It’s damn hot outside. Lucky for you, our Summer Music Sampler is continuing in the delightfully air conditioned confines of Spider House Ballroom tonight, and this time out we’ve got a beach bonanza of beautiful bands. Except, you know, not on a beach. More of a bar really. Not a sand bar though…
Anywayyy, let’s dig into this bill piece by piece. Virgin Shores are a haunted surfy duo who have been steadily working on a mini-LP for the past little while. Like a more palatable The Intelligence, Virgin Shores are fans of minimalism and strong beats, Ira Henderson and Adrian Croom getting a surprisingly big sound out of their stripped down set up.
Madd Comrades have one more member than Virgin Shores and their sound is understandably bigger and bolder. On their fittingly named EP Brutalist, Madd Comrades blend the testosterone heavy sounds of fringe grunge acts with the dreamier tones and imagery of 4AD stalwarts like Throwing Muses and Belly. Don’t call it a throwback, though. Madd Comrades are smart and modern, sleek in the way only trios can be yet heavy enough to make even the best reinforced club walls shake and quiver.
Depending on the track, Schwein! have as many members as the rest of the bill combined, and their songs make maximum use of their increased membership. The band’s The Future is Gnar LP is an appetizing buffet of various vintage sounds, from glam to garage to Flamin’ Groovies boogie rock. Schwein! are at heart an unapologetically fun band, coating their material in swagger and style, operating on a careful balance of instinct and precision.
We may lack volleyball nets and bonfires and sand in unfortunate places, but this week’s Ovrld Summer Sampler is a party you’d be wise to attend.
Morgan Davis sells bootleg queso on the streets of Austin in order to fund Loser City, the multimedia collective he co-runs. When he isn’t doing that, he plays drums for Denise and gets complimented and/or threatened by Austin’s musical community for stuff he writes at Ovrld, which he is the Managing Editor of.