![]() ![]() Like the rest of the world, Austin has recently witnessed a resurgence in print publications. One of his newest pieces was an excellent collaboration with Explosions in the Sky for the soundtrack to David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche. Wingo also lends that understanding of mood to his work as a film composer. The newest album, Ghosts Go Blind, expertly takes a somnambulistic journey through past regrets and experiences. Like Friedman, who penned songs such as “Ride ‘Em Jewboy,” “High on Jesus,” and “Asshole from El Paso,” Austin as a whole has a knack for supporting a counterculture that is able to pay homage to its Texas roots while keeping tongue planted firmly in cheek.ĭavid Wingo’s Ola Podrida project is lush indie rock with real emotional depth. Part of Austin’s “cosmic cowboy” era in the early 70s, Kinky Friedman played his brand of progressive country music in local clubs like the Armadillo World Headquarters. It’s easy to see her continuing in the footsteps of one-time Austin resident Joanna Newsom. Minimal, throbbing banjo and electric guitar serve as the bed for Williamson’s Leonard Cohen-meets-Lorde confessionals. With her new album Native State, Jess Williamson has created a thoroughly modern folk album. Explosions in the Sky, with their soaring, cathartic passages of electric guitars, are probably the most well known, but Balmorhea (a brilliant marriage of folk and rock composition with more classical instruments like violin and cello) and My Education (driving rock meets drone) are sound arguments against the idea that Austin is just for singer/songwriters. Maybe it’s the scenic landscapes that surround the city, but Austin is home to more than its fair share of instrumental bands. The spooling tape loops of Smokey Emery, Troller’s blown-out take on house music, and the krautrock stylings of Thousand Foot Whale Claw all find a suitable home on Holodeck. With a penchant for modular synths and drum machines, the label has released work by artists from Montreal and Los Angeles, but its core roster is home grown. Though long relegated to the shelves of obscure record collectors, the band will reunite this year for Austin Psych Fest, a three-day festival that includes classic acts like the Zombies alongside new-school psychedelia like Panda Bear and Oneohtrix Point Never.įounded in 2012 by members of several local bands, Holodeck Records has quickly made a name for itself releasing limited edition vinyl and cassette tapes. Psychedelic garage rock from the 60s, Golden Dawn released one album and quickly disappeared. This is the place to find new and used design books, work from up-and-coming painters and photographers, and local zines like Raw Paw, Raspa, and Jonny Negron’s erotic Adapt. Located on the increasingly hip East Side, Farewell Books is a hub for local artists and art enthusiasts. Though they carry everything from classic Alice Coltrane to the new Alt-J on vinyl, Texas artists like Bill Callahan, Parquet Courts, and The Black Angels still tend to dominate their best seller charts. Today, Linklater is deeply involved in developing the Austin film scene, which has recently produced indie pictures like Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher and Bob Byington’s upcoming Seven Chinese Brothers.Įnd of an Ear is the best in a city full of great record stores. More commercially successful than his (perhaps more zeitgeist-capturing) Slacker, this film is filled with Austin institutions like high school football, moon tower keg parties, and Matthew McConaughey. Though Austin touts itself as the Live Music Capital of the World, it’s often difficult to find venues for outsider music, making COTFG a blessing for the musical fringe.Ĭonsidered by many to be the quintessential Austin movie, Dazed and Confused was local director Richard Linklater’s revealing of the city to the world. While the venues they played in the 80s, like Liberty Lunch and Club Foot, are long gone, the band’s mix of rock, psychedelia, and noise has carried on as an antidote to the folk and country that has traditionally ruled the state.Ī local non-profit that serves as an incubator for experimental music and new media art in Austin, Church of the Friendly Ghost hosts performances by everyone from European free jazz greats to bedroom drone acts from down the street. Though possibly a cautionary tale, the Butthole Surfers story and aesthetic still ring true in the Austin music scene.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |