Austin Sound

Kansan-turned-Austinite Pink Nasty (aka Sara Beck) offers her third album, Pink Nasty, after taking a nearly half-decade hiatus. Part re-birth and part reset, this album is her most contoured work yet, revealing an affinity for — or consent of — strong, clean sound, which at times begets a too-smooth production. This record captures her progress as an artist, and could be considered a milestone in her growing discography. No doubt the learning curve was steep throughout this process, but The Pink and Black Nasty team surely has something to be proud of, and tighter constraints within which to work.

Daniel Francis Doyle’s newest release We Bet Our Money On You aligns with what you’d expect from the previous Early Lines member and one of Austin’s few stand-alone, multi-instrumentalists. Carrying over some of those dissonant, brazen tendencies from his earlier work while espousing his ability to truly progress, his third ablum is clean(er), but adamantly preserves the dry 70’s production qualities that Doyle and Barrett Walton of Infinity Recording are so fond of. With a handful of guest musicians Doyle articulates multiple narratives that surface and stretch throughout the album cautiously and deftly, creating space in some songs and almost belligerently inhabiting that space in others. Buttressed by his affinity for serrated sounds laid upon tapered drums, Doyle nimbly navigates through the sometimes anomalous sounds that project from his now-convenient set up.

There’s a quintet that bubbled very quietly to the surface here in Austin, fecklessly catching the gaze of media and passers-by. Melding music’s finer points with human tendency and memory, their sound mildly manifests in an almost opulent mess of selectively twangy baroque that politely bows to its grand new wave — yet still indie — roots. Mellifluous in the same way that the best vinyl sounds after you’ve been away for too long, the Great Nostalgic’s debut album is much, much more than it seems.

Primary to the band’s heart and momentum is Abram Shook, who spent due time with other musical endeavors that include The Laughing, before transplanting his Boston roots to the southwest. His fixation with memory, ruminating on, and ultimately purging it, is bewitching. The album is an exercise in remembering what listening to music felt like, what it used to mean, and what it should mean again.

Yet another musician has surfaced from Austin’s rich musical pool, but why should we take notice? It’s not only his gritty, bold voice, intent, creamy guitar, or his candid vocals; Ben Mallott offers an enduring dedication to contoured songwriting on his debut Look Good, Feel Good (available May 19th). The album reveals things about being human that venture within close proximity of the fragile regions just beyond the heart, and the elegance with which he crafts the tunes illustrates those finer points of the fabric that connects all of us, encouraging listeners to meander along his winding melodies and peek between the gaps in the stories he tells. With hints of classic Americana, wandering folk and hints of the blues, Mallott conjures reconfigures aspects of Joe Cocker’s tendencies in music’s long history.

Initially released in 2005, Lymbyc System has united with Magic Bullet Records to re-release the brothers Bell debut. Carved By Glaciers is truly a testament to their ability to create and navigate melodies that equally, in alternating bursts, spew treachery and beauty from the core. These seven songs are gloriously emotive at the same time that they guide listeners through territories unknown, but the most artful aspect of Carved By Glaciers is the duo’s ability to wean people away from fixating on departure and arrival, sonically and otherwise. And by no means have the brothers just happened upon stunning work; their 3 tunes on Field Studies, a recent split cd with This Will Destroy You, reveal the same aptitude at diving into melodia and creating intertwining sonic networks around them.

The four gents that comprise Austin’s electro pop rock circus Built By Snow have been toward something big, huge even, since their formation in 2006. One EP down, their new album MEGA, is a brightly lit kaleidoscopic fete set upon super catchy melodies that make you feel good. Great even, despite the truth outside of that warm bubble. You’ll want to live in that bubble forever for sure. This could be the album to listen to after a bad day at work or when you’re smitten - it’s so sweet and warm and fleecy on the ears.

Clearly influenced by the lightning bolt melodies of Gary Numan’s synth pop phenomenon, the Talking Heads peek into JP Pfertner’s vocals and high five that contagious Devo influence somewhere in the middle. Taking from the tenets of pop culture that saturated your world if you were a child of the 80’s, MEGA’s packed with images of video game characters we wish could be real, if only for an afternoon, like Pac Man. Who didn’t envy him? And his job? And that Mrs. Pac Man? Mmhmmmm!

There’s something about discussing music over beer that always rides a fine line between pretension and authenticity. Among friends, bare bones honesty surfaces, and we can delve into the meat of albums circulating in these days of plentiful “indie” pop rock bands. Though there’s a dearth that’s worth a mention, fewer deserve a full play on your iPod.

Austin-via-Athens, Ohio five-piece The Story Of is part of that shiny minority, and migrating southwest 4 years ago brought their creative core closer to the fore. Candid, punchy and playful, they’re respectful of each other, as close friends always are, and though their dynamic isn’t uncommon, it nicely compliments the mélange of poppy, bright, sometimes spatial, sometimes somber rock they’ve made since 2002.