“Paper Cuts” features new songs and music videos from Austin artists. Listen to our playlist on the @austinchronicle Spotify.
No Desire, “Try Aging”
New project of Glaze members Firas Isat and Jake Villarreal, Shutterr leader JD Salazar, and Polyvinyl Records art director Janelle Abad, No Desire puts their saddest foot forward with debut single “Try Aging.” “Bury yourself in the clouds and never come down,” Abad sighs over a melancholy guitar line. “Everything you wanted disappears when you think it’s honest.” Despite its gloomy overtones, the track maintains an agile pace: Isat and Salazar’s trills uplift the murky melody and humming feedback offers in-the-room depth. By the end, Abad repeats, “I wanna try again” – not quite the song’s title, but a welcome, optimistic spin. – Carys Anderson
variety, “Plover”
Fresh off their debut live set, reeling post-punk fourpiece variety takes off with recorded release “Plover.” A collab between Borzoi’s Rhys Woodruff and Zach Wood, New Strangers’ Nick Stout, and Jordan Emmert of Porcelain and Pleasure Venom, this new venture kicks away other projects’ grimy tone for lightspeed garage-rock. Woodruff’s vocals snag droning slacker-ism over eager guitar – the sonic equivalent of a Looney Tunes skedaddle. The single’s accompanying video, directed by fellow Borzoian Taylor Browne, only strengthens the argument. Claymation, sock puppets, a superhero bird, and a sentient TV come together under VHS fuzz for a collage of barreling adventure. – Laiken Neumann
Shakey Graves & Jess Williamson, “True Love Will Find You in the End”
From the excellent Lone Star artist-mixing Texas Wild compilation, released last fall to benefit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, this pairing of two starry-eyed, country-loving pop practitioners finally uploads to streaming. Perfect timing, the song arrives from the lo-fi, high-impact catalog of the late Daniel Johnston, who would have turned 63 on Monday. The new duet stretches out with spacey synth and pedal steel, an unhurried extension of the searching subject matter on Shakey Graves and Jess Williamson’s respective 2023 records. Williamson, who traveled from Marfa to join Graves onstage for producer Walker Lukens’ Paramount Theatre variety show last month, lends extra intrigue to the line “this is a promise with a catch.” – Rachel Rascoe
francene rouelle, “Love Wasn’t Enough”
Iced with sugary, ribboned resonance, francene rouelle begins her princess reign with a diaphanous, pop-R&B realization of her pain from a toxic relationship. Marking the first single released under local Asian American-forward label mHart – spearheaded by producer-manager waverly – “Love Wasn’t Enough” leans into liquefied melodies and riffs that underline the 22-year-old songwriter’s vocal agility. The first-generation Filipina glistens over a reverberant bass and crystallized swishes and synths, flowing into an unfettered path toward catharsis. Debuting EP finally a fairytale on April 19 as mHart’s second signing after promqueen, francene rouelle embraces a feminine, frilly aura in presenting her narrative. – Angela Lim
Amigo the Devil, “The Mechanic”
Second single from the upcoming Yours Until the War Is Over, “The Mechanic” encapsulates what makes Danny Kiranos, aka Amigo the Devil, special: folk-shaped melodies supporting plainspoken lyrics that face truth squarely, without pathos. Accompanied by acoustic guitar and gently enhanced by nearly subliminal strings and piano, the song’s protagonist admits to his faults and acknowledges the hurt he’s caused, looking for a path forward without asking for grace. “I know you weren’t broken,” he sings with neither self-pity nor disdain. “I just needed something to fix.”Seeking forgiveness without asking, Kiranos lets the underlying need remain obvious but unspoken.“ – Michael Toland
Box Step, “Zombieland”
Indie rock newcomers Box Step ponder the woes of 21st-century existence on this charmingly cheerful apocalyptic prelude. The group, made up of four friends and fronted by vocalist Sofia Ortiz Neidhart, have spent the last year playing shows around town ahead of their art-rock-saturated debut LP Left Foot Forward, released earlier this month. Dominated by a funky bassline and an-all smiles guitar riff, “Zombieland,” the album’s stripped-down opening track, is a sharp reckoning with all things metaphysical. Punchy one-liners, thoughtful musings, and perceptive witticisms abound, breathing new life into modernity’s sea of the walking dead. – Elizabeth Braaten
Paper Cuts
A version of this article appeared in print on Jan 26, 2024 with the headline: Paper Cuts
This article appears in January 26 • 2024.