If you live in Austin then you already know there’s too much damn music to keep track of. And sometimes you just want to sift through it in bite-sized chunks. We totally understand. Allow us to introduce you to The Latest Toughs, five tracks from five bands to get you up to date and make each of your workdays a little easier.
Bombón “Dame un Beso (ft. Fat Tony & La Comadre)”
Between the rain and a night of unexpected debauchery, the only thing I want to do this Monday is chill the fuck out. So I appreciate Austin label Discos Peligrosa dropping Bombón and Fat Tony’s new collaboration “Dame un Beso” today. The track has the tropical Houston crew serving up an especially laid back beat for Fat Tony to do his thing over, emphasizing his slack charm and slinky vocals. The track is undoubtedly a summer jam, but it’s a distinctly airy and light kind of summer, which makes it perfect relief here at the peak of an unsurprisingly hot and humid August in Austin.
Discos Peligrosa is throwing a release party for the single this Friday, August 19th at Empire Control Room with Fat Tony and Bombón
Jay Kirk “#makeachange”
Generally I’m against hashtags in song titles, but Jay Kirk’s “#makeachange” is so sincere and catchy it deserves a pass. Over a Jurassic 5 indebted Ruler Why beat, Jay Kirk “shocks people with new facts like his name was Raiden,” schooling shit talkers and doubters with on point lyrics and a velvet flow. The song is unexpectedly swervy, flawlessly pulling off a pretty drastic key change in its second half so that Jay Kirk can switch up his flow and show off his verbal dexterity, but it’s never flashy or cumbersome.
Holiday Mountain “Bump That Bass”
Holiday Mountain’s new album Shia is a major leap forward for Austin’s most seductive oddballs, which you should already know if you’ve been keeping up with the band’s singles. “Bump That Bass” is the latest offering and it wastes no time delivering on its title. Laura Patiño coos and slithers her way through the subwoofer quaking synths and drums, detailing an infatuation that makes it hard to do anything other than dance. And what better way to deal with that than by provoking the same feelings in listeners?
J Shaq- “Ghetto (ft. Tank Washington)”
emune “Get Loose”
Local collective Always Proper has been flying under the radar while releasing some of Austin’s chillest instrumental music. If you haven’t introduced yourself to AP’s catalog, their new series “Ear Candy” might be the best place to start. Featuring some of AP’s best talent producing catchy, bite-sized singles, “Ear Candy” is a delicious series, as emune’s introductory offering “Get Loose” proves. In a little over a minute, “Get Loose” unveils a number of intriguing elements, from dreamy synths to b-boy samples and lo-fi drums. Like any good candy, it’s short and sweet and addictive, but unlike confections, it won’t rot your teeth no matter how much you consume it.
Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Ovrld as well as Loser City, where he mostly writes about comics. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with his friends and enemies on twitter: @Nick_Hanover