Each week, we’re showcasing three mostly unknown Austin acts we’ve discovered on Bandcamp, in the hopes of bringing them From Our Living Room to Yours.
Quitters – “Bright”
I’ve got a soft spot for rhythm driven indie rock, there’s just something about a good groove and a simple beat that’s hard to resist. So even though I’m a bit late to discovering Quitters’ “Bright” single (it came out last summer), I’ve been compensating by pretty much running it on a loop throughout the week. With a playful, four-to-the-floor beat at its center and a hushed, sing song vocal over top, “Bright” has the timelessness of a lost 45, a secret favorite that could have come out 10, 20, 30 years ago. Quitters also just released a demo from what appears to be an upcoming release, so with any luck, “Bright” is just a small taste of what’s in store for the group.
Twin Vision – “I Believe in Drugs”
Thanks to a guitar riff that’s an evil combination of T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy” and the Pretenders’ “Message of Love,” Twin Vision’s “I Believe in Drugs” is immediately engaging. That doesn’t change when Michael Kristoph’s vocals join the fray, but Kristoph’s enjoyably antagonistic style is unexpected, trading out as it does the sweet swagger of Bolan and Hynde for a lyrical snarl that’s reminiscent of Handsome Furs frontman Dan Boeckner, who also happens to be a black leather clad guitar hero. Twin Vision’s current incarnation as a duo makes the Handsome Furs comparison all the more apt, but even at their most ferocious, the Handsome Furs don’t go as hard as Twin Vision does throughout their unjustly short Ice Cream EP. Twin Vision are also in the middle of a Berlin excursion, so don’t be too surprised if the duo come back to ready to blitzkrieg.
I Am the Albatross – “Nashville”
I am the Albatross is a hard act to peg, their sound a mixture of psych-rock swells and southern rock stomp, with their ghostly epic “Nashville” serving as a glimpse into a beautifully alien world. While the dominant sound in Austin folk these days seems to be a take on the gentle bearded troubadours that defined Seattle more than half a decade ago, I am the Albatross’ “Nashville” is haunting and alien, full of menace and fire and a funeral march rhythm. Jesse Berkowitz’s voice is a jagged confession, his guitar a mixture of bayonet stabs and cannon fire chords barely contained by Marc Henry’s sparse, well-arranged drums. For the bulk of its more than five minute runtime, “Nashville” sounds like a building in danger of collapsing, which makes the climax that arrives in its last quarter all the more devastating, a dynamite blast of fills and leads. This is doomsday folk rock, southern-style, and no army of delicate beardos could ever stand a chance against it.
– Nick Hanover