sound advice

   

My mate Doug (and his posse) over at AustinSound is a tireless champion of music that comes out of, and into Austin. AustinSound is a treasure trove of into like album reviews, label profiles and much more including their second compilation of Austin Sounds to accompany you as you plan to take in some of the local acts during SXSW. Nice one!

"The past year has been an impressive one for Austin music. Both Okkervil River and Spoon cemented their place among the cream of the indie crop with excellent releases, Bill Callahan emerged impressively from his smoggy haze, and Octopus Project brought an avalanche of national attention. Ghostland Observatory rode a wave lasers across nearly every major festival to carry them beyond their allotted 15 minutes and Billy Joe Shaver shot some guy in the face outside a bar the week of a Greatest Hits release – that’s how to drum up press, Texas style. So in anticipation of the beloved onslaught of SXSW and to welcome everyone back to Austin, we present our second digital compilation, Sound Advice Vol. II: The Latest Toughs.

Like last year’s offering, we’ve lined up tracks from 21 local artists that we think highlight some of the best Austin has to offer. So what constitutes the Austin Sound these days? As expected, it’s an eclectic sweep, but there are some distinct trends that seem to be emerging. Retro rules, from Sixties-inspired garage rock and pop (The Black, The Strange Boys), to soul (Black Joe Lewis), to Austin’s psychedelic roots (Horse + Donkey). Like most indie bands these days, reputations are being built behind the pure explosive energy of incomparable live shows from the likes of White Denim and Mothfight!, contrasted by the resurgence of melodic shoegaze among artists like the Soldier Thread and Silver Pines. An excellent crop of new young songwriters also continues to bloom, like Graham Weber, Martin Crane’s Brazos, and Jeremy Ballard’s Dark Water Hymnal. All of the tracks have been contributed by the artists, and are available for individual download as well as a complete 1 hour and 17 minute mix below."

I particularly like Belaire's 'You Really Got Me Goin" and am delighted to see Transmography and Monahans featured as they are playing at our party at Trophy's on Thursday.

To download the entire compilation, or individual tracks and to get the artists SXSW show times head on over to AustinSound.