When I think of Jane Ellen Bryant, the first thing that comes to mind is her vocal tool box. She’s not just a great singer; the control she has over her voice and the tricks she’s able to do with it are show stopping. She’s shows off this mastery in both the dance pop duo Jane Leo and her own solo work.

After the rousing success of Jane Leo, Bryant has returned to her solo work, but she’s brought in partner Daniel Leopold (the other half of Jane Leo) to fully actualize the next chapter of her music. Pivoting from her country pop style to a brooding singer-songwriter tone, “My Corner of the World” is a slow, reflective exercise stemming from her Saturn’s return, that lovely thing that happens around your late twenties where everything you’ve been running from or have known comes to a head and you, hopefully, go through a growth and ego death period where you redefine what’s important in your life, who you are, and who you want to be. I mean, Gwen Stefani wrote an entire No Doubt album about this.

“My Corner of the World” is out now.

The post Jane Ellen Bryant: “My Corner of the World” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Since the early 90’s, years before the Hold Steady was a twinkle in his eye, Craig Finn has been laying down his legacy. Now over 20 albums deep into his discography, he’s set to release his 6th solo album Always Been this April.

Finn calls Always Been his most narrative album to date, dropping into the protagonist’s life during a trying time: seeking a livelihood as a clergy man despite his lack of faith and his rise and fall in the process. It could almost be the sequel to MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks.

“People of Substance” is the lead single from the upcoming album, both produced by Adam Granduciel of the War on Drugs and backed by the band taking-up the session position. It drops us in at the journey’s beginning, writing to a former lover about taking inventory of his life, making peace and taking accountability, and alluding to what’s to come.  

“People of Substance” is from Always Been, out April 4th.

The post Craig Finn: “People of Substance” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

From the hockey rink of the University of Utah to the mean streets of New York City comes Persona 749. After being inspired through music heard at college parties, Landon Langenbrunner and Che Landikusic started writing music, but without real direction, they were making music from a place of fun, playing around in the sandbox until something stuck. What came out of that experimentation is a fun quintet blending rock and new wave for a full-party band experience.

“Stereo Girl” is dancy tune that bumps around the ring with varying degrees of energy: when you think chaos is about to erupt, Persona 749 brings it back to center with a catchy hook…or a cowbell. And I’d reckon they’ve come full circle, now being the band on every college party playlist.

“Stereo Girl” is from the upcoming album JOCK ROCK, out February 28th.

The post Persona 749: “Stereo Girl” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

New Orleans’s Maddy Kirgo writes music not only akin to the eclectic, all-embracing attitude of the Big Easy, but also to the sounds currently pouring out of its venues, or in her case, the buskers on the corner. To that end, her sounds simultaneously evokes the California country rock sounds of the nudie suit era and the contemporary indie art pop sounds of artists like Weyes Blood or Faye Webster. And nearly seven years since her last release, she dropped Shadow On My Light late last year.

“Spare” is the first track on Shadow On My Light, opening the album’s theme of finding joy and just feeling good. Her soprano voice floats around her mellow, sun-soaked melody, setting the mood for the next half hour.

Maddy Kirgo performs this Friday at Hole in the Wall with Austin’s Fishplate and Dallas’s Brody Price.

The post Maddy Kirgo: “Spare” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We all know that when an artist is featured on a song, it’s likely that they recorded it remote and sent the track to the main artist. But how does it work when you’re a quartet and only 2 of y’all live in the same place?

To ask the members of Austin experimental psych band MIEN, it’s a lot of time, patience, and enthusiastic participation. Alex Maas of Black Angels fame leads MIEN alongside Golden Dawn Arkestra’s Rob Kidd here in Austin while the group’s other members, John Mark Lapham and Rishi Dhir call Abilene and  Montreal home respectively. And what started as a fun recording project on the side became a fully realized band after their debut song “Black Habit” proved to us and them that there are still many unturned stones in the psych realm, sparking the tank and turning gasoline into energy.

