Who said that energy and introspection can’t co-exist? It wasn’t me. And it certainly wasn’t Small Engine Fire. The new Austin band is made up of members of Lola Tried and Quiet Company, and together they create something a little nostalgic, like taking a ride out to Wilco with your Grandaddy. Small Engine Fire throws your ear for a fun loop by having traditional rock instrumentation and sound guided by an almost theremin-like synth melody. It’s like purple neon arrows guiding you around a Midwestern City.

Small Engine Fire follows their breadcrumb trail of singles with Better By Now, an EP that really showcases the band’s controlled pairing of thoughtfully paced introspective lyrics with an energy that keeps the train on track.

“Good Old Days” is from the debut Better By Now EP, out now. You can celebrate the EP release tomorrow night at the Hole in the Wall with Hex Girlfriend and TV’s Goodtimes.

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We love a side project, don’t we? Especially when ace collaborations are involved. For a couple of years, Ley Line’s Emilie Basez and Kate Robberson have been creating music as a Her Mana, honing an even earthier and more ethereal sound with the same incredible complex guitar noodling, harmonies, and wide range of world instruments that lead us right back to, well, the ley line.

“Oh This Moment” is the latest from the duo, beautifully blending terrestrial and the modern age into something almost impossible to describe, so let’s hear its magic instead.

You’ve got several chances to catch Her Mana this month: at their Thursday night residency at the Pershing all month long and a special performance at the Blanton Museum of Art this Saturday.

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After many years of winning the hearts and ears of Austin music lovers both as a solo artist and as a member of the psych outfit Acid Carousel, Gus Baldwin’s name has been in the mouths of bookers and promoters for years, and more recently, he formed Gus Baldwin & the Sketch. And while it still has the tight, catchy hooks of Acid Carousel, the Sketch hangs out in the garage: it’s fuzzy, bold, and full of adrenaline.

Their debut album The Sketch came out last Friday, and while you’ve been hearing their garage rock song “Luxury Television” on the KUTX airwaves, today’s Song of the Day leans a bit more on the power pop side, hitting more like a harder Hot Hot Heat tune than Ty Segall.

“She’s Gone (Arigato)” is just pure fun and adrenaline. It’s punchy, danceable, and it might take you back to the iPod commercials of the mid 00’s. Truly the only bad thing about the song is that it ends. And as highly anticipated as this album has been, the wait was worth it; the sketches were turned in because they were ready; not because it was 11:30.

“(She’s Gone) Arigato” is on The Sketch, out now. You can see Gus Baldwin & The Sketch before they take the album on the road on Thursday February 20th at 29th St. Ballroom with Grocery Bag, Blank Hellscape, and Guiding Light.

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Winnepeg’s Glassreel is a masterclass on the hard-to-nail trifecta of layers, technique, and breathing space. Nothing is simple, but everything is effortless. Following their 2022 debut Lustre, the group returns with “Myself Instead,” a song that shows the further fine-tuning, cohesion, and boldness the quartet has been building on.

While the Belle & Sebastian and Mazzy Star inspirations remain, “Myself Included,” indicates an upcoming album where those nods will be in mere glimpses because, honey, Glassreel is now staring into the looking glass; it’s all them. And it’s very exciting.

“Myself Included” is out today.

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If Mama tried to steer you right, Lola Tried is here to steer you wrong. So very, very wrong. Known for masterfully blending the emo hooks of teenage Millennial yore with garage and power-pop sensibilities, the group has always been like the adult charcuterie board to pop-punk’s Lunchable.

After nearly a decade under those influences, Lola Tried comes back with “Degrader,” a raw departure from slick hooks and curled-lip lyrics. In fact, the curl has widened into something purely guttural, and the corner of Lauren Burton’s mouth is leaking venom-laced blood. And trust me, she’s not looking for a handkerchief.

This evolution of Lola Tried is as dark in tone as it is clear in direction. They’ve shimmied right over the awkward stage partly due to founding members Burton and Ray Garza bringing Gianni Sarimento and Austin Norman into the fold to fully actualize this new sound. The subject matter of “Degrader” is dark and regrettably relatable. It’s brave and powerful; two things that have always been part of the Lola Tried DNA.

