Austin Sound

Here’s another little golden nugget out of Denton. We’re not too sure what the name Baruch the Scribe is all about, but it does have a much nicer ring than Judson Valdez. Maybe. Still, we can’t argue with the music, which is a nicely layered and folk pop that hints a bit towards a cross between Page France and The Accident That Led Me to World. Valdez debut as Baruch dropped last year in the form of a intricately intimate 6 song EP titled (Let Us Call Them as the World Calls Them) Evil Memories. Why yes, let’s. You have two chances to make some Evil Memories of your own this weekend as Baruch rolls into town. Tonight, Friday, April 30, he’ll be setting up shop at the Parlor along with Steve Arceri and Mermaid Blonde, and tomorrow he’ll be at Lambert’s with the Sad Accordions. Get a taste of the Scribe below with the track “Isn’t It Pretty to Think So?” off of the EP.

All the Austin hipsters these days got you down? Well, here’s a night just for you and your curmudgeonly old Nineties rocker ass, a celebration of the time when Williamsburg still referred to a colonial tourist trap and not a haven of bad clothing and life decisions. (Bring back the tri-cornered hat!) This one should be fun. The Blue Flamingo used to be the raucous punk venue celebrating the gutters of Red River before it went the way of all clubs. Now the space is occupied by Plush. HA! This Thursday night, though, we’re going to Hot Tub Time Machine it and call the punks home as Red River returns to its roots for the Blue Flamingo Tribute. Because you’re going need a day to recover between parties, the two night celebration will go down Thursday and Saturday, and there’s a pretty unbeatable lineup of some “classic” acts, and some that are actually still kicking (and fucking shit up!). Cover for the Thursday night gig at Plush is $5, and for Saturday night at Emo’s it’s $8. But the money goes to benefit the SIMS foundation, so that’s cool. Check out the full lineups below, but we also highly recommend you head over to Twistworthy’s awesome (and hilariously charmingly named) blog, Texas Punk Treasure Chest, where’s he’s been posting stuff for download from the bands playing for the past few weeks. You can spend all day digging through the gold he’s got up over there. For more info, you can go to the Blue Flamingo Facebook page (which, yes, we think is a little conceptually funny).

What, you thought we forgot? How could we forget the Austin Psych Fest. Now entering its third year, the Black Angles’ little psych shindig is a three day trip that this year will take place at the Mohawk. It kicks off tonight at 7:30pm and keeps rolling through Saturday and Sunday. The lineup this year is pretty phenomenal, and we’re going to direct you to the Austinist’s fantastic preview coverage that has been going on for several weeks, partly because we’re lazy, but mostly because it really is fantastic. If you didn’t purchase the three day passes when they were announced, you can still pick up tickets to each night for $18 a night, or $20 if you’re a minor. The lineup is below, and is pure wickedness. But if you want to start blowing your mind early, just stare at this poster for ten minutes. It should come with a disclaimer!

Car Stereo (Wars) is dropping his sophomore album tonight at the Beauty Bar. It’s called Explains It All, which is good, because we have lots of questions! Like what’s up with magnets? Someone definitely has lots of ’splainin’ to do. Below you will find the lead track from the album, awesomely titled “Whoah Dude” in what we can only assume is an homage to Joey Lawrence. This mashup is all jacked up with the Eighties, actually. Rad. Chris Rose has of course been living up in Brooklyn these days, but still manages to keep at least one Macbook here in Austin. And you know when CS(W) throws a party, is no half-assed affair - there will be free vodka and free beer (which we suppose is “while it lasts”, or tickets, or something like that to keep the BUMS out), and with the $8 cover, you get a copy of the CD, as well. But wait, there’s more! If you RSVP with our buds over at Do512, you get in for $5! And that includes sets from Neiliyo, Hot Britches, and the LCD Soundsystem tribute band All My Friends. Whoah Dude, indeed!

It’s difficult, if not impossible and somewhat pointless, to anticipate whether Sixteen Deluxe could have been really big. At the end of Nineties, the band was poised to acolyte the Austin scene behind their showers and sparks of deep-distortion bled shoegaze, signed to Warner Bros and garnering national attention. An all too familiar story followed from there, though: short-lived major label love, followed by band drama, drugs, and eventual disbandment. If 1998 seemed like nothing but promise for the quartet, by 2000 it was bust. Yet this is largely what is also so great about the recent reunion shows from the band, and the subsequent release of the early live shots and demos on Year One. Watching Carrie Clark, “Frenchie” Smith, Jeff Copas, and Steven Hall during SXSW, there was no pressure – just a return to the early joy of feedback bliss simply for what it was worth, and that is exactly the sound that emerges from Year One. The recent shows and these first early recordings serve as complimentary bookends of band simply in love with the sound, of pushing themselves with unconcerned expectations, and perhaps resurrecting something that got lost along the way.

