It’s cold, man! I hope you’re hunkered down with your comfort food of choice because this song is serving fireside umami. Austin quintet Cast of Thousands released their EP Useful People earlier this month, and weather like today, where you may be bending your ear a little closer to the radio, calls for a little fun puzzle for your ear to follow.

While the band’s influence stems all across the college and garage rock genres, “Serpo,” serves big Pavement and Built to Spill vibes. And that endorsement is golden in my book. Max Venderver’s nimble fingers are effortlessly working overtime on this bright, earworm melody, but the ensemble moves together; every layer is distinct. And while the heart of the song has an undeniable 90s college rock influence (not a complaint), the harmonies and vocals make it fresh and uniquely their own. It could inspire Stephen Malkmus to reach out to the Heavy Heavy, or hey, why not these guys.

“Serpo” is from the Useful People EP, out now.

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As Love Austin Music Month marches on, I’d like to revisit one of my favorite Studio 1A sessions from 2024 and celebrate a new victory. Geto Gala, the rockstar hip-hop duo of Jake Lloyd and Deezie Brown were our November 2024 Artist of the Month, and they headlined our Free Week Show a few weeks ago at Stubb’s Indoors. Hot of the release of Major League at the end of last year, they were part of the 2024 Sonic Guild class and were awarded $10,000 this past Saturday at the 11th Annual Sonic Guild Ball. Which means big things are coming next.

To celebrate this huge victory for one of our favorite artists at KUTX, and to show you what you’re missing in case you haven’t yet seen Geto Gala live, here’s one from their November Studio 1A Session.

Geto Gala plays a SIMS Foundation benefit show Saturday, February 9th at Antone’s with NOLO and Semihelix.

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There’s a slight, but unlikely chance you haven’t been turned-on yet to the Austin country trio Next of Kin, but you’re certainly familiar with the work of its members: Lili Hickman, Madison Baker, and Caelin. As impressive as these three are in their own right, together they are transcendent. It’s not just the gut-stirring, deeply relatable songwriting or the great hooks, it’s the harmonies and synchronicity. Oh my God is it the harmonies and synchronicity. They truly have the same magic that brought together the Highwomen and Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou. Next of Kin is that for their generation.

“Mean Streak” is the trio’s 2nd single. All three members trade-off on ruminations about really wanting to be mad about something or someone, but doggone it, you just can’t. So you’re just mad at yourself instead.

“Mean Streak” is out today.

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We’re halfway through Love Austin Music Month, so let’s check-in. How have you shown your love for Austin music so far? If you’re feeling behind, fear not, here are two opportunities to get your live music fix pronto.

Austin power trio Parker Woodland have never shied away from expressing their discontent with the world, sometimes incorporating church chorus-inspired harmonies to drive home that things like faith and disappointment aren’t mutually exclusive.

But their latest single is a far darker feat than the trio’s archives. The well of patience is gone as are the days of politely appealing through simple humanity. The die is cast, and the reckoning demands answers and change.

you see Parker Woodland twice this week: tonight at their Hotel Vegas residency show at 6PM with trio Brian, and this Saturday night at the 11th Annual Sonic Guild Ball at the Long Center.

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Hip-hop, like any genre, can serve many purposes: not only can it grip your soul with stories of regular people trying to make a living in their country that’s been institutionally designed to work against them, but it can also grip your soul in a soft way, with a mantra: a meditation on a promise. And it’ll make you feel real good.

Austin quartet Sweet Limb brings hip-hop back to its core: talented creatives who realize they’re at their best when creating together. Blending inspirations from your favorite poetic 90s hip-hop groups to Stevie Wonder, “Good For You” is almost like a prayer. A steamy, sensual proclamation to just be good to your beloved. The piano melody really falls in line with the rest of the rhythm section, driving the backbeat while Chris Robinson’s smooth vocals lay out for you the acts of service that come with his love. Trust me, you’ll be directing the music video shot-for-shot in your head during this beauty.

