Austin Sound

Crooks digs up deeply planted Texas country roots and dusts them off with lonesome guitar, southwestern horns, and Josh Mazour’s equal parts aching and rowdy vocals. While the local trio pulls no punches with its country sound, they also add a slice of Deer Tick’s indie impulse live, making them one of the few genuinely country bred acts that fits just as easily at home in Red River’s clubs. After releasing their self-titled debut album in 2008, the band has begun to gain traction and is poised to this year finally kick up some much deserved dirt. Check out two of the tunes off of their debut for download below. Crooks will be heading out for a quick west coast tour next month, but you can catch them before they take off this Friday, January 29 at the Scoot Inn along with ex-Weary Boys outfit Woodsboss, and the folk-drone psych of Headdress.

Thursday at the Mohawk offered up a delectable variety of southern inspired indie artists that ranged from blues and country to psychedelic rock and Americana. First up was Tyler Jordan who performed with cellist Erin Davis and drummer Robby Pettinato. It made a real difference, and resulted in, what I consider to be, a huge improvement from the last couple of times I’d seen him solo. Jordan’s songs are heavy on acoustic guitar with simple chord progressions that really hook you.