What We’re Listening to This Week

Dayglow

People in Motion (Very Nice)

In a dark bedroom, Dayglow’s People in Motion beams sunlight through the curtains. Principal and producer Sloan Struble turns up bright synths, wacky sound effects, and hella falsetto vocals on his third LP’s reach for indie-pop radiance. Built on bouncy bass and soft keys, opener “Second Nature” proves fluidity from the start, soaring between dance rhythms and Daft Punk pitch shifts across six minutes. The syncopated, almost reggae-winking “Deep End” maintains momentum, swaying over booming Eighties drums and Struble’s happy narration of feeling unstoppable in the face of adversity – a common theme throughout the record. Toying with various pop forms, People in Motion fully departs from the guitar-centric bedroom rock flair of freshman effort Fuzzybrain. The 23-year-old invokes light pop punk with chugging bass notes and stairstep harmonies in “Then It All Goes Away” before pushing the envelope further with jangle-pop melodies, crosswalk ambience, and funky slides in “Stops Making Sense.” In true Dayglow fashion, Struble signs off 36 minutes with the twinkling “Talking to Light,” a heartfelt love song – this time dedicated to his wife, Reagan. The track instructs the essence of People in Motion: Find something to love and do just that. – Kriss Conklin

Sunny Sweeney

“A master class in songwriting, sequencing, production, hooks, believability, you name it,” raved the Chronicle about country creator Sunny Sweeney’s fourth studio full-length, Trophy. Five years and a second d-i-v-o-r-c-e later, its successor gamely follows suit. Produced by the Dallas contingent of country baritone Paul Cauthen and Texas Gentlemen principal Beau Bedford, Married Alone seesaws between steely grieving – the double-decade Austinite always survivor instead of victim – and gritty renewal, more a message of empowerment than loss. Stations of romantic dissolution populate regret, of course. The title-track lament with Vince Gill and a stunning summation of the genre itself, “A Song Can’t Fix Everything,” both run restless, determined, melancholic. Yet the you’ll-be-sorry moments (like high-stepper “Someday You’ll Call My Name,” co-written by former ATX ace Brennen Leigh) buoy proceedings into the ever-hopeful, resilient-but-resigned Sweeney Land, especially when we reach rebound: leathery & ornery “Leaving Is My Middle Name,” literally horny “Wasting One on You,” and honky-tonk hookup “Tie Me Up” – a playful twister of fiddles and steel, and statement of strength through emancipation. – Raoul Hernandez

Chucky Blk

Charles Dwain Stephens has “99 problems and they’re all [his] fault.” Multiply that sum by the “nine different selves that are all dissing [him],” convert it to fathoms, and you just might have a measurement for the depths of introspection plumbed by the art-damaged MC’s work as Chucky Blk. Whether muttering maniacally or imposingly incanting, Stephens is the rare rapper whose tracks deserve a whole separate Genius page for flow alone. Each abstract verse gnarls into new forms by the anxious thrum of his delivery. Fulfilling the promise of his 2020 debut full-length, last month’s sophomore effort, a heartbroken concept album, utilizes tarot-derived framing metaphors and Madlib-with-a-head-cold sonics to examine the end of a long-term relationship. – Julian Towers

Alexi 8bit

Austin composer Alexi 8bit debuts delicate jazz vocals and a time capsule of her own creative metamorphosis in new EP Dressed in Blue. Grounded in a looping bass groove, I-just-quit-my-job opener “I’ve Had It!” sets a moody precedent for the five-track release. The UT alumna quickly brightens in the supportive serenade “Sunshine Honey,” diving deeper into her artistry with gliding chord progressions and warm, arcing vocals. Like its name, the title track spins blue as the singer laments false pretenses. In up-tempo kicker “Ghost,” spectral harmonies and whistling synths wrap Alexi’s 14 minutes of expressive experimentation. – Kriss Conklin

Atlas Maior’s “Basalt”

The second single from upcoming 2023 LP Hadal, “Basalt” nails Atlas Maior’s vision in one 5½-minute time span. Saxophonist Joshua Thomson and oudist Josh Peters write tunes that draw heavily from Middle Eastern maqamat melodies and adorn them with jazz harmonies, the M.O. here. Joined by drummers Stefan Del Bosque and Aaron Parks alongside (in one of his last Austin projects before moving to France) bassist Tarik Hassan, the Atlas duo encapsulates their very specific approach to expansive composition and improvisatory performance, foretelling Hadal as a record to anticipate from one of Central Texas’ most unique acts. – Michael Toland

Bad Markings’ “Statistics”

Fronted by Reno Feldkamp, fourpiece Bad Markings channels the avant-garde rock of LCD Soundsystem and Black Francis to spawn a behemoth of artistic masochism with “Statistics.” The debut single ruminates on the benefits of resigning yourself to mediocrity as another faceless number, offering consolation to the realization that you are the rule, rather than the exception. A sardonic message by a hopeful band in a musical mecca, or an early proclamation of Bad Markings’ creative scripture? “To be a statistic could be a relief.” – Mars Salazar

This article appears in October 28 • 2022.