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Time to dust off the ol’ Audiosurf game from your college days and get ready for your newest beat-driven meditation. Brother’s Franklin and Graham Pittman are Orca Dork, an Austin-based experimental instrumental duo who have spent the last ten years working on their debut, hip-hop inspired album Experiments With Found Objects. And yes, it can take a decade to properly pull-off an all-samples album: just ask the Avalanches.

“Sleepy Pilot” has a gorgeous, shimmery flow to its foundation, dotted with slightly distorted vocal clips from early film and television. Like the title implies, the song glides you across the astral plane at a moving-yet-meditative pace, so you can just sit back, engage the autopilot, and let it happen.

“Sleepy Pilot” is from Orca Dork’s debut album Experiments With Found Objects, out now.

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Who says psych-rock can’t come with badass near rock-opera harmonies? Austin’s DAYEATER certainly doesn’t. And throw in some power pop? Honey we are off to the stratosphere courtesy of an 80s He-Man cartoon-style music video.

Jesse Lee fronts the trio, pulling off riffs that give two handed-players a run for their money. Lee’s power on the axe and mic is matched by rhythm section Chris Brockett and Tom Jackson. It’s a tour de force that ebbs between full adrenaline and hellish harmonies.

Hello, Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Aerosmith can take a break. We’ve got a new theme song for the Rock n Roller Coaster.

You can celebrate the release this Thursday night at Vinyl Beauty Bar on E. Cesar Chavez.

The post DAYEATER: “Between the Otherside” [PREMIERE] appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The ladies of Ley Line are back, baby, and they’re looking forward to bringing us a string of reunion shows this April. To get us excited, they’ve announced their Live at the Pershing EP (out later this month) and gifted us “Agua Do Mar,” their take on the Brazilian folk song “Memorias do Mar,” an ode to sailors that as Ley Line’s Kate Robberson puts it “represents the constancy of memories amid the turbulence of life.” A perfect tune to represent the quartet coming back together.

A long-standing favorite of Ley Line’s live shows, “Agua Do Mar” starts slow while Emilie Basez’s nimble guitar fingers create intrigue. The song builds layer-by-layer with a direct trend to the building energy that leads to a groovy, folksy romp that I believe even the Brazilian sailors of yore would deem a bop. And stand-up bassist Madeleine Froncek’s solo is the icing on the cake.  It’s a true showcase of everything you love about the quartet: harmonies, hip-swaying grooves, and transportation to another part of the world.

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Austin-bred songwriter and guitarist Nilsa grew-up in the throws of the local punk and metal scenes, but Nilsa, like the rest of us, contains multitudes, so she’s brought in rhythm section Jesse Maciack and JJ Pereira to become Nilsa No One, blending the rawness from her nurturing with her haunting vocals and emotive contemplations that come naturally.

In “Lucid Dream,” she speaks to her personal struggle between trying to maintain the bigger picture and just living her life and finding the peace and harmony between the two planes, a constant struggle a lot of us relate to. She’s cracked what I like to call our Significant Insignificance. And when Nilsa’s joined by her own harmonies, you feel that moment of revelation right there with her, somewhere deep in a dark, covenly forest.

“Lucid Dream” is on the Cracks In the Pavement EP, out now. Check out their EP release show this Saturday at Hole in the Wall.

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Austin beatmaker Blake Schmidt has released a string of instrumental mixtapes under the moniker Schmiddy for the last three years, all the while working towards something more comprehensive. Schmiddy’s background in composing for short films in college for grades to composing hip-hop tracks for fun has led him to last Friday: the release of Schmiddy’s debut album Lightning In A Bottle. The album is not only a showcase of Schmiddy’s brand of beatmaking and production, but of his talent for sourcing and matching the right vocal talent for each track and creating something true to his background: cinematic.

“Nebula” features Nairobi-based artist Andyah as vocalist and co-writer. Her vocals are light but rich, working in tandem to the movement of Schmiddy’s groove. Think of a camera slowly panning down a bolt of layered red velvet with an intoxicating fire burning in the background. And it’s that right kind of spicy that makes you want to sensually slow dance, even if just to yourself in the mirror.

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