arrangements for the overthinking slacker ("Venmo Me") with backup vocals sweeter than lemonade.
RG Lowe, Life of the Body: Reflective and mature avant-pop – occasionally sweating on a progressive disco dance floor – could station Balmorhea's co-founder as Texas' equivalent to Perfume Genius.
Sailor Poon, Sailor Poon's First Album: Shoulder-shakin' saxophone riffs over floor-tom thudding post-punk and psych busts at the seams with attitude on topics including foot domination.
Shakey Graves, Look Alive EP: Ghostly as the convection currents rising off hot concrete, Alejandro Rose-Garcia's boldly mixed offering demonstrates his propensity for fusing the abstract and catchy.
Sweet Spirit, Trinidad: Musically crisp, thematically self-reflective platter of tortured and triumphant pop, with Sabrina Ellis cutting through via masterfully measured delivery.
