The Bright Light Social Hour
Those rolling echoes across Austin throughout 2010 came from the townies, all those musicians who grew up in the glow of the live music capital of the world. Spotlight on The Bright Light Social Hour, an eponymous debut from a local quartet that did its homework as a college art-rock collective and deliver “A” results in nine tracks. BLSH flash their blingy, dance-flavored melodies (“Men of the Earth,” “La Piedra de la Iguana,” “Shanty”), shimmering retro soul (“Detroit”), and sing-along anthems (“Bare Hands Bare Feet”) polished into one distinctive groove accurately described as a cross between Franz Ferdinand and a funk revue, but their outstanding sound is indicative of something deeper. That Austin is experiencing a rebirth of music by a new generation nurtured within isn’t questioned – Sahara Smith, Mother Falcon, and Speak already answered that. The Bright Light Social Hour is a prophet of the future, calling the newly baptized to the altar of rock, and the old faithful back into the fold.
This article appears in December 24 • 2010.