The first time I heard the phrase “charley horse” was as a little brat needling and buzzing my way below the belt on that Hasbro “board game” Operation. Fast forward to college, when I experienced my first abrupt leg spasm…and yeah, they’re not fun. So whether the term conjures thoughts of cursory surgery techniques or just a pain in the leg, there’s an indie rock outfit here in Austin eager to reclaim the mane and breed a positive connotation for Charley Horse.

These five friends rode in with their first pair of demos right around this same time last year, and followed it up that May with their appropriately-titled debut studio EP Summer. And even though Summer only clops in at about thirteen minutes over four tunes, it showed off Charley Horse’s versatility by galloping and cantering across power pop, psych, and alt-rock. Well, next Friday Charley Horse is set to hitch listeners in once again with their sophomore offering, Foothills

Foothills keeps it short and sweet at three brief tracks, which is honestly plenty enough to pad out their live performances and studio output as Charley Horse matures from foal into yearling. So while die-hard MLB fans count the days until March 30th, NBA heads dribble around in anticipation of the 30th Anniversary All-Star game this Sunday, and sunbathers count the clouds until spring, today Charley Horse chimes in with a bit of profound fashion-and-posture advice. If you’re chasing serenity, do it with your chin up, your eyes on the horizon, and your “Ball Cap” tipped high.