Blog: Covert Curiosity

Hunters - "Acid Head" via Aagoo Records : "Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Hunters' music is charged with wild energy -- led by singers/guitarists Derek Watson and Isabel Almeida. Mixing boy/girl harmonies with super catchy guitars, their songs tend to get stuck in your head before you even finish listening to them. Somewhere along the way they got with Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs who mixed their upcoming EP, and former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha on the production end. The result is exactly what you would [...]

Austin-based rock band The Heartless Bastards recently signed to Partisan Records (Deer Tick, Middle Brother) and will release their newest album, Arrow, on February 14, 2012. The album was produced by Spoon drummer and co-producer Jim Eno at his Public Hi Fi home studio in Austin. Lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Erika Wennerstrom is now accompanied by an expanded lineup that includes drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebagh (who both played on the Bastards' first-ever demo recordings) as well as a second guitarist in the form of Austin native Mark Nathan. The Heartless Bastards, [...]

(Beat)en Senseless is a documentary being made about the rapidly growing electronic/beat scene in Austin, Texas. All filmmakers and artists involved in the production are volunteering their time, simply inspired to bring attention to Austin's underground culture. The crew is seeking help to fund the production of the project, and are asking people to donate via Kickstarter : "The film will focus on three local emerging crews: Exploded Drawing, Applied Pressure, and LNS. We will dive into the personal lives of three particular artists: Butcher Bear, Boombaptist, and Lo-Phi. We want to provide viewers with a heartfelt [...]

T Bird and the Breaks is a funk-filled group out of Austin. Tim Crane leads the parade on vocals and piano, backed by an unstoppable rhythm section that consists of longtime partner in crime Sammy Patlove on drums and Cody Furr on bass. Johnny "Too Bad" Allison and Sasha Ortiz, on guitar and vocals respectively, add the icing on the cake. Their sound that pulls from the origins of hip-hop and old-school soul, blending it into what they call chunk music. Properly defined: Chunk Music (noun): A form of twenty-first century American music consisting of [...]

The Parting Gifts were born out of a collaboration between Greg Cartwright (frontman of The Reigning Sound) and Coco Hames (lead singer for The Ettes). Cartwright and Hames first worked together in 2009, when Cartwright was invited to produce an album for The Ettes. Cartwright and Hames discovered they were musically compatible and decided to collaborate on a one-off single, with each contributing one song. However, once they set aside some time to write material, the ideas came fast and furious, and before long Cartwright and Hames had enough songs to fill an album, so the single gave way to [...]

• The Parting Gifts - Keep Walkin'

Rachel Fannan - "Let Me Sing You Love Songs" Speaking of Sleepy Sun , here is what former co-vocalist Rachel Fannan has been up to. She has not only developed a touring solo repertoire, but also formed an all-girl group called Only You . For the video above, Fannan duos with Brandon Intelligator of Slang Chickens. Fannan self-released her debut album "Deeper Lurking" in 2008 under the moniker Birds Fled From Me and has recorded with several artists including UNKLE, Will Oldham, Jeff Wootton, Slang Chickens, Residual Echoes, Antarctica Takes It, James Rabbit. [...]

San Francisco psych rock powerhouse Sleepy Sun will be releasing their highly anticipated third album - Spine Hits - on April 9th, 2012 via ATP Recordings. The album was recorded in the California desert with producer Dave Catching (ex-guitarist for Queens of Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal.) Over the past few years this five-piece band has solidified its place among America's elite neo-psychedelic bands with a powerful live show and a slow-burning brand of music that mixes earth-shaking guitar riffs with a softer, melodic folk underbelly. Sleepy [...]

via Bill Baird's digital home : "Finishing up my order for "Career," a sort-of thrash record, if I'm capable of making one. Sure to confuse a few, delight some others, and perhaps slip by the rest. Vinyl w/ gatefold, poster, clear blue vinyl, chapbook of ramblings and writings and a few photos. CD with digi-pack and said chapbook. Cassette with said chapbook. All orders receive immediate download of 2 songs, full digital download on release, and a download of the accompanying film, also called 'Career,' which is funny [...]

When Ume's incendiary video for lead single "Captive" premiered it was shown on mtvU 24 times in 24 hours. It has now moved up the ranks and today made its debut on MTV2's "120 Minutes." The clip features the band performing in a burning abandoned house along with some scorching guitar heroics by frontwoman Lauren Larson. The Austin-based trio will be heading out on tour with indie rock dynamos Cursive next week (new dates have been added). The tour will begin in Denver on February 12 and hit Los Angeles on February 24 before ending in Omaha on March 3. [...]

