ACL may be over for another year (long live ACL!) but the music just keeps on rolling around here. Because I am a big time player in the music industry, I managed to score two passes to the Sunday chunk of Sound on Sound Fest. Before I show up, the exceedingly anal slice of my brain just absolutely needs to go listen to everything that I might get to hear, so that I can categorize and analyze every last second of a potential moment before it might occur unscripted. Not really, I just want to check out some new tunes! Right? Right?!?
So, what is SOS, you ask? If you remember Fun Fun Fun Fest, this is the phoenix rising up from the ashes of that fest. For reasons that I've never seen made clear, Stratus Properties owned a portion of local promoter Transmission Entertainment, and earlier this year they bought out the rest. This led to the creation of a new booking/music company, excellently named in homage to Fugazi, called Margin Walker. I guess the real estate nerds at Stratus still own the FFFF name, so Margin Walker fired up a new fest named Sound on Sound, that sticks to the same general ethos as the FFFF did - medium level stars, leaning more alternative and off the beaten path, with some cool reunions or strange mashups. The big headliners for this year are Phantogram, Run the Jewels, Big Boi, Beach House, and Courtney Barnett. Then some old school stuff is tucked into the lineup as well, like the Dead Milkmen, Guided by Voices, and Monkeywrench.
Anyway, I only get Sunday, which I was pumped about because of Courtney Barnett, but sadly she doesn't go on until 9:15, and I'm taking the kids, so my guess is that I'll miss my time with the greatest new songwriter on the block. But the kids are free, and I selfishly left them out of ACL, so let's make it up to them by showing them something called Sailor Poon, right? Let's see who I might be able to see:
1:30: I'm probably going with Wolfe, although Poon would be fun, but I'm scared about the questions my daughters will ask after that show.
- Emily Wolfe. Great bluesy rock woman. "Swoon" is her biggest hit and its poppy enough but still great fuzzy rock song. I like it.
- Psychic Twin. "Strangers" starts like the theme from Stranger Things, and then a lady starts singing. Its not bad, but Wolfe wins my vote.
- Sailor Poon. Easily wins the award for best band name, I mean, no contest here. However, no music available on Spotify, so loses major points from the German judge. BUT THEN, HOLY CRAP, THEIR SONG "Leather Daddy" IS AMAZING. https://vimeo.com/160481575. Sample Lyrics from the chorus: "Eat me OUT! Buy me SHOES! Make me CUM! And then please leave!" I need more of this band.
2:20: Leopold wins the hour.
- Leopold & his Fiction. Loved these guys when they came to ACL in 2015. Would enjoy checking them out again. No new music available on Spotify, which is too bad, but I still like the old stuff.
- BoomBaptist. I can't take the name, man. Makes me imagine a Baylor student rapper who is trying really hard to keep it real while still living his life for Jesus. "Art Briles loves Jesus! Now I'mma followin' Leviticus! Got that Baylor Line spirit, cause I'm just a BoomBaptist! Yo!" Instead, this is electronic stuff with zero listens on Spotify except for "Happy to Be Sad," which has about 205k for some sort of chilled dance post-club jam that slides into a simple disco beat dance. Doubt I'd do this one.
- Die Young. There are three bands called "Die Young" on Spotify, but the photo on the one called "Die Young [TX]" looks like the photo on the SoS website, so I'm going with that one. Only two of their songs have more than 1k listens, so we're not killing it on the popularity front. Oh lord, now I know why. "The Last Good Age" is some growl/scream metal hardcore that holds no punches. I should make my kids go listen to this for a song.
3:10/ 3:20: Well, toss up here but I suspect we'll go give Night Drive a shot.
- Bully. I listened to their most recent album (Feels Like from 2015) and reviewed it at the end of last year, and really enjoyed a few tracks, especially "Trying." Although if I think she's screamy, the wife might leave me if I took her to this one. I remember all too clearly the time I took the wife to FFFF and thought she might enjoy the Riverboat Gamblers. She hated the Riverboat Gamblers.
- Night Drive. These guys came to ACL a few years ago, and while this brand of 80's nostalgia electro is fine, I avoided seeing them back then and would almost definitely do the same here. I'd still like to see a short film of the first time these guys met each other and figured out their connection to one another.
- Illustrations. Cookie monster-type scream metal death sadness. I couldn't even finish a single song.
Now that I've realized just how long this is going to get, I'm going to split this up into a few chunks. More to come!
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