Exceptional Denton troubadour Doug Burr has a new album dropping next month, and as is custom these days, they’ve offered up a track for download. Judging from “Red, Red”, at least, the new album, cheerfully titled O Ye Devastator, is a bit more fully arranged, but still retains those uniquely harrowing Burr ingredients. You think it’s a pretty song, and we suppose it is, but we’re also pretty sure that dude in the song just offed himself at the end. Everyone seems pretty happy with this conclusion, though, so, um, congratulations? Safe to say this is a little different thematically from Burr’s last album, The Shawl, which was inspired the Psalms. O Ye Devastator is Burr’s third effort, and he also has the Monahans’ pummeling percussionist Roberto Sanchez contributing to the lineup, so you know there’s going to be some big sounds. Burr will be in Austin for the CD release on Saturday, May 8th with a gig at Lambert’s. Download “Red, Red” below.

Guys, don’t forget about Record Store Day (alternatively known as Buyer’s Remorse Day for Hipsters). It happens Saturday, April 17, and there are all kinds of kick-ass exclusives to help save our local LP retailers from the digital scourge. We’ve seen some cool things listed, too, like Roky Erickson signing at Waterloo, and a really sweet lineup at End of an Ear with the Lovely Sparrows, Shawn McMillen, and UME. Backspin will have some DJs and FREE BEER! You can view the full list of exclusive releases available in mostly limited qualities tomorrow here. We recommend you follow @AustinVinyl on Twitter for all the deliciousness. (They have a website, too - as if anyone still uses websites. Pshaw!). Let us know in the comments of any other cool events going on ’round town tomorrow, as well as what we should pick up with huge heaps of blogger cash!

The Monahans have a little project going we’re they are releasing an mp3 a month for the entire year, culminating in a 12 song album that they will then try to sell. This is your new business, folks - give it away until someone pays you for it! Actually, this is pretty sweet, akin to Haunting Oboe Music’s EP a month project, which was supposed to conclude with an album drawn from the tracks, but instead concluded with that band dissolving. Here’s to hoping the stress of the digital era doesn’t disband the Monahans. As evidenced by their second download, “Roam an Empty Space,” the Monahans have turned up their ambient power to give their recent tunes some added edge. The results are particularly good live, and the band will be delivering a set at the awesome sounding Ghost Room with the Low Lows this Saturday. You can download the first track from the series, titled “All In Love”, by signing up for their email list, or friending them on Twitter and Facebook. Basically, they announce when they post a new song, and you can go grab it. They’re free for the time being, so download and then support them by hitting up the show Saturday.

According to the Frontier Brothers’ new single, “they’re irreverent, glamorous, and pissed off.” According to their new video for that single, they’re also into furries, and you should start a band. It’s a damn catchy little song, and the quartet will be releasing it on their new EP tomorrow night at the Parish with a bill that includes the Lemurs and the Bright Light Social Hour. Bring your dancin’ shows. It’s also part of the 101X Homegrown Live series, so we guess that makes it Andy Langer approved. And bring your bear costumes, apparently. (We’re looking at you, Butcher Bear!). Check out the video for “You Should Start a Band” below, but really, isn’t this a bit too much preaching to the choir, guys? You live in Austin - everybody has already started a band! We do declare this a vast improvement over the space jumpsuits, though.

Surging originally out of San Antonio, Hacienda’s indelible retro pop masterpieces have landed them in good company the past couple years. Most notably, the Villanueva brothers and cousin Dante Schwebel (who takes the lead in answering our profile questions) have served as the backing band for Dan Auerbach’s solo work, but it’s their own tunes that have merited the majority of their much deserved national attention. Cutting Beach Boys harmonies with a suave touch of Tex-Mex rock on par with the Sir Douglas Quintet, Hacienda’s 2008 debut, Loud is the Night delivered a flash of Sixties style that explodes live. This month, the quartet returns with their followup, Big Red and Barbacoa, which you can get a preview of with the song “I Keep Waiting” for download below. Hacienda will be hitting Antone’s this Saturday, April 17, with an awesome local lineup of the Heartless Bastards headlining and Leatherbag opening the night.