• Ume - Captive

"Black Dunes" comes from Texas instrumental post-rock quartet This Will Destroy You's latest album, Tunnel Blanket , out now on Suicide Squeeze . The video was directed by Malcolm Elijah (Pure X "Surface", "Easy"). The track was also released as a 7" in multiple colors, along with the B-side "Black Dunes (Holy Other Remix)." More info on that here . This Will Destroy You is on tour now through late February with stops along the East Coast and back to Texas. See the dates on facebook [...]

Austin band Hundred Visions is led by singer-guitarist Ben Maddox, with Eric Loftis on drums, Wes Turner on bass, and Johnny Krueger on guitar. The band is three parts Corto Maltese, the Arcade Fire-meets-Wolf Parade inspired band that showed so much promise just a couple of years ago. (See articles in Soundcheck , Austinist , Daytrotter .) With a lineup change and a redefined sound that bears comparison to David Bryne starting a garage band with Joy Division, Hundred Visions hit the scene in 2010. In April of 2011 they offered up their debut release in the [...]

Woollen Kits are a three piece band from Melbourne, Australia. The trio has sprung out of the garage with their self-titled debut album, released via Sydney, Australia's R.I.P Society record label. Its nine primitive, gritty guitar tunes straddle surf pop, proto-punk and garage rock. The album was mastered by Mikey Young, guitarist for Aussie favorites Eddy Current Suppression Ring and member of the garage four-piece Ooga Boogas , whose debut album never leaves my side. Woollen Kits are currently on a tour of the US - see the dates here . They also have [...]

"Sirens" is the first single from The Pack a.d.'s fourth album, Unpersons. Released in 2011 via Mint Records , the Vancouver-based duo of Becky Black (guitar) and Maya Miller (drums) recorded the album with engineer Jesse Gander and famed Detroit producer Jim Diamond (The Dirtbombs, The Paul Collins Beat, The White Stripes.) Read more about it here . The Pack A.D. - "Sirens" http://thepackad.com/

• Pack A.D. - Sirens

Magic Castles is a psychedelic folk-rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.; Formed in 2006, the band self-released their first three albums before catcing the attention of Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre), who will release the band's eponymous double album through his 'a' Records imprint on March 20th, 2012. The band is also slated to join Brian Jonestown Massacre on an East Coast tour of the United States in 2012. Inspired by the sounds of Spacemen 3, Skygreen Leopards, and Galaxie 500, Magic Castles employ warm Farfisa drones, hazy guitars, and bright vocal harmonies to craft songs that shift [...]

Graveyard is the Swedish offspring of bands parents were warning their kids about in the 70s. Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, the band formed in 2000 when Swedish doom/stoner outfit Norrsken split up and gave birth to two new bands - Graveyard, and Witchcraft. The quartet features Rikard Edlund (bass), Axel Sjöberg (Drums), Joakim Nilsson (Guitar/Vocals), and Jonathan Ramm (Guitar/Vocals). Their albums resurrect the sounds of 70's psychedelic rock, channeling Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and the Stones: Graveyard [...]

Cartright recently released their first music video, and it's one hell of a trip. The band shot the video for "Jass Song" about 6 months ago with Alex Nguyen at their house in Austin. The original idea was conceived by drummer Nick Cornetti, which then evolved into a swirling, mushroom-induced excursion of the mind. The leading lady role was donated by India Gail (who bartends at Cheer Up Charlies), and front man Ben Russell plays the fellow going out of his mind. Russell is also the mind behind the band's artwork: [...]

Luke at Austin Music Weekly just started up this bi-weekly radio program that spotlights various bands and artists in Austin. The first episode features songs from Tiger Waves, The Daily Brothers, White Dress, Leatherbag, Wild Child, Sleep Good, Residual Kid, and Shorty Long. Austin Music Radio by Austin Music Weekly Playlist and linkage: Tiger Waves : "Fireworks" The Daily Brothers [...]

The Reverberation Appreciation Society and The Black Angels present: Austin Psych Fest 2012 April 27-29 at Emo's East & Beauty Ballroom Weekend passes will be on sale Saturday January 21 at 12PM CST. LINEUP : Brian Jonestown Massacre The Black Angels The Black Lips Olivia Tremor Control Dead Meadow Wooden Shjips [...]

http://www.spoontheband.com/

Here is The White White Lights at the old Ghost Room performing one of the staples of their live set, "I Need $$$." Every time they play this song, people take notice. The band released their debut EP on Indirect Records , and were one of a handful of bands to appear in the documentary film Echotone . You can see more of this show at the link . http://www.thewhitewhitelights .com/