Now back with their sophomore album MIIEN, that’s M-I-I-E-N, out this April, the band came together in person for a Studio 1A before they hit the road for a UK tour this spring.

The post MIEN: “Evil People” (Live In Studio 1A) appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

L.A.’s Kowloon is truly a one-man operation. Songwriting? Him. Instrumentation? Him. Recording, production? Yep, all Kowloon.

Backed by a full library of effects and music gadgets from various eras, Kowloon released a string of singles last year, demonstrating his affinity for the darkwave sounds of the 80s a la the Cure and Bronski Beat. Ahead of his sophomore album out later this year, Kowloon has gifted us “Heart Begins With You,” a song that leans more towards current indie pop than a fresh take on the past, like a laid back TC Superstar. But that relatable bleeding heart power runs through. And despite the song’s overall laidback energy, no part is simple or just there to check a box. And remember, it’s all him.

“Heart Begins With You” is out now.

The post Kowloon: “Heart Begins With You” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Even a piping hot bowl of tokontsu ramen can’t fully shake-off today’s bone chill, but maybe the headspace of partying on a yacht in Mallorca can.

Austin native Tommy Francisco hit the scene in 2020 with “Fever,” giving him an international audience and proving his ability to blend his Latin and Indigenous backgrounds into a brand of R&B and pop that speaks to the general human experience.

After charting at #2 on the R&B iTunes charts in 2024 with this EP In My Feelings, he’s back with V.I.P., and he’s put us on this list.

“Tommy’s Groove,” is a smooth, lively romp of yacht R&B. Like a collab between Chromeo and Michael McDonald. But don’t worry, Tommy’s Groove is lactose intolerant: no cheese, all linen-suit boogie.

“Tommy’s Groove” is from V.I.P., out now.

The post Tommy Francisco: “Tommy’s Groove” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Auckland, New Zealand’s Callum Mower, known as Serebii, has always focused on pushing forward. Forward musically, forward personally, and now, forward into naked vulnerability.  

Serebii’s upcoming album Dime finds Mower at his most vulnerable. Historically, Mower has relied on his mastery of instruments and production with others, namely fellow New Zealander Arjuna Oakes, but he’s approached this album with deep introspection to produce something breaming with self-expression with his own vocals front and center.

That challenge and exposure have suited him well: it’s neo-soul with a capital S-O-U-L. Not only is Dime Serebii’s most realized and moving album yet, but he’s made it into one, unified, statement. Tracks are mere suggestions. So, let’s catch one of those stops.

“Verrans Corner” is on Dime, out March 28th on Innovative Leisure.

The post Serebii: “Verrans Corner” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Austin duo Slept All Day may be new on the scene, but don’t sleep on them. Together, the two create moving soundscapes a la Bonobo and Washed Out. And they use their vocals as an element of the scape instead of its driving force. And despite the electronic instrumentation and vocal effects, the music is very terrestrial, like pairing psilocybin with a sunset seen from an oceanside cliff.

Slept All Day recently crowdfunded enough money to take their music east to play stages across Japan (in fact, they’re leaving on a jet plane today!). But they’ve left us with a parting gift, a song from their debut album Learning How to Sink.

“Asteria” is on Learning How to Sink, out now.

The post Slept All Day: “Asteria” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Welcome! Today’s theme is vision and reimagining. After spending a childhood in Salt Lake City, Hunter Preuger moved to Austin to sow oats with his project Middle Sattre. The project quickly expanded into a six-piece…and then an eight-piece, and a year after the release of their debut album Tendencies, the experimental folk outfit returned to the studio a full octet deep to revisit the group’s song “Corrupted.”

This isn’t some half-baked reimagining where you just throw in an extra string part and call it a day. This is a full-blown rebirth of the song, and from the first note, you hear the differences. The heartbeat is still there, and it’s a brilliant practice in taking something that was perfectly solid and making it absolutely transcendent. And it’s that right kind of Mother Falcon and Elliott Smith energy that makes for a perfect chilly, cozy Monday.

 “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)” is out now.

The post Middle Satre: “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)” appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.