Encoring two brawny Brown Sabbath volumes that channeled prime Osbourne/Iommi boom and doom, Afro-Latin funk/rock ninepiece and Grupo Fantasma offshoot Brownout marches forward with a wink on Over the Covers, the locals’ first original music since 2012’s Oozy. The four-track EP pricks sociopolitical consciousness with lead track “Evolver,” a hefty effort of Seventies soul muscling its essence through a hard rock strainer. The horn-heavy “You Don’t Have to Fall” features a big power hook and warning to “watch your step.”

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This article appears in August 11 • 2017.

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Kahron Spearman is a journalist and writer with bylines including The Austin Chronicle, Austin Monthly, Consequence of Sound, Texas Highways, and the London-based journal The Break-Down. He currently serves as Senior Editor at Atmosphere TV.