Texas Homebrew Day Party
Spider House, Thursday, March 15
In what could have doubled as a panel discussion on alternative media in the digital age, Indierect Records, KVRX 91.7FM, and AustinSound.net stirred a fresh batch of local talent at Spider House. The Lovely Sparrows took flight early, juggling an array of oddball instrumentation while navigating their compelling debut EP, Pulling up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint. Trio Many Birthdays blew their candles out with multilingual, esoteric electro-pop, combining caffeinated ditties with dizzying dance grooves. Following massive technical difficulties, Bello Ragazzo used live and synthetic beats and dual guitars to craft moderately intriguing instrumentals that would benefit from occasional vocals. Prolific local songsmith Leatherbag spilled blood on the tracks with his Dylan drawl and acoustic tales from debut Nowhere Left to Run. Ghost of the Russian Empire heated things up with sweltering, psychedelic shoegaze, matched and doubled by Lomita, arguably Austin’s most underrated live act, whose coupling of cosmic country and raucous rock & roll recalled the Rolling Stones. Coffee, cigarettes, and indie rock: just another beautiful day in the ATX.
This article appears in March 16 • 2007.