Catch up on the latest music releases in Austin
Nine recent albums and EPs offer a variety of styles that are worth hearing.
South Austin Moonlighters, “Ghost of a Small Town.” Following its 2014 studio debut “Burn & Shine,” this local supergroup of sorts, whose members marked many miles with the likes of Monte Montgomery, Stonehoney and the Whiskey Sisters, ups the ante on this 13-song set of all-original material. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Beall’s memorable “A Year of Decembers” plants the record in classic-rock Americana territory before guitarist Phil Hurley, who first gained renown in the early ’90s with the acclaimed alternative band Gigolo Aunts of Boston, follows with the rootsy pop gem “Movin’ On.” When the foursome — which also includes bassist Lonnie Trevino Jr. and drummer Phil Bass — co-write, as on “Hold On” and the instrumental title track, they gravitate toward more soulful, bluesy grooves.
Basketball Shorts, “Hot and Ready” (Fleeting Youth/Austin Town Hall). Learning well the lessons from such quick-hitting masters as the Ramones and the Minutemen, self-described “party punk” foursome Basketball Shorts cut to the chase on these 10 songs, all of which clock in at less than three minutes. It’s a rapid-fire but totally joyous blitz of guitar-driven burners with simple yet immediately infectious vocal harmonies. That they don’t take themselves too seriously is clear from the cultural-reference song titles: “Romo to Dez” (the Dallas Cowboys quarterback-to-receiver combo), “Kevin McCallister” (the kid-hero character Macaulay Culkin portrayed in “Home Alone”), “Magic Legs” (a sly nod to “Forrest Gump”). Basketball Shorts won’t change the world, but it sure makes it a lot
more fun to live here.
My Jerusalem, “A Little Death” (Washington
Square). As much as My Jerusalem is deeply anchored in Austin — this album was recorded at the Church House and Public HiFi studios, and leader Jeff Klein has solidified the band’s previously revolving lineup with a trio of locals — “A Little Death” arose largely from his upbringing in New York. Klein returned there to write these songs, which deal partly with his family’s influence on his life. The third My Jerusalem album — Klein previously had released three solo records, and worked with Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli’s Twilight Singers and Gutter Twins offshoots — is largely a dark and haunting affair. Multi-instrumentalist Jon Merz fleshes out Klein’s deep minor-key explorations with guitar, keyboard and horn accents, while the rhythm section of bassist Kyle Robarge and drummer Grant Van Amburgh push
the beat toward a relentless intensity. The opening track “Young Leather” features a cameo by rising pop star Elle King, while Heartless Bastards siren Erika Wennerstrom turns up as a backing vocalist elsewhere. The most immediately appealing track, though, is “No One Gonna Give You Love,” which casts Klein’s brooding vocals in their best light on a chorus that rises up with lush, full instrumentation. Watters, “The Great
Unknown.” Recent transplants to Austin from Arizona (with stints in Denver and Nashville en route), the husband-wife duo of Daniel and Jenna Watters fit somewhere into the local indie-folk-pop spectrum that encompasses the likes of Wild Child and Calliope Musicals. On these 10 tunes, they bring in frequent horn-section support behind guitarand-keyboards-based melodies, at times adding strings from illustrious fiddler Erik Hokkanen as well. Altamesa, “The Long Ride Home.” The debut project from singer-songwriter Evan Charles is an intriguing 10-song collection of acoustic-based indie Americana. Co-produced by Charles and Jonas Wilson with a cast including local fixtures Nic Armstrong, Sean Faires and Falcon Valdez, “The Long Ride Home” weaves enchanting melodic spells around impressionistic, but emotionally rich lyrics.
EPs
Aaron McDonnell, “Get Gone” (Independence). The second five-song set from country singer-songwriter McDonnell in less than a year follows closely in the heels of last fall’s “Battle Bend” EP. The title track shines most brightly here, a midtempo number with a smart rhythmic twist in the chorus and a clear spotlight on McDonnell’s richly melodic vocals. “I’m Broke” tells the story of his relocation from Seattle to Austin with his wife, concluding that it’s been worth the hardships. The heartbreak-and-beer opener “A Cold One” is a little too by-the-numbers, down to the obligatory Lone Star reference, but McDonnell closes on a high note with the lovely waltz “We Will Fall.” Jane Ellen Bryant, “Twenties” (EP). A threesong release that Bryant is selling as a colored-vinyl 7-inch as well as digitally, “Twenties” is perhaps a preview of what’s to come for this native Austinite singer-songwriter. After drawing some attention with her previous release “Hourglass” and touring as a singer in Max Frost’s band, Bryant steps out with polished pop-rock original material highlighted by the title track, a millennial-world-problems anthem of sorts. If her soaring voice seeps into melodrama on the song’s bombastic chorus, she wisely leavens it with a self-deprecating chuckle in the second verse’s confession that “you just moved back in with your parents.” Nightowls, “Royal Sessions.” Following last year’s “Fame Sessions” album recorded in Muscle Shoals, Ala., the old-school soul revivalists traveled to Royal Studios in Memphis for another historically-inspired recording experience. These five songs serve up the blend of sweetness and heat that marks the Nightowls residency gigs at local hangs the Highball and Icenhauer’s. Hard Proof, “Public Hi-Fi Sessions 03.” The latest in a series of releases from Spoon drummer Jim Eno’s label associated with his Public Hi-Fi studio features six songs from the local purveyors of worldly, jazz-influenced instrumental music.