“Degrader” is from Lola Tried’s upcoming EP, out later this year. You can celebrate the song’s release tonight at Chess Club with Stella and the Very Messed and Housewarming.

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Rolling into Austin like a quiet, yet alluring fog from the Midwest and Appalachia is Valley Flower, a groovy bluegrass quintet that brilliantly weaves in those regional influences to offer something a little different to the stalwart, homegrown scene here in Austin. And 2024 was very fertile for Valley Flower. They opened for several national bluegrass/folks acts, held a residency at Sagebrush, played festivals, and had songs featured on some of Spotify and BMI’s most coveted playlists.

“Run Buddy” finds the string band putting a little alt-country veneer on their bluegrass soul, and it suits them well. The self-produced EP shows the band is a true ensemble: every layer is distinct and each instrument has a voice.

“Run Buddy” is from their self-titled EP, out tomorrow. You can see Valley Flower at their EP release show this Friday at Sam’s Town Point.

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I know you’re already fantasizing about your first road trip of 2025, so here’s a new add for that tried and true playlist.

Austin’s Yahtzee Brown takes a myriad of inspirations to create his own brand and generation of country-psych, or what I prefer to call Cosmic Country. And while the songs of Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons bring us back, Yahtzee Browns moves the narrative forward in time, writing songs that speak to a generation who thought “born post-9/11” defined them…until the pandemic happened to rock their formative years. Freshman year of college on ZOOM from what should now be your old bedroom? No gracias.

“Take It Back,” gives us a peek into Yahtzee Brown’s inner monologue, perseverating on a relationship that’s run its course. And isn’t that something we all inevitably do when we have nothing but ourselves and the road?

“Take It Back” is from the album You Got This, out now.

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As Love Austin Music Months enters the home stretch, let’s visit a recent Studio 1A from an old friend. Skateland played our Free Week Show in 2023, and the next month he was our Artist of the Month ahead of his debut EP New Wave Revivial. In the almost two years since, he’s played SXSW each year, made an impression on the LA music scene, enjoyed attention from national publications, and opened for Foster the People last October for ACL Nights. And all the while, he’s been a PhD candidate here at UT. I know, right?

Skateland returned to Studio 1A earlier this month to perform songs from his sophomore EP Joyce Howell, How Are You? And I’ll say this: he’s really mastered how to bring the bedroom sound to a full crowd. He brings his behavioral psychology expertise to “Postcards,” a reflection on screen-focused bad habits as experienced and empathized by the general human condition.

Joyce Howell, How Are You? is out now.

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Kirk Smith has been kicking around Austin and our airwaves for some time, and last Friday he released “Julian.” “Julian” opens with a melancholy, bossa nova shuffle, setting the stage for a worried heart. But it’s not love, it’s sadness for someone you watched from afar decades ago. Lamenting the tale of a John Bender or Daniel Desario-type, seemingly addicted to making every wrong decision with the rest of the world only seeing a lost cause, or as Smith deems it, a “Golden Fool.” But the reality is this is a person who has fallen through the cracks and deemed defective before they could drive a car.

The story in the present day brings us up-to-speed with the titular Julian, a barfly regularly being swatted out of establishments and now perpetually on the road, never easy to nail down. It’s a beautiful ballad that pairs well with a chilled glass of Zevondel.

“Julian” is on In Waves, out now.

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The imagery of rebirth and change in winter might be the only thing you remember from your Robert Frost lesson in English class, so let’s go back to school and compose a short essay on the significance of featuring this song during this season. Just kidding.

Austin’s Futon Blonde have spent the last decade making fun, indie-pop tunes with tight, catchy hooks, but now, a change is in the air. The quartet is taking a darker turn, leaning more into the post-punk, dark alternative space. And it’s working. But fear not, the hooks are still there. They might just be giving you a little pit shove instead of snuggling up against you.

Here’s a hint of what’s to come.

You can see Futon Blonde at a show Saturday, February 1st with Lonesome Ranch at Drinks Backyard in Southeast Austin.

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