Drinking beer, rotting in bed, and making music with the best of friends – these everyday moments metamorphose into sacred memories on Eli Josef’s third and final album. The sometimes mournful, sometimes jubilant self-titled project serves as an alt.country time capsule of a young group navigating their local Austin/San Marcos scene. Citing the tiresome balancing act of releasing music as both work and art, the Happen Twice signees announced their choice to take a step back from self-promotion. But first, lead vocalist Josef – alongside bandmates Jonah Brown, Coy Hollar, James Caton, and John Ziola – resolve to have some freewheeling fun. Tone-setting opener “Cowboy Therapy” draws inspiration from Eighties monster truck derbies, while upbeat “Animal Habits” wrestles wry humor out of existential dread: “Consciousness is giving me way too many tests/ I’d rather be drunk without purpose.” To saloon-ready piano lines, pedal steel sendoff “Sasha” transforms small-town fatigue (“How many times must I drive this road?“) into forward-facing optimism (“Change is something that I thought I’d never find“), marking one chapter’s end and another’s beginning for the band. Farewell for now, Eli Josef, and thanks for the good times. 

Eli Josef

Eli Josef (Happen Twice)

This article appears in SXSW 2024 Festival Guide, Part II.

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